SIMON SINEK:

LEADERS EAT LAST;

WHY SOME TEAMS PULL TOGETHER
AND OTHERS DONT.

PME 803 Organizational Leadership

Executive Book Summary / Luisa Denisia Perez

SYNOPSIS:
ABOUT SIMON:
Leaders eat last by Simon Sinek is one of many books that this
Simon Sinek is the author of author has written on the topic of leadership. Leaders eat last
the bestselling book Start
offers a look into Simons view on what effective leadership
with Why he is known for his
should look like. He believes that too many people today cannot
optimism and knowledge of
really say I love my job and that the reason behind this is
leadership and how it
ineffective leadership. He makes us long for a world where
manifests itself diverse
everyone is inspired and excited to go to work and feels fulfilled
workplaces. Simon shares his
and valued as an important member of a team. Sinek illustrates
ideas with organizations such
as large companies,
his key points in this book by narrating different true stories and
government and the military. memories he has throughout the years and applying them to his
His TEDTalk based on his own thoughts.
bestselling novel is the second
most popular video of all time It seems unfair that finding fulfillment at
on TED.com.
work is like winning the lottery; that only a
Visit:
few lucky ones get to feel valued by their
www.startwithwhy.com
organization, to feel like they belong.

WHY THIS BOOK?

Before choosing a book for this executive summary, I completed

research online, to not only find a good read, but one that was
relatable to my own work situation. I work with amazing
individuals who come from diverse backgrounds that have so
many rich experiences to share. This however is not always
reflected in our daily interactions with eachother. The line in the
title why some teams pull together and others dont really
spoke to me because although we all have so much to offer we
Simon Sinek operate more as individuals rather than one cohesive unit. In my
own opinion, we dont work. This book peaked my interest into
what we can do to mend this.
 KEY CONCEPTS:
1. Circle of safety:
There are a few Key Conepts that stuck with me throughout the book.
The first was Sineks Circle Of Safety. Sinek begins the book by
desbring Johnny Bravo a Marine who selflessly risks his life to save
that of his fellow Marines. Sinek explains that the circle of safety is
based on leaving stressors such as feelings of intimidation, isolation,
feeling dumb or useless outside of the organization. A good leader
should elimintate the threats and stressors in the group by giving
people a sense of belonging, being empathic and creating trust, thus
Circle of Safety; Simon Sinek
enacting the circle of safety. The circle of safety aims to create stable,
trusting and confident teams were people work together for a
common goal.

When a circle of safety is strong, we naturally share ideas, share intelligence

and burdens of stress.

Become more willing Creates more stable,

Employees feel safe to share talents, confident and
strengths, insights productive teams

2. Happy Chemicals:
Sinek spends a lot of time in this book talking about the different happy chemicals our brain and our body
release and how they relate to leadership. These chemicals are:

Endorphines, the pain masking chemical

Dopamine, the goal achieving chemical
Serotonin, the leadership chemical
Oxytocin, the love chemical
These chemicals are separated into two categories, selfish
and selfless chemicals. The selfish chemicals are our
endorphins and dopamine, the function of these chemicals is
for us to complete tasks. The selfless chemicals serotonin
and oxytocin work to help social bonds, collaboration and
team work. Sinek goals into great detail about each
chemical in the book. To illustrate how these work, Sinek offers
an example of a corporation that suffered many blows due
to the recession. They began to fix their problem by laying
people off, but this did not work. Instead, the company
enacted a rule that employees must take a four week,
unpaid vacation per year. This helped the company
financially and saved peoples jobs in the process.
 3. Long vs. Short Term Leadership:

Customers will never love a company until its employees love it

first.

In a nutshell, Sinek really focuses on the effectiveness of long term leadership. Meaning, that leaders who look
more into the long term, are more efficient leaders. He describes short term leaders are selfish, due to the fact
that they are more corncened with short term gain rather than the long term health of the company or the
people in it. Sinek compares the CEOs of GE and Costco The CEO of GE was a short term leader in that he put
his own best interests before anything else. He fired many people in order to balance his book and make
profits. In comparison, Costcos CEO, was looking for ways to make his employees a better quality of life. His
focus was helping employees, by giving them raises and not laying people off. Costco profits stayed
predictable and employees happy.

QUOTES ON LEADERSHIP:

Every single employee is someones son or someones daughter. Like a parent, a leader of a
company is responsible for their precious lives.

To a social animal, trust is like lubrication. It reduces friction and and created condictions much
more condusive to performance, just like putting the snowmobile back in the snow.

When a leader is able to personally know everyone in the group, the responsibility for their care
becomes personal. The leader starts to see those for whom they are responsible for as if they were
their own family.

Human beings have thived for fifty years thousand years not because we are drived to serve
ourselves but because we are inspired to serve others.
 CLASSROOM CONNECTION
While reading though Leaders Eat Last, I found it difficult to pinpoint one leadership theory that
completely embodies Sineks stance on effective leadership. After some research and connecting the
dots, I found that Authentic leadership mirrors Sineks views best. Northouse (2016) describes authentic
leadership approach through five describing qualities. They are;

Purpose

Heart
The Values

Authenic
Leader
Self- Relationship
Discipline

Model adapted from Northouse fig. 9.1. Authentic Leadership Characteristics

Authentic leadership relies on a reciprical process between a leader and their follower. Trust,
values, relationship, purpose, heart and self-discipline are the basis of authentic leadership
and I believe of Sineks views on leadership. The bulk of Sineks message in this book is based
on the building of trust and establishing connections between the leader and their follower.
Sinek believes that people who feel trusted and valued by their leaders naturally become
more prodictive and invested in the company.
 CRITICAL EVALUATION:
I found this book to be a very interesting read. What stood out to me the most was Sineks description of
our brain and bodies happy chemicals. Sineks breakdown of the four chemicals was detailed and its
focus was on leadership. The way it relates to leadership was incredible. I also really enjoyed how Sinek
used real life examples of leadership in his book. This illustrated his points well and gave a basis to
understanding his points of view. When using his real life exmaples he also compared both good and bad
leadership qualities. When shedding light on bad leadership, like the CEO of GE, he always paired it will a
good example. Like the CEO of Costco. Working in school, I also found many of the examples with big
companies, governement and military to be far off from education, thus finding it hard to relate it back to
me personally every step of the way. Personally, I really enjoy Sineks approach to leadership. Like him, I
value trust and passion and also believe empathy should be well rooted within leadership. That being
said, in the world we live in today, and all the pressure to be profitable and make money, I feel that this
approach may be left to the wayside.

LETS TALK!
What do you think of Sineks approach to leadership?
Is authentic leadership really happening today? Or is it merely something we strive for?
Think of the circle of safety and its qualities. Do you feel safe at work?
What do you think the advantages of Authentic leadership are? What about the pitfalls?

CHECK THIS OUT:

Check out Sineks popular TED Talks at the link: Simon Sinek: Ted Talks

Visit his website below: Simon Sinek - Official Website

Citations:
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (67h ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Sinek, S, (2014). Leaders Eat Last; Why some teams pull together and others dont. Portfolio Penguin.