Follow The Leader: Simon Sinek

I was introduced to Simon Sinek’s ideas when I first became an assistant general manager with Boston Pizza. It was my first management job and my boss at the time emailed me this TED talk. His ideas made me see job as a manager differently.  Listening to Simon talk inspires and motivates me to grow my leadership skills. According to Simon’s website (www.startwithwhy.com/simonsinek) this is the impact he wants to leave on society: “My WHY is to inspire people to do what inspires them so that, together, we can change our world for the better.”

The concept Simon is most known for is the Golden Circle which is explained in the video above. He believes that the most successful people do not get that way by talking about what they are doing but instead by talking about the why behind what they do. The best leaders communicate the why behind their organizations goals. Personally, I have found a lot of success in this approach.  Last year I was struggling to motivate my employees to elevate the service they were giving our customers. I had been promoted to general manager and my frustrations were sky high. I re-watched this video 3 times. Then I drafted a message to my staff explaining my why. My why was simple: To be the best restaurant in our town by delivery amazing service, delicious food, and great drinks. Our small town was only 3000 people with about 10000 in the surrounding area. We were the first large chain restaurant in town and we were failing miserably. Complaints were coming in constantly, staff were disengaged, and I thought I was going to lose my job. I sent out the message, rallied a few other people who believed as strongly as I did that we could achieve this and we started talking. Everyday we talked about being the best by providing better service then the day before. And within weeks things changed. In 3 months our restaurant moved from 274th rank (out of almost 400 Boston Pizza’s) to 33rd. This rank is based off dine-times, complaints, and employee engagement. Staff engagement improved and people started applying because word-of-mouth was that we were a great place to work!

My favorite Simon Sinek video is on Millennials in the workplace. Simon discusses 4 areas that have set this generation up for failure in the workplace: parenting, technology, patience, and environment. He argues that failed parenting strategies, such as giving participation medals, have caused lower self-esteem in these young individuals than ones from past generations. Technology like cellphones allows kids to put filters on their life. Cellphone usage also releases dopamine which can cause cellphone use to become an addiction. We live in an instant-gratification world. Everything is at our finger tips: food, love, sex, shopping, gambling. This age group has grown up without knowing how much patience it can take to achieve most goals. This causes decreased job satisfaction in young employees. Finally, these young kids are getting jobs in corporate environments that care more about numbers than the employees and lack good leadership. He ends the video by proclaiming it is the companies responsibility to help millennials overcome these obstacles to create a better workplace for everyone. I often find myself watching this video after a particularly frustrating day of dealing with teenagers.

I really enjoy the naturally optimistic way in which Simon speaks about leadership. I think there are many avenues he could take to better influence followers. This may seem like only an idea that a millennial could have, but regardless, I would personally love to see him interact with companies struggling to lead and engage millennial’s. Whiles many of his talks are inspiring, the day-to-day work of leading young people can be draining. A real-life documentary (or YouTube series) showing the process, struggle, and growth of companies could benefit many. His company already does workshops and offers resources to improve leadership within companies. He is also the author of many best-selling novels. But seeing someone work through a live situation in real time provides lessons that could never be learned in a conference room or through text.

I’m a boarder-line millennial and I have experienced first hand many of the issues that Simon speaks about both in terms of leading them but also because I am one. I empathize with this generation because there are days when I don’t feel like I’ve made an impact and think about throwing in the towel. Patience is not a virtue I come by honestly. When I heard Simon say that I had a responsibility to help this generation it sparked something in me that made my job feel more important. My purpose was no longer just to run a smooth kitchen but also to help grow my millennial employees into contributing members of the work force. I align with his views and ethics in that I also want to inspire people to change the world for the better. I hope that the way I lead my team, especially the youth, will benefit them for years to come. I want to do good by my team so that they can do good for others.

 

 

The Library – www.startwithwhy.com

Facebook – facebook.com/simonsinek

Twitter – twitter.com/simonsinek

Instagram – instagram.com/simonsaysinspire & instagram.com/simonsinek

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/simon-sinek

You Tube – YouTube.com/simonsinek