Unlock The Secret of Why People Follow You - Simon Sinek Reveals All! #leadership #motivation

Summary

The transcript emphasizes the essence of true leadership, which is not about titles but about inspiring followership. It discusses the importance of vision, purpose, and the human need for incentives and belonging. Leaders must create a sense of safety and support, akin to a family, where employees feel valued and part of a collective goal. The talk advocates for a servant leadership approach, prioritizing people over numbers, and nurturing a culture where innovation, progress, and profit naturally follow when employees are genuinely cared for and empowered.

Takeaways

• 👥 True leadership is not about rank or title, but about inspiring others to willingly follow your vision.
• 🏆 Leaders must provide a clear vision and purpose, explaining why the company exists and what it aims to achieve beyond profit.
• 🌟 Incentives and metrics should align with the company's vision, motivating employees to work towards a common goal.
• 🤝 Accountability in leadership is to people, not just numbers or targets; it's about building relationships and trust.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 A company is like a family, where leaders act as parents, providing support, protection, and opportunities for growth.
• 🛠️ In times of crisis, the true test of leadership is the ability to protect and care for employees, even at the cost of short-term financial gains.
• 💡 Servant leadership involves putting employees first, ensuring their needs are met so they can perform at their best and contribute to the company's success.
• 🌱 A company's longevity is more important than short-term growth, and fostering a culture that lasts can lead to sustainable success.
• 🔗 The quality of a company is judged by how it treats its employees during tough times, not when things are going well.
• ✍️ Personal interaction and investment of time and energy in employees lead to stronger relationships and a more fulfilling work environment.

Q & A

What is the main criterion for being a leader according to the speaker?

The main criterion for being a leader is having followers. Leadership is not about rank or title but about whether others voluntarily choose to follow the direction set by the leader.

How does the speaker differentiate between forced leadership and true leadership?

The speaker explains that while people can be forced to follow through incentives or punishments, true leadership comes when people willingly choose to follow because they believe in the leader's vision and purpose.

What role do incentives play in human behavior according to the script?

Incentives, whether positive or negative (rewards or punishments), drive human behavior. These incentives are chemically produced feelings, such as love, joy, or pride, that motivate cooperation and performance.

Why is it important for a leader to provide a clear vision?

A clear vision allows people to understand the purpose behind their actions. The speaker emphasizes that people can only see things they have words for, so a leader must articulate the vision clearly so others can follow and work towards it.

How are metrics used in an organization, and what is their true purpose?

Metrics are used to measure progress towards a vision. They are not the ultimate goal but indicators that show the organization is moving closer to achieving its objectives, providing small bursts of motivation (like dopamine) as milestones are reached.

Why does the speaker argue that accountability is always to a person, not a number?

Accountability is about human relationships, not abstract metrics. People feel bad when they let down someone they care about, such as a boss or parent, rather than feeling bad about missing a numerical goal. This emotional connection drives true accountability.

How does the speaker compare leadership at work to parenting?

The speaker compares leadership at work to parenting by explaining that just like parents provide love, support, and guidance to their children, leaders should offer the same to their employees. Both roles involve nurturing growth and fostering a sense of safety and belonging.

What is the speaker's view on hiring practices?

The speaker suggests that hiring should be like adopting a child, where the focus is on cultural fit and the potential for growth rather than just technical qualifications. Leaders should invest time in getting to know potential hires to ensure they belong in the company culture.

What example does the speaker provide of a company that values people over profits?

The speaker highlights Bob Chapman, the CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, who refused to lay off employees during a financial crisis. Instead, they implemented a furlough program where everyone shared the burden. This demonstrated the company's commitment to its people over numbers.

What is the significance of teamwork in the Marine Corps example?

In the Marine Corps, success is achieved as a group, not individually. Recruits are trained to think in terms of 'we,' 'together,' and 'us,' and they prioritize helping each other over personal achievement, reflecting the African proverb 'To go fast, go alone; to go far, go together.'

What does the speaker believe is the key to long-lasting companies?

The speaker believes that companies should focus on building strong cultures and lasting relationships, rather than just chasing quick growth or profits. By creating a supportive environment where people feel valued, companies can sustain long-term success.

Outlines

00:00

👥 Leadership Is About Followers, Not Titles

True leadership is defined by followers, not by rank or title. While authority can force compliance through incentives and punishments, real leadership inspires voluntary commitment. People follow leaders because they believe in them, not because of fear or rewards. The key question every leader must ask is: why should anyone choose to follow me? Leadership requires clear vision and purpose that resonates with others.

