True leaders prioritize the needs of their teams over their own
by protecting and empowering them to take action, and ensuring they operate in a safe and collegiate environment.
They view team members as family, and in so doing focus on their long-term development. This engaging and memorable book explains these concepts and more and is a great early leadership book. Key insights:
Leaders should cultivate a ‘circle of safety’ inside which workers are protected from external threats and free to work together to produce amazing results
Leaders should work set clear context and direction to their teams then give them the autonomy to deliver the results
Leaders should take a long-term perspective on leadership, people, and building their organizations
Leaders should put the needs of their teams ahead of their own interests – leaders should eat last
The perks of leadership accrue to the position, not the person temporarily filling the position
A company’s performance will reflect the company’s culture – culture matters a lot
A company’s culture will reflect the company’s leader(s) – leadership matters a lot
Leaders should demonstrate the highest integrity – anything less is corrosive to the organization
Enemies fight, but friends cooperate – find a way to reframe a trouble relationship in friendship terms
Leaders should focus on the people who do the work, not on managing the performance figures that result from the work
Book details
Full title: Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t. By Simon Sinek
Length: 276 pages, or 9 hours and 22 mins on Audible
Key insight 1: Cultivate a circle of safety
In 1943 Abraham Maslow introduced the world to the concept of a hierarchy of needs through his paper A Theory of Human Motivation. In the paper he introduced five needs – physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization – in the form of a pyramid such that earlier needs form the foundation of latter needs. See the diagram below.
Just as we needed to feel safe in our tribal groups – not only from outside threats – but also internal tribal threats; so it is for our workplaces. Sinek studied several companies and confirmed the need for safety applied at work as much as other areas of our lives.
Sinek talks about safety at work from the perspective of someone returning home from work:
“Returning from work feeling inspired, safe, fulfilled and grateful is a natural human right to which we are all entitled and not a modern luxury that only a few lucky ones are able to find.”
Sinek introduces the ‘circle of safety’ where employees can focus on working together to solve problems and deliver for customers.
Good attitudes inside the circle would be trust, support, welcoming, inclusiveness, honesty, training, appreciation, and belonging. Attitudes to be avoid would be isolation, intimidation, in-groups, exclusion, unachievable KPIs, punishment for mistakes, blame culture and office politics. More from Sinek:
“The whole purpose of maintaining the Circle of Safety is so that we can invest all our time and energy to guard against the dangers outside. It’s the same reason we lock our doors at night.”
“Truly human leadership protects an organization from the internal rivalries that can shatter a culture. When we have to protect ourselves from each other, the whole organization suffers. But when trust and cooperation thrive internally, we pull together and the organization grows stronger as a result.”
It is the leader’s role to establish the circle of safety. Failing to do so will see individuals switch their focus to self-preservation and the end of a unified team with all the benefits that follow.
Key insight 2: Autonomy matters
Sinek talks in detail about the experience of USN Captain David Marquet. Originally scheduled to take command of the high performing USS Olympia LA Class attack submarine, he was switched to the low performing USS Santa Fe at the last minute.
Marquet discovered through disheartening trial and error that his Sante Fe crewmembers would unthinkingly obey every order he gave. This carried grave inherent risk. If Marquet gave an erroneous order – because he hadn’t had time to study the details of the Santa Fe’s operation – the crew would follow it regardless of likely peril. In one example, Marquet gives the order to increase speed with the command “Ahead two thirds” to the Navigator, which he in turn related to the Helmsman. And quick as a flash nothing happened – the submarine continued with speed unchanged. Let’s let Sinek continue his tale:
“Helmsman,” Captain Marquet called out, “what’s the problem?” To which the young sailor replied, “Sir, there is no two-thirds setting.” Unlike every other submarine Captain Marquet had ever been on, the newer Santa Fe didn’t have a two-thirds setting on the battery-powered motor.
Captain Marquet turned to the navigator, who had been aboard for over two years, and asked him if he knew there was no two-thirds setting. “Yes sir,” replied the officer. Dumbfounded, Captain Marquet asked him, “Then why did you issue the order?” “Because you told me to,” said the officer.”
This is a big problem on an armed nuclear powered attack submarine. The late change of ship meant Captain Marquet wasn’t able to learn all the systems on the submarine to the normal standard – he needed to rely on the crew to pick up any mistakes, and yet they were blindly following his commands. Do you see this problem playing out in your workplace? Are you the Captain giving out incorrect decisions, the Navigator relaying them down the line knowing they are wrong, or the Helmsman trying to work out how to make sense of it all?
