Simon Sinek pulls together some significant insight into successful, long-term leadership ideas and principles. He encourages the reader to build a legacy that will live on with those in your charge, well beyond your direct influence in their lives.
Simon pulls in and focuses on this idea of a Circle of Trust. He points out that great leaders provide a work environment where communication and interaction with the CEO is open, honest, and bi-directional. There is a level of trust that great leaders inspire by being visible and receptive to feedback from individuals in all areas within their company. Front-line employees, those responsible for the daily operations, need to know that they can trust that their leadership team truly cares about them.
Once an atmosphere of concern for one’s job becomes a daily reality, that Circle of Trust shrinks or breaks apart and people tend to focus only on how to keep their job. This can lead to some cut-throat attitudes that are a poison to a working environment.
Simon also emphasizes the influence of naturally occurring hormones within our bodies (like oxytocin, endorphins, cortisol, etc.) , and how they are triggered. These hormones can be influenced by leaders, the policies they introduce, and their actions in how the company is led.
During part of the book, Simon gets into political positioning and economic principles. Whether you agree or disagree with Simon’s opinions here, there are some good thoughts and ideas worth considering. I would suggest, that no reader will completely agree with an author on topics that involve “soft-skills” like leadership. Knowing this, it is still important to consider the author’s point of view while ensuring you are thinking clearly when developing your own.