05:00

💡 The Importance of Vision and Metrics

Leaders must provide a clear vision for why a business exists beyond mere growth and profits. This purpose gives people a sense of direction and meaning. Metrics should measure progress toward this vision, not just numbers or goals for their own sake. People care more about disappointing a person they respect than missing a numerical target. Accountability is to other humans, not to metrics.

10:01

❤️ Leadership as Service and Family

Leadership in organizations is comparable to parenting. Leaders must offer their employees unconditional support, guidance, and protection, just as a parent does for their children. Great leaders foster a sense of belonging and safety at work, helping employees achieve more than they could on their own. Companies should not merely treat employees as resources but as family, prioritizing their well-being and growth over numbers.

🤝 A Culture of Cooperation and Responsibility

Human beings are naturally inclined to cooperate when given responsibility. In times of crisis, like financial downturns, companies that prioritize people over profits foster trust and commitment. An example of this is a company-wide furlough where all employees, from executives to secretaries, took unpaid time off to avoid layoffs. This sacrifice reflects how employees can rise to the occasion when they feel needed and valuable.

🚶‍♂️ Building Relationships Through Time and Energy

Relationships in the workplace are strengthened through personal interactions, not impersonal communications like emails. Taking time to engage face-to-face, offering compliments, or asking questions directly builds stronger bonds. Leaders who invest time and energy in their people will find that employees reciprocate with loyalty and effort. Simple acts, like writing a handwritten note, demonstrate care and appreciation more than digital messages.

🌍 Imagining a World Where Everyone Loves Their Work

The speaker envisions a world where the majority of people wake up inspired to go to work and return home feeling fulfilled. Loving one's job should be a right, not a privilege, and stems from feeling safe, valued, and encouraged by leadership. Leaders have the responsibility to create cultures that prioritize human relationships over skills, focusing on long-term success, innovation, and genuine progress for all.

Keywords

💡Leadership

Leadership in the context of the video is not about holding a position of power or authority but about inspiring others to voluntarily follow a direction set by the leader. It emphasizes the importance of having followers who believe in the leader's vision. The video suggests that true leadership emerges when individuals willingly choose to follow, as illustrated by the statement, 'a true leader is the one where others raise their hand and say I Will Follow You.'

💡Followers

Followers are central to the concept of leadership discussed in the video. They are individuals who choose to support and follow the direction set by a leader. The video highlights that leadership is not about coercion but about voluntary commitment, as expressed in the phrase, 'followers... choose the volunteer raise their hands and volunteer to go in the direction that you set.'

💡Incentives

Incentives are used in the video to describe both external motivators like bonuses and internal chemical reactions in the brain that drive behavior. They are tools used to encourage certain actions or outcomes, as in the example of setting goals and offering bonuses to achieve them. The video also discusses how positive feelings like love and trust are chemical incentives that can motivate people.

💡Vision

A clear vision is portrayed as a critical component of leadership. It refers to the ability of a leader to articulate the purpose and direction of an organization in a way that others can understand and rally behind. The video emphasizes that a leader must be able to communicate why the organization exists and what it aims to achieve, as exemplified by the question, 'why are we doing this why are we in business in the first place?'

💡Purpose

Purpose in the video is the underlying reason for an organization's existence beyond profit. It is the 'why' that drives the organization and gives meaning to the work of its members. The video suggests that a strong sense of purpose can inspire loyalty and hard work, as indicated by the statement, 'there has to be a purpose for why your company exists beyond the things you make beyond the things you do beyond the money you make.'

💡Accountability

Accountability in the video is not just about meeting numerical targets but about being responsible to people. It is the sense of obligation one feels towards others, particularly in a leadership role. The video argues that true accountability is to people, not numbers, as shown in the line, 'accountability is never to a number accountability is to a person.'

💡Servant Leadership

Servant Leadership is a leadership style where the leader prioritizes the needs of their team members over their own. The video describes this as a form of leadership where one gives undying love and support to their team, aiming to help them achieve more than the leader could alone. It is exemplified by the narrative of Bob Chapman, who chose to protect his employees during a financial crisis.

💡Fulfillment

Fulfillment in the video refers to the sense of satisfaction and achievement that comes from work that aligns with one's values and contributes to a meaningful purpose. It is linked to the idea that people are more motivated when they feel their work is necessary and valuable to the organization, as expressed in the concept that 'people in the Marine Corps are willing to give their lives to people they barely know because they've learned to trust each other.'

