SIMON SINEK: Leader verus manager
Summary
TLDRThe transcript emphasizes the often-overlooked qualities of empathy and perspective in leadership. It highlights the common oversight of focusing on status rather than nurturing those under one's charge. The speaker criticizes the lack of training for leaders, pointing out the gap between being good at one's job and managing others. Leadership is portrayed as a skill that requires practice and comes with personal sacrifices, such as giving credit to others and taking responsibility in failures. The speaker also challenges the notion of CEOs prioritizing customers, suggesting they are actually responsible for those who interact with customers.
Takeaways
- π Great leaders need empathy and perspective, which are often overlooked.
- π¨βπΌ Leaders are frequently preoccupied with their status, forgetting their true role is to care for those they lead, not just to be in charge.
- π Early in our careers, we are trained to excel at our jobs, but not on how to lead when we are promoted.
- π There's a critical transition from being responsible for a job to being responsible for the people doing the job, which some never make.
- π Leadership is a skill that can be learned and developed, much like any other skill, and requires continuous practice.
- πͺ Strong leadership is built through daily practice, while neglect leads to weakness in leadership abilities.
- π¨βπ©βπ§βπ¦ Not everyone has the desire or should be a leader, just as not everyone wants or should be a parent, despite having the capacity.
- π Leadership involves personal sacrifice, such as giving credit to others and taking responsibility for failures.
- π΅οΈββοΈ Leaders are responsible for guiding and supporting their team, not just for the job outcomes or results.
- π€ CEOs often claim customers as their priority, but they are actually responsible for the people who are responsible for the customers.
- π« Many companies fail to teach leadership skills, which are essential for those in charge to truly lead effectively.
Q & A
What are the two essential qualities mentioned for great leaders in the script?
-Empathy and perspective are the two essential qualities mentioned for great leaders in the script.
Why do leaders often forget their real job according to the transcript?
-Leaders often forget their real job because they become too concerned about their status or position in the organization, rather than focusing on taking care of those in their charge.
What is the primary responsibility of a leader as described in the script?
-The primary responsibility of a leader is not about being in charge, but about taking care of those in their charge.
Why do some people become managers instead of leaders?
-Some people become managers instead of leaders because they are promoted due to their expertise in doing the job, rather than their ability to lead others.
What is the main reason for the lack of leadership skills among some managers?
-The main reason for the lack of leadership skills is that companies often do not teach or train individuals on how to lead when they are promoted to managerial positions.
What is the process of transitioning from being responsible for a job to being responsible for people?
-The process involves moving from focusing on the job itself to focusing on the people who are responsible for the job, which requires a shift in perspective and skill set.
Why is leadership described as a skill that needs to be practiced like a muscle?
-Leadership is described as a skill that needs to be practiced because, like any other skill, it improves with use and can deteriorate without practice.
What is the personal sacrifice involved in being a leader according to the script?
-The personal sacrifice involved in being a leader includes giving away credit when things go right and taking responsibility when things go wrong, as well as investing time and effort in guiding and supporting team members.
Why do some CEOs claim their priority is the customer, and what is the speaker's critique of this claim?
-Some CEOs claim their priority is the customer because they believe they are directly responsible for customer satisfaction. The speaker critiques this by stating that CEOs are actually responsible for the people who are responsible for the customer, not the customer themselves.
What is the difference between being responsible for a job and being responsible for the people doing the job?
-Being responsible for a job means focusing on the tasks and outcomes of the work itself. Being responsible for the people doing the job means focusing on their well-being, development, and the environment in which they work.
How does the speaker suggest leaders should handle situations when something goes wrong?
-The speaker suggests that leaders should encourage their team members to try again instead of taking over or reacting with anger, thus placing the pressure on themselves rather than on the team.
Outlines
π Empathy and Perspective in Leadership
The speaker emphasizes the importance of empathy and perspective as essential qualities for great leaders, which are often overlooked. Leaders tend to focus on their status within the organization, neglecting their true role, which is to care for those they lead rather than just being in charge. The speaker points out that while there is ample training for job-specific skills, there is a lack of training for leadership. As individuals progress in their careers, they are expected to transition from doing the job to managing those who do the job, but this transition is not always smooth or successful. Leadership is presented as a skill that can be learned and developed, much like a muscle, and it requires constant practice to maintain strength. The speaker also touches on the personal sacrifices involved in leadership, such as giving credit to others and taking responsibility for failures.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Empathy
π‘Perspective
π‘Leadership
π‘Status
π‘Position
π‘Responsibility
π‘Training
π‘Promotion
π‘Micromanagement
π‘Personal Sacrifice
π‘Priority
Highlights
Leaders need to possess empathy and perspective, qualities often forgotten in the pursuit of status and position.