Marquet would later write “What happens when the leader is wrong in a top-down culture? Everyone goes off a cliff.” Marquet as leader needed everyone on the ship to think, not just to do. The story from Sinek again:
“Those at the top,” explains Captain Marquet, “have all the authority and none of the information. Those at the bottom,” he continues, “have all the information and none of the authority. Not until those without information relinquish their control can an organization run better, smoother and faster and reach its maximum potential.” The problem, Captain Marquet says, was that he was “addicted” to being in control. And the crew, as in so many organizations that follow a flawed interpretation of hierarchy, were trained for compliance.”
In response to this predicament Marquet decided to “give authority to those closest to the information.” He directed a change in the processes by which actions take place. The norm is where a sailor requests permission, such as “Request permission to submerge the ship,” and folks more senior approve the request. Marquet changed this to by requiring sailors to declare an intent before taking action, in this case “Sir, I intend to submerge the ship.” This was a huge psychological shift as it requires those closest to the information to think for themselves and work together as a team (see below).
How do we do this in our non-military workplaces – by giving authority to act to our teams. Giving authority (or autonomy) to front line staff also aligns with the esteem needs on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (level 4 of 5, see prior diagram). It increases the workforces’ engagement and ownership of tasks, and leads to an increased feeling of accomplishment. As Sinek notes in Leaders Eat Last, helping staff become passionate about work is key to excellence:
“Working hard for something we don’t care about is stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.”
Key insight 3: Take a long-term perspective on leadership, people, and building your organization
Sinek encourages us to think long term as leaders and contrasts Jack Welch as former CEO of General Electric (GE) and Jeff Sinegal, former CEO of Costco Warehouse. Welch was well known for managing quarterly earnings as part of prioritizing ‘shareholder value’ and treating staff as expendable – was evidenced by his policy to sack the bottom 10% of managers every year.
Enter Sinegal who famously said “Wall Street is in the business of making money between now and next Tuesday, we’re in the business of building an organization, an institution that we hope will be here 50 years from now.” How does Costco do this? Here are some policy choices from the CEO that reflect their commitment to both employees and long-term growth:
In 2005 Wall Street analysts labelled Sinegal as “too benevolent” for refusing to pass on increased healthcare costs to Costco employees.
In 2009 after sales fell 27% Costco approved a $1.50/hr wage increase spread out over three years with the CEO/CFO noting that workers needed extra help during a recession.
In the late 2010s, Costco was paying its employees around $20/hr when the Federal minimum wage was $7.25, and Walmart’s average wage was around $13/hr.
Costco even rallied behind calls to increase the minimum wage in 2013 stating that:
“Instead of minimizing wages we know it’s a lot more profitable in the long term to minimize employee turnover and maximize employee productivity, commitment, and loyalty.”
Sinek notes that the share price of Costco – seemingly the thing that GE’s Welch was so focused on – has grown steadily over the years; significantly outperforming GE’s boom-bust share price. Here’s Sinek again on Costco:
“As a result of this attitude, turnover at Costco is extraordinarily low – less than 10 percent for hourly employees. Whereas people go to work for Walmart because they want a job, people go to work at Costco because they want a future and a sense of belonging to a team. The company also prefers to promote its long-time employees to executive positions rather than hire from outside and almost never goes looking for business school graduates for managers.
According to Bloomberg Businessweek, more than two thirds of Costco’s warehouse managers started as cashiers and the like. This is one of the protections the leaders of Costco have embraced to ensure that the Circle of Safety they have spent so long building stays intact. That those who benefit from it will stick around to keep it strong. This is the value of loyalty.”
A couple of closing quotes from Sinek reinforces the key point in this section:
“Good leadership is like exercise. We do not see any improvement to our bodies with day-to-day comparisons. It’s only when we compare pictures of ourselves over a period of weeks or months that we can see a stark difference. The impact of leadership is best judged over time.”
“And when a leader embraces their responsibility to care for people instead of caring for numbers, then people will follow, solve problems and see to it that that leader’s vision comes to life the right way, a stable way and not the expedient way.”
Other insights from Leaders Eat Last
4. Why Leaders Eat Last. Sinek observed that in the Marines, the officers would eat only after ensuring that all the soldiers had been fed first. Such was their commitment to the team. From Sinek “The true price of leadership is the willingness to place the needs of others above your own. Great leaders truly care about those they are privileged to lead, and understand that the true cost of the leadership privilege comes at the expense of self-interest.”