💡Cooperation

Cooperation is highlighted as a fundamental human instinct that can be harnessed in the workplace to achieve greater goals. The video suggests that people are biologically designed to work together and support each other, as illustrated by the proverb 'to go fast go alone, to go far go together,' which underscores the value of teamwork.

💡Innovation

Innovation in the video is presented as a byproduct of a positive work culture where people feel safe, protected, and valued. It suggests that when leaders focus on creating an environment that fosters love for work, it naturally leads to innovation, progress, and profit, as indicated by the statement, 'it's good for Innovation it's good for progress and it's good for profit aside.'

Highlights

Leadership is defined by having followers, not by rank or title.

True leadership is when others voluntarily choose to follow your direction.

Incentives and disincentives are used to influence behavior, both in organizations and individuals.

Chemically produced feelings like love and trust are incentives for human behavior.

A clear vision is essential for a leader to guide and motivate others.

The purpose of a company should extend beyond profit to offer value and leave a legacy.

Metrics are tools to measure progress towards a vision, not just end-of-year numbers.

Accountability should be to people, not just to numbers or goals.

Leadership is about providing a sense of purpose, belonging, and protection.

Servant leadership involves prioritizing the well-being and growth of team members.

A company's culture should be like a family, with leaders acting as parents to their employees.

During crises, the true test of leadership is how it values and protects its people.

Cooperation and mutual support are biologically ingrained in human beings.

Empowering employees with responsibility and making them feel necessary leads to greater contributions.

Success in teams comes from collective effort, not individual accomplishments.

The longevity of a company is more important than its short-term growth.

Hiring should be approached with the same care as adopting a child into a family.

Leaders should focus on creating a culture where people feel safe, protected, and valued.

Innovation, progress, and profit are outcomes of a culture that prioritizes people.

The goal should be a world where most people love their jobs and feel fulfilled by their work.

