Topic: Leadership
If you tell the soldier what you want, and you launch him properly into battle, he will always do his part—he has never let the side down. The British soldier is easy to lead; he is very willing to be led; and he responds at once to leadership.
The Human Factor
The Memoirs of Field-Marshal Montgomery, 1958
But the key to success in battle is not merely to provide tanks, and guns, and other equipment. Of course we want good tanks, and good guns; but what really matters is the man inside the tank, and the man behind the gun. It is 'the man' that counts, and not only the machine. The tank, and the men inside it, are a team; the best tank in the world is useless unless the crew inside it are well trained and have stout hearts. One of the chief factors for success in battle is the human factor. A commander has at his disposal certain human material; what he can make of it will depend entirely on himself If you have got men who are mentally alert, who are tough and hard, who are trained to fight and kill, who are enthusiastic, and who have that infectious optimism and offensive eagerness that comes from physical well-being, and you then give these men the proper weapons and equipment--there is nothing you cannot do.
There are two essential conditions.
First—such men must have faith in God and they must think rightly on the moral issues involved.
Second—you must have mutual confidence between the commander and the troops; any steps you take to establish this confidence will pay a very good dividend; and once you have gained the confidence of your men, you have a pearl of very great price.
A sure method of gaining the confidence of soldiers is success. And I suppose the methods you adopt to obtain success are a life study. I suggest that a study of the military disasters that have overtaken us in our history will reveal that they have been due, basically, to:
- faulty command or
- bad staff work or
- neglect of the human factor,
and sometimes possibly to all three.
If you tell the soldier what you want, and you launch him properly into battle, he will always do his part—he has never let the side down. The British soldier is easy to lead; he is very willing to be led; and he responds at once to leadership.
Once you gain his confidence he will never fail you.
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