I was one of the thousands who Simon Sinek inspired last week during the Growth Faculty’s ‘Start With Why’ events.
It was too good not to share, so here is a fraction of his gold captured in 7 succinct sentences (paraphrased by yours truly:)
- Public recognition boosts our seratonin, one of our ‘selfless’ feel good chemicals. Don’t waste opportunities to recognise and acknowledge your team’s work in public and boost their feelings of pride and status.
- Don’t succumb to the addiction of your mobile phone. The ‘selfish’ dopamine it produces doesn’t last and you’ll just keep looking for the next hit (while you miss out on what’s happening right in front of you!)
- Make sure your team feels safe with you – this produces another ‘selfless’ chemical, oxytocin. Oxytocin is known as the chemical of love, and is dependent on the level of trust people have with you. A study of the SEALS Team Six showed that they’d rather high trust over high performance. (You can read more about psychological safety here.)
- Being a leader can be like being a parent. You do it for the feeling you get when you get those ‘unpredictable glimmers’ – those moments where you know the sacrifices have been worth it.
- Leadership is a muscle – it needs to be built consistently. Like working out, it’s a daily practice.
- It’s the leaders, not the people, who create the environment and culture. It’s a choice. Create what you want and consider being the leader you wish you’d had.
- Leadership is nothing to do with being in charge, but looking after those in our charge.