Simon Sinek – The Concept of Why
In Marie Forleo’s interview with author Simon Sinek relating to the topic of leadership, he posed this simple question – Why?
Leadership
Simon defined leadership as putting the lives of others before our personal interests. He also suggested that leaders are about taking care of who is in your charge, not being in charge. So, why is the leadership role important? Right now our world is facing a work/life imbalance which is forcing a concerning question to be asked – How safe do you feel when you work? Simon advocated that you can’t lead a company itself, you can only lead the people in the company and that the only variable within an organization is the environment. He says that we are social animals and respond to the environment that we are in which means that when we get the environment right, humans will do remarkable things. Leaders are in charge of creating those environments. In creating positive environments, leaders should consider the idea of brothers and sisters instead of coworkers and colleagues.
Joy
Simon shared a moving story about his time in Afghanistan and how his experiences helped him gain his joy back. In his interview, he stressed that we are designed to care for each other and that people often confuse excitement with joy. A leader cannot feel safe unless the people in which they are leading feel safe first. This theory lead Simon to elaborate on his belief that we call someone a leader not because they are in charge, but because they went first. Being a leader, making sacrifices for others, and going in first lead Simon to experience real joy.
Why Not?
My main takeaway from this interview is that in order to be a leader, you must use your strengths to create better environments for others which will result in success and joy. I think that when Simon posed his beginning question ‘Why?’, he was guiding us towards asking ourselves, why don’t we step up to become leaders in our community, workplace, or even home?
To listen in on the whole interview, click here.