Transcripts

to be a leader requires one thing and

one thing only

followers

that's it

has nothing to do with rank or title it

has to do with whether others are going

to choose the volunteer raise their

hands and volunteer to go in the

direction that you set we can force

people to do things we can whip them

into shape or offer them all kinds of

carrots and sticks to get them to do

things but the end of the day a true

leader is the one where others raise

their hand and says and say I Will

Follow You the question is why should

anyone follow you

now the human animal is like a company

if we want to get certain behaviors out

of the organization out of people we

give them certain incentives or

disincentives we are exactly the same if

you want someone to perform if you want

them to hit a goal we set the target we

set the goal we offer them some sort of

bonus if they get there and we

incentivize the behavior if we threaten

someone with a punishment we

disincentivize the behavior wait till

your father comes home

you know anyone who's a parent with gold

stars or bonuses or all kinds of things

we're used to this this is normal the

human body works exactly the same way if

you've ever had a feeling of love trust

Joy fulfillment status Pride those are

all chemically produced feelings they're

chemically produced incentives trying to

get us the human bodies trying to get us

to do certain things to get us to

cooperate tangible matters

we can only we can only see the things

we have words for right and this is why

the leader must provide a Clear Vision

why are we doing this why are we in

business in the first place what is the

point of growing the company that you're

growing everybody talks about what's

your growth

what's the point of the growth in other

words you have a company why do you have

that company what is the value your

company is offering to others and and

what what do you want your company to

leave behind when you're gone there has

to be a purpose for why your company

exists beyond the things you make beyond

the things you do beyond the money you

make you had the purpose when you

founded the company otherwise you

wouldn't have taken the crazy risk to

start it with the overwhelming chance of

failure and people wouldn't have given

you Blood Sweat and Tears that they

didn't believe in you because you were

the alpha you had the vision you had the

strength and they wanted your protection

and they joined you and they gave you

their Blood Sweat and Tears because you

gave them a sense of purpose and

belonging and protection

you have to know why you do what you do

and this is what the leaders do and the

more they can put it into words the

clearer they can put it into the words

the more we can see it

again we can only see the things we have

words for and so when you can put these

things into words other people can see

them I have a dream Martin Luther King

put into words the vision seeing he had

the rest of us could see it too and now

could focus all of our attention all of

our efforts on getting it done

and every metric and this is the purpose

of metrics every metric we use is a it's

not about the metric metrics are

supposed to measure progress in other

words each metric is the tree getting a

little bigger each each metric is us

getting a little closer to the gazelle

we get another little shot of dopamine

each metric shows us that we're getting

closer to the vision

it's not just about the numbers at the

end of the year how do we do we're up

good towards what

towards what we don't know what we're

getting closer to and it makes work

unfulfilling don't know what we're

working towards dopamine

we don't care if we let down the goal

like if we have a goal that we have to

achieve for work and we miss the goal do

we feel bad that we let the numbers down

no we feel bad that we let somebody we

love down we feel bad that we let down

our boss we let down our parents we let

down our coach we let down our drill

instructor we feel bad when we let down

a human being accountability is never to

a number accountability is to a person

and if there is no relationship with the

person who's supposed to look after us

and the person we're supposed to be

working for then we don't feel

accountable

and this is where leadership becomes

really really important

you see when we give selflessly to those

in our tribe offering them protection

because that's all anybody wants at work

they want to feel

safe comfortable protected think about

it as a parent you know back in those

days there were no countries there were

no corporations there were no companies

they didn't exist there's only one thing

that pre-existed all of those things

the family

that's all we had each other

think about it what do we say to our

children you don't get to choose your

children some of them are funny looking

some of them not that smart okay

those are the kids you got sorry you get

to pick your employees we don't get to

pick your children and yet it doesn't

matter who your kids are whether they're

the best looking or not whether the

smartest or not whether they're

strongest or not you give them

Undying Love

and you don't point out their weaknesses

if you're a good parent you point out

their strengths if you're a good parent

you encourage them to do the things that

they're good at

and you hold them up and sometimes you

let them fail and learn for themselves

and sometimes you discipline them and

sometimes you prop them up and sometimes

you push them and sometimes you let them

go and more than anything else all we

want for our children is to achieve more

than we could have achieved and we will

do that by providing them

support a feeling of safety a feeling of

protection well guess what it ain't no

different at work stop saying our

company is like a family it is a family

and you are the mother and you are the

father and the minute you hire someone

you must give them undying love and you

must work tirelessly to see that they

can achieve more than you could ever

have imagined yourself achieving those

are the best leaders

that's what it means to be a servant

leader any company any CEO that says to

me proudly we put our customers first I

always say then that means you put your

employees at least second

we put people first human beings come

first not numbers

we sacrifice people to say the numbers

but we don't sacrifice the numbers to

save the people a little bit backwards

And yet when we are willing to sacrifice

the numbers to save people you watch

what happens to people

there's a guy by the name of Bob Chapman

in St Louis Missouri who runs a company

called Barry waymiller it's a 1.6

billion dollar private company with 20

year-over-year growth for the past 20

years Warren Buffett has six percent

what is Bob's Secret

he is obsessed about people he doesn't

even talk about what his company does it

happens to be heavy manufacturing large

capital expenditure Machinery when

Kimberly Clark wants to buy a machine to

make toilet paper they make the machine

huge huge blue-collar you know sort of

good old-fashioned American

manufacturing when the when the

financial crisis hit Bub's company lost

30 percent of their revenues off the top

boom gone

they could not afford their labor pool

at all

and so they sat down and they said oh my

god do we have to have layoffs and Bob

refused and so they implemented a

