I was always taught that they reflect what you project. So if you’re high morale, it shows. If high energy is pumping through your veins, the passion exudes all the way to the other side of the table. If you’re beaten down and apathetic, the outsider looking in will recognize the mush. Whether you’re a leader trying to create momentum within your team or you’re a salesperson trying to create momentum in a deal, it all starts with your attitude and the manifestation of your morale.
When momentum is thumping, morale is naturally high. Why? Because who doesn’t like to win? When morale is low, the pace slows, the results falter and the quality of work deteriorates. Like sickness, you have to diagnose the root cause of low morale because treating symptoms tends to be temporary patchwork.
If you look at the interdependencies of morale and momentum, they need each other:
High morale often fuels momentum (teams push harder when energized).
High momentum reinforces morale (success breeds confidence).
Low in either drags the other down over time.
If you look at the cross-sections of Morale and Momentum, here are nine (9) functional results.
High Morale
Energized but frustrated — people are excited but don’t see results yet. Risk of burnout if momentum doesn’t build.
Steady optimism — team feels aligned, progress is visible, confidence grows.
Flywheel effect — culture of winning, people feel unstoppable, morale reinforces momentum.
Medium Morale -
Going through motions — some motivation, but stalled progress drains energy.
Resilient progress — people feel “good enough,” can push through obstacles.
Momentum-driven lift — even if morale isn’t at peak, visible wins pull spirits higher.
Low Morale -
Stuck & discouraged — no energy, no progress; risk of attrition.
Frustrated push — momentum exists, but negativity erodes sustainability.
Unsustainable sprint — momentum masks morale issues; eventually morale collapse kills progress.
As a leader, if you think like a coach, each cross section above has a play to run to read the defense and play to the team’s belief systems.
In the HIGH morale phase, you have to show appreciation and encouragement to keep moving fast. You have to reinforce positive behaviors even if the results aren’t there yet. An emphasis on the positive inputs will serve the team well as momentum eventually creates the outcomes. In a high morale and high momentum environment, you can often feel invincible. You are invincible.
In the Medium morale phase, you have to find anchor points, small wins or identify the individuals that can lead from within. Typically if you find medium morale you’ll find a spectrum of emotions among a group of people. You have to find those with the unwavering commitment and ask them to be your partner in pulling the overall group up with you. Nothing changes morale more than a personal win and helping those people who are ‘going through the motions’ find a win can quickly create momentum and thrust them into a state of higher morale.
In the low morale phase, you have problems. You have quiet quitting, you have passive aggression, and you have a virality problem. There will be people that look for the exit signs, or worse, those that even mock the positive anchor points (i.e. the people that are still willing to give it their all) or show Schadenfreude. When morale is low, acknowledging and getting to the root cause is key. Momentum, recognition and appreciation are three major ingredients to remedy the sickness no matter what the underlying reason might be.
At the end of the day, morale and momentum aren’t abstract concepts—they’re the pulse of every team and every deal. One without the other eventually breaks down, but when both are aligned, they create a compounding effect that’s hard to stop. As a leader, your job isn’t just to spot where your team falls on the grid, but to call the right play to move them forward. Build momentum with small wins, protect morale with recognition and encouragement, and you’ll find that performance doesn’t just rise—it accelerates.