Morale, Cohesion, and Confidence in Leadership

Abstract

Any book of military quotations amply illustrates the importance that renowned military leaders across history have ascribed to high morale and capable command. Xenophon (circa 394 BC/1960) was sure that the army ``stronger in soul'' would be victorious in battle; Napoleon felt that ``moral considerations'' accounted for three-quarters of the outcome in war (Wintle, 1989); and Montgomery (1958) stated that ``the morale of the soldier is the greatest single factor in war.'' But how did these leaders gauge the level of morale in their own forces and in those of their opponents? How did they assess the impact of leadership? Commanders' perceptions of subordinates' attitudes and morale may be crucial ingredients for command decision making with regard to readiness and the commitment of forces to combat operations. If command assessments of subordinate attitudes and mood and of subunit cohesion and morale are inaccurate, organizational effectiveness and performance may suffer.