Morale
Napoleon Bonaparte once remarked that the “moral(e) is to the physical as three is to one”. Given his long career as a military leader, as well as an emperor, he probably knew what he was talking about.
How does his remark apply to the world of work now in these challenging times? In many ways, it is still relevant. If the physical now refers to pay and benefits, then the morale, of three times greater importance, does not always appear to be a high enough priority for many managers. At AIPS, we firmly believe it should be as we would argue that good staff morale is an essential part of effective leadership and management.
What is morale? To coin a phrase, it could be creating an ‘esprit de corps’. Most people who have played team sports understand morale. It is a collective feeling amongst groups as to whether an objective can be achieved or not. It is vital when assessing the resilience of a team, or a group, or a division, or an entire company. If morale is high (such as a belief in success and the cohesion of the team) then adversity and setbacks can be overcome.
Good morale therefore implies some rather intangible concepts: a collective emotional belief in the value of the task in hand. It includes a trust in colleagues, a desire to ‘win’, a hunger for success. So how can a manager create these feelings and channel them for commercial success?
Some senior managers do not often pause and reflect on the state of the morale of their colleagues as they are often too busy on operational matters. Instead, they may defer the issue to the HR department. Or perhaps they pay lip service to bolstering morale by organising staff surveys or feedback sessions. Or, the ultimate throwback to days gone past, a manager thinks that morale can be improved by buying a round of drinks in the pub on Friday night after work.
Perhaps the most difficult part of managing morale is that managers often see it as a function of compensation. If people are paid more, then logic would say that they will be happier, won’t they? If they are unhappy with their pay, then that explains low morale. Just pay them more and morale will improve...won’t it?
This was where Napoleon had a point: most employees do not view themselves as ‘hired guns’, there just to do a job. They want their work to have meaning and value, and they do not just seek financial recognition of their effort. Working humans now demand more.
The news headlines are currently awash with stories of industrial disputes, strikes, and walkouts. There is unhappiness with pay and conditions. Whilst this is fundamentally true in a period of increasing costs and inflation, there is a deeper problem emerging of people feeling exhausted and disillusioned with their work: their morale is low. If not rock bottom.
But how can a manager improve morale? The answer lies in good communication and creating regular opportunities to ensure everyone understands their role, their contribution to the business and the overall purpose of the business. Managers should ask themselves: when was the last time I had those conversations with my colleagues?
One example of a person’s contribution is whether their work helps a customer or are they helping a colleague who is helping a customer. This can be a much better prism through which people can evaluate their own work and it will allow a good manager to demonstrate the company’s purpose.
So much of modern management theory emphasises the idea of a corporate culture. Any culture will have little or no impact if morale is low or non-existent. As people re-evaluate their careers, then we, as qualified coaches, are ideally placed to provide an independent and understanding safe space for managers as they embark on improving their colleagues morale.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/morale-giles-vardey-msc-ma-oxon-fcsi/