Hi Martin,
I appreciate you trying to help Leaders out. Unfortunately, we run into a couple problems (though I wish they were as easily solved as you suggest).
As far as badges are concerned, we've considered many times, letting people self-award or letting coordinators award them. What we run into each time is that each project has specific requirements, and so a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work. And if all coordinators could award badges then a coordinator from project A could award a badge to buddy wanting to join project B without actually notifying project B that they have a new member that needs looked after. I wouldn't say that trying to improve things or open it up to coordinators somehow is off the table. We just have a lot of other things we're working on right now and this isn't anywhere near the top of the list. Awarding badges is one of the easiest things for a Leader to do, so it's not common that it isn't done (but I do know some Leaders fall behind or do it on a schedule so it only happens once a week or so).
More Leaders would be great! That won't happen quickly, though, either. We expect a lot of our Leaders, who are all just volunteers like the rest of you, and they have to be able to rise above any conflict graciously, communicate with other members clearly, and know WikiTree inside and out, from style guidelines to category usage and solving problems with members. We try to bring some up each month, but we also have Leaders retire regularly to focus on family or their own research. We've edged up gradually, and will continue to do so, but it's far better that we have quality over quantity, just like our profiles here.