furlough program where every employee

from CEO to secretary had to take four

weeks of unpaid time off they didn't

have to take it consecutively and they

could take it whenever they wanted

those who could afford it more would

trade with those who could afford it

less it was remarkable and Bob told the

company it's better we should all suffer

a little that any of us should have to

suffer a lot

as human beings we are biologically

designed to cooperate and we want to

help each other when you give someone

the responsibility when you put them in

a position of power or authority for

their responsibility they rise up why

because we all want to feel that our

lives have value we all want to feel

that our lives and the work that we do

is valuable to the tribe we all want to

know that our company needs us

but we don't make people feel needed

needed and we don't make their work feel

necessary because we take all the

responsibility we don't let them have it

and when people feel fulfilled when we

make them feel necessary and they feel

proud because something got done because

they were a part of it they will give

more and more and more and more

people in the Marine Corps are willing

to give their lives to people they

barely know because they've learned to

trust each other when you show up at

Paris Island or in San Diego for the

first day of boot camp and you're

standing there on the yellow Footprints

the drill instructor will yell in your

face this far away from you the first

words they hear

the words I me my are no longer in your

vocabulary they will be replaced with we

together and us

they are taught that success does not

come by yourself it only comes in a

group there's an old African proverb to

go fast go alone to go far go together

we're all talking about how quickly

we're growing our companies but how long

will your company last

eighty percent of the Dow index are 35

years or younger

sure we build fast growing companies but

they don't last

I watched I went to The Crucible and

watched these marines The Crucible is

their final test before they become

Marines they're out for 56 hours they

get three meals a total of eight hours

sleep the entire time they're exhausted

they're tired they're dirty they're

working hard and you watch a fire Squad

of four guys making their way under

barbed wire and shots fired and all of

this may Hammond's dirt and sand and

it's crazy and they're dragging

themselves across the dirt and one of

the guys is tired and starts falling

back but they have to achieve the

mission they've got to get to the other

side but what do they do they stop they

go back they grab his webbing and they

pull

they slowed themselves down because

they'd rather slow down with or forward

and go fast with three

to go fast go alone to go far ago

together

next time somebody says what are your

goals stop saying to increase Top Line

revenues by a million dollars or 10

million dollars or whatever you want to

do next year and start saying we're

building a company that's going to last

a hundred years

watch the changes that happen inside the

company

devote yourself not to firing people

but to give them an opportunity to

contribute and if they fail help them up

and if they fail help them up and if

they fail help them up and if you really

think they're incompetent and you really

don't believe they fit your culture why

did you hire them because of their

resumes

or because they belong we should treat

hiring like adopting a child we don't

adopt children saying well I'd like a

blonde-haired blue-eyed kid yay high and

I want to make sure that they've done

well in preschool before I take them

well that's how we hire people I'm

looking for somebody with experience in

our industry with at least five years

with this kind of Oh you mean it we'll

take you

no that's not what we do when we adopt a

child we're going to give them the keys

to our house we let them run around by

themselves maybe even give them

responsibility over our other children

it's a slow decision we want to get to

know the kid we want to spend a little

time with the kid see if there would fit

in our family if our other kids would

get along with them hiring is exactly

the same you cannot judge the quality of

a company by the good times we cannot

judge the quality of a crew when the

when the seas are calm we judge the

quality of a crew and the seas are rough

and numbers will never come to your Aid

ever

people will

if you're if things are going great and

everything's growing and you feel that

everyone's disposable guess what they

think the same about you

it's reciprocal it's always balanced

time and energy roam the Halls Implement

policies where if you have something to

say somebody not just the exchange of

information if you want to pay someone a

compliment if you want to ask somebody a

question about their work not about some

fact like what time is the meeting

you do not send emails you stand up you

walk the 35 feet and you walk into the

office and say hey quick question for

you that thing that you did for the

client can you just tell me a little

more about it because I have a client

meeting I promise you the relationships

that will will form simply because

people are giving time and energy it's

too quick to send an email it's too easy

if you come over if I come over to your

house for dinner and a day later I send

you this beautiful email how grateful I

am for the dinner that you made for me

or if I sent you a handwritten note with

the exact same words which one makes you

feel better

the handwritten note it's not the words

it's not the intention it's the time and

energy we take and if you think you're

too busy to give time and energy to your

people then they're too busy to give

time and energy to you it is a balanced

equation

I imagine a world in which the vast

majority of people wake up every single

morning Inspire to go to work and come

home every single day fulfilled by the

work that they do I believe that loving

our jobs is a right a not a privilege

why should it be just the lucky few who

get to love going to work it is an

entitlement that we all have

and by saying love our jobs doesn't mean

we have to like them every day we love

our children every day we don't like

them every day right we don't have to

like every day it can be hard but we get

to love it every day and the thing that

makes us love our jobs is not the work

that we're doing

it's the way we feel when we go there

we feel safe we feel protected we feel

that someone wants us to achieve more

and is giving us the opportunity to

prove to themselves and to ourselves

that we can

this is the world that I imagine this is

why I do these talks because I'm just a

cog in the wheel hug in the machine I'm

just a small piece of the jigsaw puzzle

I come to this to speak to them to the

nice people like yourselves because

you're the ones who are running

companies you're the ones who are in

control of the cultures that you're

building you're the ones who determine

who you hire and who you don't are you

hiring based on skills you're hiring

based on culture

I come and share these ideas with you

with the hope that some of you will try

some of these things and over the course

of time you will watch your own cultures

improve and the people love coming to

work oh and by the way it's good for

Innovation it's good for progress and

it's good for profit aside