ISSUE 152 : Jan/Feb - 2002 - Australian Defence Force Journal

Letters to the EditorOvercoming Learned HelplessnessDear Editor,I read with interest the article “OvercomingLearned Helplessness” by James Warn in yourSeptember/October Journal. While I fully agreethat “leadership and a performance orientatedHR system are vital ingredients for overcominglearned helplessness”, I think the author shouldalso have included two more importantingredients.Firstly, for Defence as a whole to work witha sense of purpose, all Programs should beworking with the same collective sense of selfefficacy.It is very disheartening to be activelyinvolved in a Program that is embarking on aLeadership and Cultural Change program, onlyto be laughed at by other Programs’ staffwhose leadership does not see the need for thischange. We need a program for change thathas the full support of all Defence Organisationheads.Secondly, it is very difficult to overcome asense of helplessness when your efforts toachieve are regularly smothered by mountainsof baffling bureaucracy. Perhaps theovercoming of learned helplessness will see anattitude of cooperation, instead of job andcomfort zone protection.I genuinely hope that in the future DefenceHeads enact the positive ideas expressed by MrWarn in his article so we can become an evenbetter Defence team.M.J. KellySQNLDROICAOSF Townsville