Book of Choice

Presentation
Atoosa Benji
Fall 2019
“Leaders Eat
Last”
By Simon Sinek
www.amazon.com
Simon Sinek www.commons.wikimedia.org
 Book’s Message/Thesis
Organizations That Achieve the Greatest Success...

● Have leaders that provide cover from above and people who look out for each
other on the ground
● Have employees who provide empathy towards each other, have high loyalty
and low turn-over of employment
● Leaders who prioritize the well-being of all people, and in return, employees
give their all to help the organization, and each other advance
Hayssen-Sandiacre- A company in distress
Employees start working at machine at sound of
bell, break bell, lunch bell, end of day bell

Pay phones to make calls

Stand in line to get machine parts replaced

through a locked “cage” system

Low respect for individuality

Low morale

High machine breakdowns and repair costs

www.commons.wikimedia.org
Bob Chapman, CEO takes over
Barry-Wehmiller
Removed bell system, trusted employees to put
in a full day’s work
Took out pay-phones, replaced with free phones
that employees could use at any time
Left supply cage open so machine workers
would not have to stand in line- “honor system”
Workers on the factory floor had same freedom
as executive in the offices above
The result:
People acting like family towards each other
Feeling a sense of belonging
Caring about company profits
Taking pride in machinery- less breakdowns
People transferring vacation days to an
employee in need
“
RESULT:
Company revenue increases
from $55 million to $95 million in
the period when Chapman took
over.

No debt

No need for expensive

consultants

No layoffs

www.pixabay.com
The fact about human mammals...
“Biology plus Anthropology”

“If certain conditions are met and the people inside organizations feel safe among
each other, they will work together to achieve things none of them could have
achieved alone”
www.kent.ac.uk
Aesop’s Fable- The 4 Oxen and the Lion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RuA6NCPbKc
Sinek’s Circle of Safety
It is the leader’s

primary goal to

look out for the safety

of those inside their

Circle- thus

“Leaders Eat Last”

Inside the Circle of Safety
● Feel valued by colleagues and peers
● Feel cared-for by superiors
● Leaders care about us and want us to succeed
● Feel a sense of belonging
● When we feel we are safe, communication takes place more effectively, free
exchange of information take place.
● Boots on the ground often hear and see things that the execs at the top don’t

Trust, collaboration and innovation result when everyone feels like they belong in
the system and that they matter- as a human, not just a number
2 very sad, true stories
During the Arab Spring, an estimated 100,000
Syrians were killed by the Syrian military, 1500
in a single, chemical attack- many, innocent
civilians.
Jane P was driving home when she witnessed a
horrific accident. She approached the young,
injured driver who was bleeding profusely
through a badly broken leg. She began CPR
while awaiting paramedics.
Paramedics stabilized the young woman and
took her to the hospital.
Jane P checked on the progress of the woman
and found she had died shortly after arrival to
the hospital, She was on the way to her
graduation ceremony from High School
Which story hurt you more?
www.pexels.com
Sinek’s words
It’s one thing to use big numbers for money or material goods, but when we use
big numbers to represent human beings, our empathy begins to falter.

i.e 12,000 people were laid-off from GM last year

 OBLITERATE ABSTRACTION

SOME RULES FROM SIMON…..

Rule 1
KEEP IT REAL- BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER

In a virtual world, we often connect people via screens. We live through our “likes”
on social media. This is not a real world. Plan events to meet people in person.
We are social creatures who need live-time together to bond and feel part of.
www.maxpixel.net
Rule 2
KEEP IT MANAGEABLE

According to Professor Dunbar, British anthropologist at Oxford University, people

cannot maintain more than about 150 close relationships. Keep the company
small. Executives are more likely to look after employees and employees are
more likely to look after each other if the group size is smaller.
Rule 3
MEET THE PEOPLE YOU HELP
www.needpix.com

You will have better results if you meet the people you plan to help. People are
not theoretical concepts, they are beings with a lived experience.
Rule 4
GIVE PEOPLE TIME, NOT JUST YOUR MONEY

Offer time and energy to your subordinates. Not just your money. Oxytocin and
serotonin levels rise when we are of service. They enhance bonding and make
people feel safe around each other. This safety, in turn yields a stronger
company.
Rule 5
BE PATIENT-
www.pixabay.com

Establishing bonds take time. In a world of instant gratification, this can be hard to
swallow. To withstand storms together in a company, those bonds must be
strong. They take time to form, don’t rush the process
A Word About Multi-Tasking www.pixabay.com
NON-EXISTENT!!
According to Brain Researchers
We are not capable of “multitasking”, rather, we switching back and forth between
doing several things- “mental juggling”.

“Shifts between tasks can cost as much as 40% of someone’s productive time”

FOCUS ON 1 TASK AT A TIME

ICE-BUCKET CHALLENGE
To achieve systemic change or a sense of deep
fulfilment, we require, “ a single-minded ongoing
commitment of time and energy”
SUICIDE
www/maringapost.com.br
Some Facts from the NIH
● Suicide is the leading cause of death among ages 15-24
● Between 1999 and 2014 the rate of suicide among girls between 10 and 14
tripled.
● Girls spend more time on social media than boys

Compare and contrast

Feeling less than

Feeling outside the “Circle of Safety” - out of control, abandoned, left for dead-
Primitive Mammalian Brain
 OXYTOCIN
www.commons.wikimedia.org
In Oxytocin We Trust
Presence of Oxytocin helps fight withdrawal symptoms in addicts, some evidence
states that the presence of enough oxytocin may prevent physical dependence
from happening to begin with!

Oxytocin releases through service and selflessness reduce the toxicity of the
workplace

Maintains Circle of Safety when addiction to dopamine is reduce and oxytocin is

increased- people more likely to look out for one another, stronger bonds of trust,
more likely to take risks to do the right thing. “Cortisol can not work its black
magic when we have someone by our side”.
Applicable to midwifery? Absolutely!! www.maxipixwl.net
Business Ideas Where Leadership is Vital
Starting my own co-op midwifery practice

A full-service wellness center where professionals come together to provide

services to birthing people and new families i.e PT, Counselors, therapists,
acupuncturists, nutritionists

An educational center where classes are taught to birthing people as well as to

student midwives i.e skills

A center housing an auditorium where documentaries and movies can be shown

to the public and speaker engagements are frequent.
My Practice/Business Goals
● Build trust and camaraderie among my team
● Create feeling of family and Circle of Safety
● Be a true mentor/preceptor who talk the talk and walks the walk
● Meet the people we help
● Build a team who has a single purpose
● Balance
● Fairness
● Lead by example
Company Leaders
● Keep meetings free of cell phones
● Take notes on paper versus computers
● Teach leadership
● Teach How to Give and Receive Feedback
● Take advantage of Millenials i.e. mentor and support, lead by example, take a
chance on them, talk about failure, let them fall, teach “human” skills, help
them love themselves. They are the leader of the future
A True Leader in Midwifery…..

Recognizes that it is not through competition that we

thrive, but rather through a shared purpose

Is invested in training new midwives with no jealousy

or territorialism

Continues to provide help to the community and to

fellow midwives not only monetarily, but also buy