ASK THE EXPERT
SIMON SINEK
BY MAE MAÑACAP-JOHNSON
SIMON SINEK’S morning ritual includes being reminded by a note on his
mirror that reads: “Today you will inspire people.” He does this
because he thinks it’s important to be reminded daily of the
“why” in life. “Being reminded helps set the tone for the rest
of my day,” he says.
The author of bestsellers like Start With Why and Leaders
Eat Last—and his latest Together We Are Better—challenges
us with new ways of thinking about our purpose and our
definition of leadership. In this chat with Pulse, he gets down to
the root of what true leaders should be.
Pulse: How do you define innovation?
Simon Sinek: Innovation is the application of technology or
engineering to solve a problem. Simply adding a motor to
something doesn’t make it innovative.
P: You pointed out the need to start
with “why” in any endeavor in life.
Can you expound on this?
S: The thing that keeps us inspired and
gives us the ability to inspire those
around us is giving people something to
belong to, some purpose, cause or belief.
Think about the excitement you’ve had
when you had your first job out of school.
After your fifth job or working in the same
company for seven or eight years, it may
not be as exciting anymore. The cause of excitement doesn’t have
to be gone if the reason why we showed up is bigger than us. The
reality is, what actually inspires human beings on a biological level
is the feeling being involved on something bigger than ourselves,
to contribute and feel valued and valuable, whatever that
endeavor is.
P: Of all the findings in your research about leadership,
what stood out the most to you?
S: That we don’t have a standard definition of what leadership is.
Some people think leadership means rank or promotion, or being
in charge. But there is a real definition of leadership and that
definition is grounded in biology. Leadership is not about being in
charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in our charge. It’s
like being a parent. Everybody knows that being a parent is not
about being the boss or making all the decisions. Being a parent
is about being responsible for the growth of
another human being. That’s exactly the
same thing as leadership.
P: It’s quite interesting that you use
“family” as a metaphor in defining
leadership, especially since “family”
seems to be rather overused in today’s
work environment.
S: Yes, I hear a lot of executives who say
their team members are their family. But
are you really treating them like family? You don’t give up your
child for adoption if he or she gets bad grades, do you? Instead,
you get them a tutor. So why is it that when someone has
performance issues, our immediate reaction is to lay that person
off. Why don’t you get the person some coaching? Everybody has
performance issues at work for all sorts of reasons. Maybe they are
having struggles at home or maybe someone in the family is sick.
So why is it that someone walks into the office and starts yelling,
“This is the third time we’ve talked. If you don’t pick up your
numbers, there’s not going to be a job for you.” How about
saying: “This is the third time we’ve talked. Your numbers are still
down. Are you okay?” We talk of big game, but we don’t act the
same way.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 70)
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PULSE
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September 2016