“Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t” (2014, revised 2017) by Simon Sinek explores how leaders can foster cooperation and change among members of their team. It takes its name from military tradition where leaders eat after all their troops have been served as an emblematic way of prioritising people over themselves as leaders should do.
Simon Sinek needs no introduction. His TED talk, based on his previous book “Start with Why”, has garnered over 50 million views – one of the highest ever total views for a TED talk ever given! Although initially employed in advertising and marketing roles, Sinek now specialises as a motivational speaker and organisational consultant.
What is the book about?
Sinek clearly loves models based on circles, as in “Leaders Eat Last” Sinek emphasises the importance of a ‘Circle of Safety’ within organisations, which leaders must create to ensure that their employees feel secure, supported, and empowered.This ensures trust between team members increases, leading to greater success for an organisation overall.
As it turns out, being terrible leaders (or employees) isn’t solely our fault – hormones could be to blame! This book presents two key chemicals that influence workplace behaviour: endorphins and dopamine (the selfish chemicals), both linked with achievement and personal accomplishment, and also serotonin and oxytocin (both selfless chemicals that foster social bonding).
Sinek argues that in many modern organisations, the balance between these chemicals has shifted towards the ‘selfish’ chemicals, with the emphasis on individual achievement over collective success. This creates environments where employees feel insecure and unvalued, leading to distrust and poor teamwork.
Sinek asserts that leaders can redress this imbalance by creating an environment which promotes the release of “selfless” chemicals, particularly by showing their employees they are valued and that their wellbeing is of utmost importance. When employees feel safe and secure, they are more likely to trust each other, work effectively together, and act in their organisation’s best interest.
What are the key takeaways from the book?
My main takeaway was the notion that leaders should treat their teams more like families than employees. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily entail buying birthday presents and taking vacations together with them, but rather drives a mindset for decision-making. Sinek says serving employees should be leaders’ top priority. Profit is a fuel that drives this, and other groups like shareholders, whilst important should not be the first concern. (The book contains an interesting discussion on whether shareholders should actually be considered owners, or part-owners, of a company).
Apart from that, I believe the main takeaways from this book are:
“Leaders Eat Last”: emphasises the concept of the ‘Circle of Safety’ – an environment in which all employees feel secure, respected and valued – this allows people to collaborate more freely while developing their abilities to their maximum. Leaders play a pivotal role in creating this environment.
The Role of Biochemicals in Leadership: Endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin are four substances which play a significant role in shaping human behaviour; leaders must aim to foster conditions which promote the release of “selfless” chemicals such as serotonin and oxytocin which promote trust, loyalty, and social bonding rather than selfish chemicals like endorphins and dopamine which encourage individual accomplishment. Their balance plays a key part in overall organisational health and success.
Leadership Priorities and Values: Leaders should put the needs of their team above their own, mirroring the military tradition espoused in this book’s title. Doing so fosters trust, cooperation, and loyalty between team members – as such leaders are ultimately accountable for both success and failure within their team; leaders should share credit for achievements among team members while actively listening to what team members have to say as well as making sure organisational values match with practices.
Is this book useful for HR people?
In my view, yes. This book offers invaluable lessons in HR management.
Understanding Organisational Culture: This book provides invaluable insights into the dynamics of organisational culture and leadership’s critical role in shaping it.
Employee Engagement and Retention: Sinek’s principles can help HR professionals design strategies to increase employee engagement and retention, such as his “Circle of Safety” concept which emphasises making employees feel secure and appreciated at work – leading to higher job satisfaction, reduced turnover rates, and ultimately greater job satisfaction overall.
Leadership Development: HR professionals usually assume responsibility for leadership development within their organisations. This book offers HR professionals an in-depth view of what makes an excellent leader and assists with designing training and development programs to hone those qualities.
Who Else Should Read This Book?
Any individual currently in a leadership role would benefit from reading the book as it provides great insights on team dynamics and leaders’ responsibilities for maximising output from teams. His principles and practices can be applied across industries as well as in non-commercial organisations – even if you’re not yet leading yourself, this book can be useful in shaping your own leadership style or preparing you for future challenges.
Sinek’s book also provides many insights for anyone working as part of a team; though focused primarily on leadership principles, anyone working together with other colleagues can reap great benefit from understanding his principles.
As with, “Start with Why” Sinek’s prose is easy to read, even compelling in places and, as far as non-fiction books go, I did find this to be a page-turner. The author carefully and comprehensively builds his narrative and argues the central thesis of the book. I doubt anyone who is even remotely interested in leadership would read this book and not resonate in some way with the subject matter.
