Manpower

by Lincoln C. Andrews

Discipline from Rewards.—Probably the most effective reward is the slight word of recognition of individual effort or excellence, sometimes even a nod and smile are enough. The main thing is to show this man and the others that you see and appreciate what he is doing. So as you supervise the work of your men be on the lookout for chances to commend individuals. Do not overdo it, fulsome or unmerited praise does more harm than good. Keep it what nature intended it to be, a reward for excellence which every man likes to receive, and for which he naturally strives so long as he feels sure that he will get it when merited.

One leader will go about inspecting his workers and look only for faults and speak only to criticize something as wrong; while another will seek good work to commend it, and correct mistakes in a spirit of showing how it could be done better. The first may by tremendous effort hold his men to a certain level of accomplishment, the second will soon have them all going in a spirit of emulation. Smith does not see why he cannot do as well as Jones next door, whom he heard the boss complimenting. Appreciation of a man's excellence appeals directly to one of his strong instincts, and never fails to inspire continued effort to win further praise.

Influence of Good and Poor Men.—There are always to be found in every group certain men of stronger more cheerful characters than the average, men who make the best of things, who jolly the rest along through the hard tasks, and whose influence is thus a great asset. The leader must note these men, and do what he can to increase their influence with the others. If he has to show favor to some individual, he should pick one of these men to receive it, thus letting everyone see his appreciation of their cheerful willing spirit.

On the other hand there are often certain men of the meaner sort. They do the growling and grumbling for all, and their influence is in the direction of lowering the morale of the group. You must know these individuals also, and do what you can to convert them to cheerfulness and a will to win. Where a man's influence is bad, be sure you do nothing to strengthen his standing with his fellows. If someone must draw a disagreeable task, it is often well to let such a man have it as a reward for being a "kicker." A leader who did not think of this and made the mistake of handing the reward to such a one would hurt the morale of the whole by making the men feel that virtue was not recognized, and that their leader lacked good judgment.

You must therefore know your men and watch their work and their spirit, so you may reward the deserving, and never appear to support the undeserving. In time of hardship or strain, when the morale of your outfit is being tested, it will win through or break down depending largely on which type of men have the stronger influence. It will be well for you then if you have strengthened the hands of the strong cheerful ones and made them subordinate leaders of sentiment and opinion in your group.

Leader a Maker of Men.—The finest thing about being a leader is the chance it gives to build up the characters of the men—to take hold of the personal equation of a weaker brother, discover his difficulties and weaknesses and also his strong points and possibilities, and so to handle him as to make a man of him. This not only brings you great satisfaction and the personal reward of feeling that you are making the world some better by living in it, but it brings actual material gain to the community and to your work, in that you have made this man able to give more as a citizen and as a laborer. Many an army officer has found his one relief from the tedium of peacetime duties in thus taking a keen interest in the personalities of his men, and in making it his business to build up a reasonably strong useful character out of what may have appeared an almost hopeless wreck of humanity.

Every leader is constantly affecting the future of his men, consciously or unconsciously. His power to reward and punish makes this necessarily true. His decisions and acts of authority each tend to build up or to discourage the character of the man affected. This is what makes us shudder to see this power of leadership in the hands of ignorant, unscrupulous, brutal or even thoughtless men. The good leader realizes how by strict fairness, encouragement and guidance he may develop the powers of his men; and how by continued injustice he may break a man's spirit, destroy his manliness, and leave him a worse member of the community than he found him. He accepts this responsibility, and takes pleasure in trying to use his power for the better good of the men, the community, and the work in hand. He is in some measure a "maker of men," and with that thought in the back of his mind he studies his problem in a desire to act to the best advantage.

Discipline by Punishment.—"Punishment" is a severe word to use in connection with ordinary daily affairs, but there is no milder one whose meaning quite fits the case. It has little place in our ideas of handling ordinary situations. In fact it stands only in the background as a last resort. Thus in community life the penalties of the law stand in the background as matters of no personal interest to law-abiding citizens. Yet the existence of those penalties and of the means for administering them are essential elements of community organization, and they must be intelligently understood by the officers responsible for community welfare. In this respect the leader has the same responsibility, and it is necessary to discuss frankly how he shall use this power of punishment, in order that he may meet this responsibility successfully.

Punishment is intended to be a corrective. It must be administered for the sole good of the man and of the group, and never in a spirit of vindictiveness or revenge. By punishment we mean all the corrective measures commonly used as means of disciplining men—reprimand, docking pay, deprivation of privilege, suspension, discharge, etc. The severity of any given punishment is largely a matter of the spirit and infrequency with which it is given. It is in every case a matter of prayerful consideration for the leader, until long experience has made him quite infallible in his judgment.

It is possible to fix a set standard of punishments, such a punishment to follow such an offense, but this standard cannot be followed arbitrarily. That would ignore the big human factor and all manner of extenuating circumstances. Every case of an offense must in fairness be judged on its own merits. The leader must judge the peculiar circumstances attending it, consider the personality of the offender, and above all discover the underlying motive. It is unquestionably true that most men naturally prefer to do right, and go wrong only for some reason. Very often some sense of offended justice is behind it. In any case the punishment cannot be reasonable unless founded on a true understanding of the facts. And it must be both reasonable and just, for its one big object is the effect it will have on the man's character and the group discipline. This effect is the determining factor. It is most important that both leader and men shall always realize that whatever punishment is given, it is done for the good of all as well as for that of the individual.