Motivation, Trust, and Camaraderie

Several vital steps need to occur when mobilizing a civilian population for military service. Systems and resources are implemented that ensure consistency in clothing, oaths of loyalty, equipment and training

Alexander the Great had comprehensively taken all these steps and integrated them into his military’s identity. Understanding that he was striving to accomplish something unprecedented, precarious, and glorious, he needed to add something else to his already unique military culture and identity. The technologically advanced army required Alexander to take his leadership influence to the next level by leveraging his unique talents to motivate and build trust, and the practices he implemented almost 2,500 years ago are still used today.
Although Alexander was a complicated leader, one of his more impressive attributes was his ability to motivate those who followed him effectively. Comprehending human psychology, long before it became a topic for extensive study, he thoroughly galvanized his well-armed, well-trained army as they marched forward. He authentically understood, and deftly applied, the art of motivation in highly effective and powerful ways. Insights in modern psychology, confirms that human beings are motivated by a combination of external and internal factors.

An example of external factors in Alexander’s army would be the allure of acquiring personal wealth as a direct result of following his leadership. Macedonians (the same as any soldier in the ancient world) didn’t require any explanation as to how the external motivator of military conquest worked:

More Fighting = More Conquest = More Gold = More Material Security

Simple, right?

It didn’t take much effort for Alexander to mobilize his army using this external motivator. Every soldier ultimately fought for this material security whether they were designated a ‘mercenary’ or free citizen. Alexander was outrageously generous to those who fought for him, awarding them with powerful titles, lucrative trade agreements, wealthy territories, and generous payments of gold and silver. As they marched forward, he also paid off the debts of his officers, who often lived on credit as they enjoyed the services of the camp followers. His generosity became legendary amongst the rank-and-file soldiers.

Soldiers also often fought just because they liked to fight! Macedonians were a martial society (similar to the famous Spartans) and fought with their neighbors for generations. Although peace was always promising, the pull of the fight was ingrained in the foundations of their society. (On a side note, Persians didn’t like to fight. Their preferred method of settling differences was using their vast wealth to undermine or bribe their enemy’s enemies. Perhaps their reticence to fight explains why the Macedonian ruler was so consistently successful in battle against a numerically superior force.)

Alexander’s promise and impact of a steady paycheque would diminish in its motivational effect over time. What good was money if you couldn’t go home and enjoy it while living in relative comfort? When soldiers suffered predictable wounds, this would also have an impact on their internal motivators. Fighting could be fun, but ultimately their bodies would start to rebel as they repeatedly paid the physical price. Alexander understood that he, therefore, needed to discover ways to further tap into the internal motivations of the individual soldiers.

Alexander’s personal internal motivation, his pothos (strong desire/passion), was to live a life of significance that would be equal to, or greater than, his legendary ancestors. He was aware that his internal motivations were specific to him and not necessarily shared by his military. Knowing that motivation was a force that could either diminish or increase over time, he creatively found ways to keep his army happy, moving, and inspired. And he accomplished this through the introduction of a very serious childhood pastime – games.

Games, Games, and Games

When he first crossed The Hellespont (modern-day Strait of Dardanelles), Alexander visited the ancient ruins of Troy. Visiting this site which by then had become a familiar and sacred tourist destination, was a popular move with the Greek and Macedonian soldiers. Everybody knew the legendary story of the battle of Troy, and the average soldier was now standing, in person, on the exact location where gods and mortals once battled. The story was widely known throughout the Mediterranean and in civilizations far beyond Greece’s traditional sphere of influence. It was ancient, even for the ancients! Standing on this site was a significant act for Alexander, his generals, and the frontline troops.

Standing amongst the ruins of Troy provoked the passions of the Greek/Macedonian army as they recollected and retold the great stories of their ancestors. It was a time of celebration but also sober reflection. Memories of Troy inspired them to believe that they were about to accomplish a feat that would be similarly commemorated for generations. They were about to become legends themselves! But before they set themselves to the difficult work of becoming legends, they needed to play with a purpose.

After making a generous offering to the goddess Athena and paying homage to the locals, Alexander organized a running race around the ruins for his soldiers. Knowing they would develop camaraderie over this friendly competition, he encouraged active and wholehearted participation from whomever was interested. When the winner crossed the line, like Olympic competitors, he was applauded, given a laurel, and personally presented with a reward of gold from Alexander himself. Even those who had lost celebrated enthusiastically with the winner. This competition became a template for Alexander’s organized morale boosts in Asia Minor and beyond.

This event was the first time Alexander used games to motivate, entertain, and encourage his army, but it certainly wasn’t the last.

He is routinely cited in historical records as having organized races, athletic games, and hunts to build fellowship amongst the troops and officers. They ultimately ended up having the same impact on some of our current team-building events in the world of business and education.

Interestingly, although he often offered these events after significant victories, many were also held just before conflicts that he believed would be particularly challenging. The intriguing timing demonstrates that he didn’t just use these events as celebratory occasions. Instead of exclusively focusing on pure drilling and direct preparation for the next battle, he used recreational activities to solidify an essential quality of an army or organization. The games created trust and were used to bond his soldiers to one another, their leader, and their ultimate purpose.

The Importance of Trust

Camaraderie is a French word that translates to “companionship, good fellowship.” For all the technological advances that were trademarks of Alexander’s army, they would only be effective if used by a force that had possessed a level of connectivity that went beyond cultural and ideological similarities. Greek warfare required cohesion between the units and the individuals. Between the strict training and the repeated games, Alexander recognized the powerful and potential of trust.

