Understanding Soldier Motivation: How Does It Differ from Managing Educated Employees?

It is always very interesting to see the regular pattern of the topics on this site. Generally, all the postings I found here are about managing people who are highly educated. However, managing soldiers who have typically completed high school is somewhat different. These half-educated individuals have a different perspective on life. The way an educated person approaches their job is not commonly found among soldiers. Educated individuals are self-motivated, whereas soldiers need to be motivated by their leaders.

Can any of my friends on this site provide a psychological analysis of a soldier's life?

Hi Borhan,

I wouldn't necessarily agree that educated people are self-motivated. If that were the case, we wouldn't see so many motivational lectures and workshops being conducted for employees in the organization.

When it comes to soldiers, I highly respect them for their courage, willpower, and discipline. I recollect a story told by one of my professors who taught a management course in a certain B School. A guy undergoing training in the Navy used to attend his lectures regularly. I'll quote my professor's words:

"The lectures were scheduled to start at 6:30 pm. Every day I saw this chap coming to class at exactly 6:30 and sitting upright with good posture without being bothered at all about the empty classroom around him. While the rest of his classmates, who worked in various companies, joined the classroom, it was 7:00 pm and they were lethargic, bored, and lacked attention throughout the lecture. But this chap, despite his heavy training and a day much busier than the rest of the class, was attentive throughout. He never took notes, just listened attentively and maintained the same upright posture throughout the lecture. In the end, he retained more knowledge than his classmates though they had written much more! He refused to work in a group because despite his numerous efforts, none of the group would ever complete work on time, and it was in his nature to respect time and understand its value."

I remember the tone with which my professor spoke of him. It was a proud tone... not proud to have him as a student, but proud to actually teach someone so well disciplined and respectful. I know for sure there are not many people about whom this professor feels this way! My point is, even though soldiers, navy, and air force personnel may not be well-paid or highly educated, they have seen life and have learned the basic lessons in life the practical way while we struggle to learn them the book way!

A soldier's life is full of tension. You obviously know that better than me. I always wonder... Did a soldier become a soldier of his own will? It could be possible that he didn't and struggling in an area where his interests do not lie is the number one reason for lacking motivation.

Also, when a person becomes too used to obeying authority figures, he/she will tend to obey them and stop using his/her judgment. A similar thing may happen with soldiers. When one is expected to obey an authority figure so much that he/she is not allowed to make daily routine decisions on his own, it's quite possible he may not use them in daily routines at all. In a war/crisis, the situation becomes different. I believe soldiers are required to make on-the-spot decisions without depending on the person in authority primarily because he may not be around, and there is no way to reach him. Under stress up to a certain level, we humans have a certain quality of making good judgments and decisions, regardless of how risky the situation may be. Experience, of course, plays a major role in this. I would suggest reading the book "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell. He has an entire chapter dedicated to soldiers and a particular military genius. I am sure you would love it!

In my daily college life also, there are not many who volunteer to do a certain thing. Why does a person, a soldier, or anyone else, refrain from volunteering even though he/she may want to? Lack of motivation is the most obvious answer. But rather than the question of who lacks motivation, it's important to ask why a person lacks motivation.

Reasons for lack of motivation

1. Do not have a written list of important goals that define success for you personally.
2. Believe that present goals or activities are wrong for you.
3. Feelings/emotions about present activities are generally negative.
4. Don't have (or believe you don't have) the ability to do present activities or obtain future goals.
5. Satisfaction of achieving goals seems in a distant future.
6. Present activities not seen as related to important goals.
7. Important goals conflict with present activities.
8. Extrinsic incentives are low.
9. Personal problems interfere with present activities.

The following link would give you a brief idea of how to motivate a person, typically an employee:

http://www.accel-team.com/motivation/

I am sure browsing around the site would give you even more material and perspective on the topic of motivation.

Regards,

Vinisha :)

Hi Vinisha,

I am really impressed with the way you have given a realistic and profound explanation of the soldiers' psyche.

I think the issue of motivation does not revolve around whether a person is educated or not; rather, it's a matter of how an individual looks at his own life in the larger scheme of things, i.e., life. As such, the views of Major Borhan seem to be rather amplified. Perhaps his 15 years of stint with the armed forces has made him think of the psyche of the soldiers as somewhat prenotioned, and as he himself acknowledges in his post, that he can't think beyond the horizons.

A more objective view would be to bring the soldiers into the mainstream of living and enjoying life. I feel sometimes the long stays at the borders deprive them of the basic human necessity of affectionate belonging, and this takes its toll on their overall functioning as a normal human being.

Therefore, I completely disagree with what Mr. Borhan believes about human motivation. His views are shortsighted and biased.

Although I'm not a hardcore HR professional, out of genuine interest in this field, I have put forth my views and hope that the friends here find something of use in them.

Regards,

Rajesh

Hi Rajesh,

A soldier who has joined the army of his own accord loves his job just like you and I would love to live! When you speak of a sense of belonging, yes, they do miss their families, but they love their jobs. Additionally, the bond that a soldier forms with his colleagues should be highly appreciated. They would sacrifice themselves for each other. Isn't this camaraderie a form of deep affection? They also have moments of enjoyment during periods of peace.

When one attempts to psychologically analyze a person, it is crucial that they are able to do so without letting their preconceived views or opinions influence their assessment. The preconceived notions of Major Borhan may also be present in us when we try to analyze another person, whether in our profession or among our peers.

I wholeheartedly agree with your statement that "the issue of motivation is not dependent on whether a person is educated or not, but rather on how an individual perceives their own life in the broader context."

Hi Borhan,

I am eagerly awaiting your response. I would like to hear your thoughts.

Regards,

Vinisha.