Simon Sinek has written multiple books about leadership. He has many YouTube postings about his work and several TED talks (see an example here). The second edition of his book Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't discusses what makes an effective leader. Above is my executive summary of his conclusions. Early in the book he makes this statement:
"Those who work hardest to help others succeed will be seen by the group as the leader or the "alpha" of the group. And being the alpha- the strong, supportive one of the group, the one willing to sacrifice time and energy so that others may gain- is a prerequisite for leadership." (p. 59)
He makes frequent comparisons to the structure of the family. In a functional family the parents are willing to sacrifice for their children. Sinek would argue that truly great leaders are the same. They see the people they lead as members of their family. When leaders fail to do this, "prioritizing performance over people," (p 116) he argues undermines the free market economy. He stands up against the Milton Freidman's concept that corporate structure is all about performing for the sake of the shareholders to argue that it is all about the employees and customers. When the shareholders are the people to impress, people get fired in the tight times, decreasing the company's long term ability to be successful. Now this is what our current culture seems to be all about- short term success. Why do we not provide intensive antenatal interventions when we know that it results in lower levels of special education referrals, drop outs and incarcerations? It costs money and will not reap rewards for years. We are willing to sacrifice long term success for the short term cost savings.
He sees the lie in the statement- it is all about the customer's safety when "if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence" (p. 164-5). On one level we know that it is not about the customer or the employee's health and well being. It is about the giant dollar sign in the sky. The problem with this program is that while it may lead to short term profit, it results in long term losses- people leave (willingly or unwillingly), they are not willing to put it all in, they back bite and sabotage each other, they break the rules and laws until they are caught and protest extensively instead of quickly owning mistakes before they are caught. Not a recipe for long term success. Look at Enron or the banking disaster of 2008. He quotes a general saying "taking responsibility for one's actions must happen at the time you perform your actions, not at the time you get caught" (p. 186). If you wait, your company loses, and sometimes someone goes to jaiap He sees the disaster of golden parachutes. If the CEO is paid what he is paid to make the company successful, then when things tank, he should leave with no severance. He has been paid for his work. Corporate contracts need to reflect success- not failure rewards.
"Leadership is not about being right all the time ...It is a responsibility that hinges almost entirely on character. Leadership is about integrity, honesty and accountability" (p. 187). When we look at things in this light. Our politicians tend to fall woefully short. They are in it to be reelected. They do not take a stance based on morals or what is good for their constituents. It is about money. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not make many constituents happy, but it was the right thing to do. Upstanding politicians were willing to take the hit for the greater good. How many of our current leaders would be willing to do so?
Finally a note on legacy. When a leader leaves his organization- be it a governmental position, principalship or business leader- what shape do they leave it in. Can it carry on the good things that were happening? Good leaders train up their people to be good leaders. To seamlessly fill in when they leave. Responsibility and blame are shared. "A leader's legacy is only as strong as the foundation they leave behind that allows others to advance the organization in their name" (p. 211). Your legacy is your people, not your stuff.
Of note, Sinek talks about selfish and selfless neurotransmitters. He compares cell phones and social media to other addictive substances. They increase dopamine, a selfish neurotransmitter that makes you feel good. It is addictive. Problematically, however, if you are addicted to it, you are not likely to be successful at other things. We need to teach people to put it down and focus. I see this especially with our children. Parents think they should be able to be in touch with their children 24/7, but is that good for either the parent or the child? No. We need to teach some delay in response in order to increase our ability to interact with people and release selfless neurotransmitters that make us feel good because we are sharing, cooperating and helping others. Those are the ones that drive positive action in our society. He advocates having cell phone and digital device free meetings. Notes can be taken by hand (the better for processing and remembering) and transcribed if necessary. Enabling the entire team to focus without distractions is essential for maximizing success. No we are not, as a species, good at multitasking and we should not allow young people to promote that concept.
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