Morale is the willingness to fight and to make the sacrifices needed to succeed and win. Many people confuse morale with mood. They think that if people are complaining or they are in a bad mood that automatically indicates bad morale. That may be the case, but not necessarily. In fact, people can be in a bad mood BECAUSE they have high morale. They want things to go better and are angry or momentarily discouraged because they aren’t. It’s up to leaders and key influencers to recognize this difference and to not let the momentary lapse get to them.

Signs of good morale:

• Optimism
• Realism
• Cooperation and mutual aid
• Hard work and sacrifices
• Constructive criticism
• Confidence in self and leaders

How is the morale is your team or organization?

• Do you sense that people in your company have hope?
• Is the language they use optimistic and hopeful, or pessimistic and despairing?
• Are people making plans for the future with themselves in the plans, or are they instead making plans to abandon ship?
• Do people have a lot of idle time, or are they working on ways to continually improve the organization and its performance?

Richard Martin is a Master Strategist and Leadership Catalyst. Richard brings his military and business leadership and management experience to bear for executives and organizations seeking to radically improve performance, grow, and thrive in the face of rapid change, harsh competition, and increasing uncertainty.

© 2015 Richard Martin. Reproduction and quotes are permitted with proper attribution.

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