Leaders' real job is to take care of those under their charge, not just to be in charge.
Many leaders are not trained for their role, focusing instead on job-specific skills.
Employees are often promoted based on job performance without learning how to manage others.
Managers may micromanage because they know the job better, not necessarily how to lead.
Leadership is a skill that can be learned and developed like a muscle.
Leadership requires a transition from being responsible for the job to being responsible for the people.
Most companies lack training programs to teach leadership skills.
Leadership involves personal sacrifice, such as giving credit to others and taking responsibility for failures.
Great leaders prioritize the well-being of their team over their own recognition.
Leaders should encourage their team to learn from mistakes rather than taking over when things go wrong.
Leaders are responsible for the people responsible for the job, not directly for the job or results.
CEOs often claim customer priority, but they are actually responsible for the people who are responsible for the customer.
Leadership is a capacity everyone has, but not everyone should or wants to be a leader.
Leadership requires continuous practice to maintain and improve, similar to parenting.
The transition to leadership can be quick for some and slow for others, with some never making the transition.
Leadership involves staying late to support team members and facing pressures when things go wrong.
Transcripts
there are two things that i think that
great leaders need to have
empathy and perspective
and i think these things are very often
forgotten
leaders are so often so concerned about
their status or their position in
organization they actually forget their
real job and the real job of a leader is
not about being in charge it's about
taking care of those in our charge and i
don't think people realize this and i
don't think people train for this
when we're junior our only
responsibility
is to be good at our jobs that's all we
really have to do and some people
actually go get advanced educations on
so that they can be really good at their
jobs accountants or whatever right and
you show up and you work hard and the
company will give us tons and tons of
training how to do our jobs they'll show
us how to use the software they'll send
us away for a few days to get trained in
whatever it is that we're doing for the
company and then they expect us to go be
good at our jobs and that's what we do
we work very hard
and if you're good at your job
they'll promote you
and at some point
you'll get promoted to a position where
we're now responsible for the people who
do the job we used to do but nobody
shows us how to do that
and that's why we get managers and not
leaders because the reason our managers
are micromanaging us is because they
actually do know how to do do the job
better than us that's what got them
promoted
really what we have to do is go through
a transition some people make it quickly
some people make it slowly and
unfortunately some people will never
make that transition at all which is we
have to go this through this transition
of being responsible for the job and
then turning into somebody who's now
responsible for the people who are
responsible for the job and as i said
before one of the great things that is
lacking in most of our companies
is that they are not teaching us how to
lead
and leadership is a skill like any other
is a practicable learnable skill and it
is something that you work on it's like
a muscle if you practice it all the days
uh you will get good at it and you will
become a strong leader if you stop
practicing you will become a weak leader
like parenting
everyone has the capacity to be a parent
doesn't mean everybody wants to be a
parent and doesn't mean everybody should
be a parent
leadership is the same
we all have the capacity to be a leader
doesn't mean everybody should be a
leader and it doesn't mean everybody
wants to be a leader
and the reason is because it comes at
great personal
sacrifice
remember you're not in charge you're
responsible for those in your charge
that means things like when everything
goes right you have to give away all the
credit and when everything goes wrong
you have to take all the responsibility
that sucks
right
it's things like staying late to show
somebody what to do
it's things like when something does
actually break when something goes wrong
instead of yelling and screaming and
taking over
you say
try again
when the overwhelming pressures are not
on them the overwhelming pressures are
on us
at the end of the day great leaders are
not responsible for the job they're
responsible for the people who are
responsible for the job they're not even
responsible for the results
i love talking to ceos and say what's
your priority and they put their hands
on their soul proudly and say my
priority is my customer i'm like really
you haven't talked to a customer in 15
years
there's no ceo on the planet responsible
for the customer
they're just not they're responsible for
the people who are responsible for the
people who are responsible for the
customer
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