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I normally read books around personal development topics and the world of business and innovation. Luckily, I came upon a book called Leader Eat Last by Simon Sinek and this book is no exception, and I am glad that I picked it up sporatically.
The book is all about leadership and how to be a better leader. The title comes from the United States Marine Corps around how the highest ranking officer of the group always eats last when it comes to meal time. This is so that they make sure that the people he is leading are in the best shape and that they get enough to eat.
Even though this is a very great vision of leadership, Simon Sinek provides us a more useful appraoch for the rest of the world who is not in the military. It was amazing to watch all the examples of how this leadership quality can extend into the modern business world to make us successful, and more productive teams.
Another point of information for the book surrounds the “circle of safety”. The circle of safety is a theory of back in the 40’s and 50’s how the closer you were to the boss, the closer you are to the inner circle and the more protected you are from potentially being laid off or fired. On the other side, if you are not close to the inner circle then you may be the first one to be let go during a downturn.
Sinek advises leaders that they need to keep the the circle of safety as strong as possible and instead of there being one inner circle, that there is instead a strong sense of safety for everyone in the company (your circle). By working to create a stronger circle of safety, everyone in the company will be in better moods and not stress about the possibility of their job always being weighed as an option.
The other interesting science behind Simon Sinek’s book is the 4 chamicals that are naturally created in our bodies. Those are:
- Endorphin: the pain-masking chemical
- Dopamine: the goal achieving chemical
- Serotonin: the leadership chemical
- Oxytocin: the chemical of love
This book gives you many different ways that the bad chemicals of Endorphon’s and Dopamine that wreak havoc on a company and how if a leader looks for ways to increase the amount of serotonin and ioxytocin then they have a much better chance of survival not only in the bad times but also help grow a strong foundation for the company to have into the future.
I think this book is an easy read, and a must read for millenials who are entering the workforce as well as for people who have been in the workforce much longer. It gives you the sense of different ways to look at your company, and how you can help make a difference and becoming a “leader” without having a manager or other high ranking title.
Keep the Seotonin and Oxytocin flowing!
