Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't
by Simon Sinek
June 28, 2020 — July 1, 2020
Los Angeles, CA
Inspiring and invoking, but admittedly the book gets repetitive. It’s simple, if you want to be a great leader, care for others more than you care for yourself and dedicate your life to helping them grow. That can summarize the book, being selfless and providing the world with doses of oxytocin.
Leaders are those who lead without care for recognition, awards, or a higher respect because they’re the leader. They are those who treat everyone they lead or work with like they are valued and can be trusted. We need to start allowing people to feel comfortable, because when people are in fear they are less likely to be as productive or committed and end up delivering low quality before they eventually leave. One can only feel committed when they feel like they are valued and safe with you. We have to realize that in whatever we do, we are in this together for our own survival, we know we love something or someone when we give them the power to destroy us and they don’t use it. One must realize that selfish people are scary, our lives should be committed to making others rise. Together through hardships we become close and feel it was the greatest times of our lives, together we rise to the top.
We are respected and valued as leaders, only because we are trusted that we will provide care and value for our people; we are only put on a higher horse and given a louder voice because of our leadership positions, not because we actually are special as individuals. Simply acting the part of a leader is not enough, status is biological, we have to earn it to feel it. We have to be close to those we serve, not looking at them as numbers, but as people. Not to sound like a dictator-like “Father of the Nation,” but we should look at our people like they are our children, providing them with resources and safety, focusing on their well-being and being determined to raise them to happiness and success (you wouldn’t fire or hurt your children, so don’t hurt your people. When it comes to doing the right thing we must believe in a higher moral authority that cannot be reached and will lead us, in my case, this would be God who I believe is the only entity that is truly above me and will remain that way.
Our personal agendas to reach power should be based on ensuring that we create a great ecosystem to allow people to thrive, while focusing on ensuring that it will continue to thrive long after we are no longer in power. I was particularly inspired by the case of James Sinegal of Costco who cared more about his people than the organization’s profit, in return, he created a company that will last long, has people that are committed to growing it and staying in it, and in return has become one of the largest and most successful companies.