Ribbons and Motivation

"A man wouldn't sell his life to you, but he will give it to you for a piece of colored ribbon" William Manchester wrote of his days as a marine in the South Pacific. This is the one of the reasons why men and women go beyond expectations, even risk their lives to achieve glory in the military. I volunteered to go to Siachen Glacier in 1996 just for the medal, along with the 'High Altitude' (you get the 'Siachen Glacier' for serving one month in the area, and the 'High Altitude' medal for serving six months above 9,000 feet altitude) - because as a 23 year old 2nd Lieutenant in a peace time army in 1996, there were not many opportunities for glory, and wearing an active combat ribbon on your chest was certain to get you respect. I did not bargain for the Battle Casualty medal(which I was awarded for getting wounded in action) as a bonus. Because medals cannot be worn all the time, ribbons indicate which medals you have been awarded, and these are routinely worn on the uniform.

Unlike what people on social media would have you believe, most people do not join the army or serve for lofty ideas of serving the country - most do it for the adventure, that smart uniform and colorful ribbons that you could potentially wear on your chest for the rest of your lives!
Research shows that non monetary incentives work better than money - and its reinforced by the fact that people join the army and volunteer for a difficult mission for below average pay by corporate standards. While many officer candidates are graded 'just below average' or 'average' by psychiatrists during their selection interview, most end up doing things that are 'above and beyond' and that their friends outside the military would not imagine doing. This is about positive reinforcement of your team, which may consist of ordinary people, but who have the capability to outperform the best of talent from the most sought after B schools and tech schools.

Non monetary rewards focus on emotional and psychological benefits. As a commanding officer, I used to reward soldiers in my unit every month for all kinds of behaviors (not just results) in mobile talk time coupons during the monthly town hall. Their money value was minimal, but it connected a soldier coming from a small village in India and serving in an operational area to his family back home, and set behavioral standards among his peer group. Now, as head of department in the corporate world, I highlight my team members' skill development efforts by appreciating them via a mail marked to the entire team and the senior leadership - it is not enough to just tell the guy that you appreciate him, you have to tell everyone that you appreciate him!

Medals and ribbons are non monetary rewards that are always visible to everyone, because the person receiving it wears it on his chest. This is very different from business and other organizations where such rewards need to be announced - not just to the person receiving it, but also everyone else - because the true value of this reward is when everyone knows about it. In contrast, monetary rewards are usually confidential and only the recipient knows what she's got. As a business leader, we have lots of medals and ribbons to give away. Its these medals that will motivate our teams to 'go above and beyond' - not only that bonus or increment.

Of regimental reunions...

A short one on unit reunions.

I recently attended my unit's honour title day, 'Sanjoi Mirpur', and was visiting six years  after handing over command. I was in the company of eight other COs, who'd commanded my unit, starting from the late 70s onwards, as well as other officers who had served during various periods of time. It was a great event, successful, because it got so many of us together across time, and we could all relive our experiences in the unit. Present also, were a large number of JCOs and NCOs who had served in the unit and had retired at various points in time, to act as  reference points in our memories.

What struck me was that while you may personally remember most of your 'achievements' during command, be it doing your field tenure and an operation done well, winning a trophy, doing well in an exercise, competition, or in sports, others remember you only for your personal and leadership qualities, and your values. Once you are no longer their commanding officer, the quality and duration of your interaction with the men you commanded depends entirely on these qualities and values that you displayed earlier.

Units have reunions only to remember their raising days (their day of creation!) or battle honours. No one ever gets together to remember winning a trophy, a sports event, getting a 'well done' from a boss, or any administrative victories that we claim for ourselves. Everybody wants to hear of the minutest detail when someone is recounting his experience of battle, however small and insignificant it may be. Inflated and artificial achievements are forgotten quickly, once the person who tries to create and propagate it is no longer at the helm of affairs.

Tough times are remembered more often than good times. People who have been through operations and field tenures together develop a stronger bond than those who've been together in peace stations.

The most important thing for the current officers and men is to maintain a true record of what happens, because stories get distorted as they get recounted over years. Therefore, only a true record of what really happened should be captured in the regiment history book without any embellishments or modifications to the truth.

Its important to return for a reunion, "..if you are present there, then you are one of us". The feeling of belonging to a team is priceless!

And the last... the older generation must share their experiences and thoughts with the young officers to help them grow as leaders. More on that later.