5. Perks are for the role, not the person. Sinek notes the distinction between leadership roles and the people in those roles. Sinek notes a retiring General stating “All the perks, all the benefits and advantages you may get for the rank or position you hold, they aren’t meant for you. They are meant for the role you fill. And when you leave your role, which eventually you will, they will give the ceramic cup to the person who replaces you. Because you only ever deserved a Styrofoam cup.”
6. So goes the culture, so goes the company. Sinek the relationship between an individual’s character, and a company’s culture. “If character describes how an individual thinks and acts, then the culture of an organization describes the character of a group of people and how they think and act as a collective.” Culture matters a lot in organizations as with weak cultures, folks move away from doing the right thing, to doing what is right for them individually.
7. So goes the leader, so goes the culture. This is one of my favorite points from the book. If the leader looks past sexism, bullying, or unsafe practices in the workplace; then over time you’ll end up with a sexist, stressful, and unsafe workplace. As a leader you set the standard by the behavior you allow.
8. Integrity matters. A leader’s integrity is pervasive across the organization. A definition of integrity might include telling the truth, adherence to moral codes, and alignment of words and deeds. A leader caught short in say claiming travel allowances, will have questions asked of him in say allocating bonus. Sound integrity must be always and everywhere for a leader. Sinek noted “As the Zen Buddhist saying goes, how you do anything is how you do everything.”
9. Friends matter. Sinek discusses how partisan politics has become since the 1990s. Previously folks from the different political parties would socialize with each other out-of-hours and came to respect their different perspectives. Now it’s just open hostility, with the result that Congress is gridlocked. Sinek notes that ‘enemies fight; but friends cooperate.’ If you find yourself in a hostile situation look to reframe the relationship and find a basis for friendship.
10. Lead the people, not the numbers. Sinek notes that people cannot connect biologically with abstract concepts like numbers or targets. You might love your line manager, but can you feel warm about a 23.4% increase in sales for the year? Sinek notes that leaders who empower their teams outperform directive leaders over the long-term. Or more specifically, Sinek notes “Leaders are not responsible for the numbers; leaders are responsible for the people responsible for the numbers.”
Why you should read this book if you’re under 30
This is a great starting book on leadership for the emerging 20 something. It will help explain why your team is working so well, or perhaps not at all. If you’re in a mid or senior leadership position it will recalibrate your thinking on what is needed to succeed. Hint, its a focus on your personal integrity and your team members welfare, through the lens of long-term people and organizational growth.
Relationship to other Eruditeable books
#1 – The Algebra of Happiness. In this book Galloway briefly touches on the decision to remain a long-term employee of a good company, or start your own company as an entrepreneur. Success in either choice will depend on your ability to learn good leadership skills.
#3 – Atomic Habits. This book provides guidance on how to turn your newly identified leadership behaviors into regular practices through good habits.
#7 – Emotional Ability. This book will help you improve your emotional reaction to potentially difficult and stressful events in the world; which should you choose the leadership pathway will like happen at an increased rate.
#12 – Loserthink. This book is about logical thinking and framing problems in solvable ways; essential skills for an emerging or established leaders.
#16 – The Personal MBA. This book is focused on covering the core topics related to running a successful organization; topics which the competent leader will need to grasp.
#17 – Crucial Conversations. As a leader you will often be placed in difficult situations requiring you to have difficult conversations with clients, staff, or your boss. This book will help you with those conversations.
#19 – Gifts Differing. This book will help you realize that some of the interpersonal conflict you experience is actually differences in style not substance; and thus easier to resolve. It will also help you identify people’s strengths and weaknesses, and be far more tolerant of their differences.
#23 – The Lean Startup. In the event you decide your leadership journey involves you starting your own business, this book will help make it as successful as possible.
Book resources
About the author
Simon Sinek is a British-born American author and motivational speaker. He is the author of five books, including Start With Why (2009), Leaders Eat Last (2014), and The Infinite Game (2019). Raised in the UK, South Africa, and Hong Kong before settling in the USA, Sinek has a BA in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University. Sinek began his career at the New York ad agencies Euro RSCG and Ogilvy & Mather. He later launched his own business, Sinek Partners.
As a motivational speaker, Sinek has given talks at The UN Global Compact Leaders’ Summit, and at TEDx conferences. Sinek is also an instructor of strategic communications at Columbia University, and is an adjunct staff member of the RAND Corporation. Sinek started Optimism Press, which is an imprint of Penguin Random House.
External links
Youtube video