I recently worked with a former professional athlete who still faithfully followed his sport. We were having a conversation about championship NFL teams when he asked me what I thought the difference was between a good professional team versus a great professional team. I responded that I felt that it came down to talent and training. And although these are core elements, he introduced another T word, trust. He explained that as a player, whenever you take the field there needs to be a solid level of trust between you, your teammates, and the coaching staff. He shared very transparently that in the back of his mind, every time he played, a singularly dominant voice spoke to him:

“If I mess up this play, am I going to get benched indefinitely?” 

Based on his experience, he observed that teams who had a healthy level of trust between players, trainers, coaches, and management often functioned at a higher level. The players had to trust that the repeated drilling and practicing were for a purpose to be revealed in the next game and beyond. Great teams had a strong culture of assurance that was brought about by intentionally finding ways to build rapport and trust amongst those both on and off the field. Once trust had effectively been established (and consistently maintained), the incredibly talented and disciplined players worked with self-confidence and freedom. In short, he reflected that when there were high levels of trust between all components of the team, players were free to do what they do best, and regularly did.

Trust separates the good from the great, and this was the secret ingredient behind Alexander’s military accomplishments.

Recognition

In addition to all of the above, Alexander the Great further instituted a peer recognition program where he appointed judges after battles to distinguish and praise individual acts of bravery. Although the judges were the ones who nominated specific soldiers for this honor, the soldiers cast the votes.

Frontline soldiers were encouraged to yell and applaud if they agreed that their fellow soldiers had done something worthy of praise; not only did the troops enjoy celebrating the success of others, but it inspired them to mimic those same acts of courage for the next battle.

This simple act communicated to the frontline troops that they had a voice in an institution not known for validating subordinates. This initiative was significant to the troops and energized them to accomplish their own unique feats that would possibly capture the attention of their commanders or peers one day. Alexander’s small gesture to offer sincere recognition didn’t necessarily include increasing the soldier’s pay or increasing rank, but that was utterly irrelevant to the participants. Money may have been the basest tool of motivation; however, recognition became the most impactful and long-lasting method that Alexander used.

Proximity

The final and most crucial method that Alexander used to inspire his followers was maintaining proximity with them. Although he ruled most of the known world, he was, in line with Macedonian customs, considered nothing more than a general amongst generals. His propaganda machine may have encouraged his followers to see him as a demi-god, but he also presented himself as fully mortal. He was never hesitant to maintain closeness by mingling and serving closely among his soldiers.

In his youth, Alexander was trained in field medicine by his tutor Aristotle. He implemented this practical knowledge regularly as evidenced by the many accounts of him personally bandaging wounded soldiers and applying medical care to them after battles.

His tendency to interact with his troops in this way was highly unusual and non-normative behavior for any military leader at the time.

He was also an enthusiastic participant in the games and hunts he sponsored, and he relished opportunities to interact with his soldiers during these events. Not one for palace life, Alexander was more comfortable eating and drinking around the campfire alongside his officers with whom he was particularly close. This routine had a practical benefit, as it meant that he kept himself up-to-date on possible intrigues within the military, even ones which could potentially undermine his leadership. However, like his father, he knew that those around him enjoyed it when their commander ate, drank, and reveled with them. The Roman historian Arrian went so far as to suggest that Alexander liked attending the long drinking parties, not purely for the pleasure of consuming vast amounts of alcohol, but because he enjoyed being near the soldiers as much as they enjoyed his company.

Macedonians expected their military leaders to be at the forefront of military conflicts. Alexander took the commitment to put himself in harm’s way to whole new levels. He consistently and repeatedly placed himself in danger on the battlefield, which became a source of inspiration and motivation for his troops and their superiors to do the same for one another. 

When Motivation and Trust are Lost

Even with all of his success in keeping his troops motivated and moving, Alexander did have moments where he lost their trust. Ultimately the physical impact of crossing the treacherous landscapes, all while sustaining casualties, proved to be too much for his soldiers. After crossing the Indus river, he ran out of motivational credit with the troops, and they successfully insisted that it was time to return home… ten years after they had left Macedon.

This slight towards the megalomaniac leader was too much, and after he agreed to return to more familiar territory, he seemed to lose his motivational touch with the soldiers. After returning to Opis (near modern-day Baghdad), Alexander announced that he was sending 10,000 of his veterans back to Macedon in an act that most would think was an act of generosity and giving them what they wanted after all. However, during this announcement, he also clarified that he would be replacing those 10,000 Macedonians with 10,000 Persian soldiers. This policy shift was one of the critical leadership missteps of Alexander. The act insulted Macedonian honor and confirmed some of the whisperings in the camp that Alexander was now more Persian than Macedonian in his identity. The incident, known as the “Opis Mutiny,” was a sign of the deterioration of Alexander’s influence over his once-loyal soldiers, and signaled the beginning of the end of his success.

Lasting Legacy

Even with his many obvious flaws, Alexander the Great was a highly inspired leader who deeply understood the complexities of human motivation. His versatile approach to building trust and keeping his army’s morale high enabled him to successfully conquer lands then held by the world’s greatest superpower of the time. He was a genius, not only in the arena of armed conflict, but also in his insights into what made people tick. His strategic use of games, material rewards, recognition, and presence made him truly unique and inspirational. Alexander’s influence and legacy are described once again by the Roman historian, Arrian.

In other words, Alexander, the son of Philip, gave courage, filled others with hope, and removed anxiety, even in the face of danger. And this is the long-lasting legacy of this ancient leader and why the Romans, centuries later, referred to him as “The Great.”