HOW TO BE A LEADER – Motivational Speech By Simon Sinek
leadership is not a ranked leadership is
not a position leadership is a decision
leadership is a choice it has nothing to
do with your position in the
organization if you decide to look after
the person to the left of you and look
after the person to the right of you you
have become a leader sometimes you’re
the problem we’ve seen this happen all
too recently with our new men of science
and empirical studies these men of
Finance who are smarter than the rest of
us until the thing collapsed and they
blamed everything else except themselves
and my point is is take accountability
for your actions you can take all the
credit in the world for the things that
you do right as long as you also take
responsibility for the things you do
wrong it must be a balanced equation you
don’t get it one way and not the other
you get to take credit when you also
take accountability you want to be an
elite warrior it’s not about how tough
you are it’s not about how smart you are
it’s not about how fast you are if you
want to be an elite warrior
you better get really really good at
helping the person to the left of you
and helping the person to the right of
you because that’s how people advance in
the world the world is too dangerous in
the world is too difficult for you to
think that you can do these things alone
if you find your spark I commend you now
who you gonna ask for help and what are
you gonna accept help when it’s offered
learn that skill learn by practicing
helping each other it’ll be the single
most valuable thing you ever learn in
your entire life to accept help when
it’s offered and to ask for it when you
know that you can’t do it the amazing
thing is when you learn to ask for help
you’ll discover that there are people
all around you who’ve always wanted to
help you they just didn’t think you
needed it because you kept pretending
that you had everything under control
and the minute you say I don’t know what
I’m doing I’m stuck I’m scared I don’t
think I can do this you will find that
lots of people who love you will rush in
and take care of you
but that’ll only happen if you learn to
take care of them first you will be told
your whole life that you need to learn
to listen I would say that you need to
learn to be the last to speak I see it
in boardrooms every day of the week even
people who consider themselves good
leaders who may actually be decent
leaders will walk into a room and say
here’s the problem here’s what I think
but I’m interested in your opinion let’s
go around the room it’s too late the
skill to hold your opinions to yourself
until everyone has spoken does two
things one it gives everybody else the
feeling that they have been heard it
give me gives everyone else the ability
to feel that they have contributed and
two you get the benefit of hearing what
everybody else has to think before you
render your opinion the skill is really
to keep your opinions to yourself if you
agree with somebody don’t nod yes if you
disagree with somebody don’t not know
simply sit there take it all in and the
only thing you’re allowed to do is ask
questions so that you can understand
what they mean and why they have the
opinion that they have you must
understand from where they are speaking
why they have the opinion they have not
just what they are saying and at the end
you will get your turn
it sounds easy it’s not practice being
the last to speak
that’s what Nelson Mandela did remember
this as you gain fame as you gain
fortune as you gain position and
seniority people will treat you better
they will hold doors open for you they
will get you a cup of tea and coffee
without you even asking they will call
you sir and ma’am and they will give you
stuff none of that stuff is meant for
you that stuff is meant for the position
you hold it is meant for the level that
you have achieved of leader or success
or whatever you want to call it but you
will always deserve a Styrofoam cup
remember that remember that lesson of
humility and gratitude you can accept
all the free stuff you can accept all
the perks
absolutely you can enjoy them but just
be grateful for them and know that
they’re not for you I remember getting
off the Acela I took the Acela from New
York to Washington DC and I got off the
train like everybody else and I was
walking down the platform like everyone
else and I walked past general norty
Schwartz who used to be the chief of
staff of the United States Air Force the
head of the Air Force and here I did you
see a guy in a suit slapping his own
suitcase down the platform just like me
and just a couple months ago he was
flying on private jets and an entourage
and other people carried his luggage but
he no longer held the position and so
now he got to drag his own suitcase and
never did it sort of remind me more that
none of us deserve the perks that we get
we all deserve a Styrofoam cup leaders
only have one thing they have followers
a follower is somebody who raises their
hand and volunteers to go where you’re
going they raise their hand and
volunteer to go in the direction that
you’re pointing and so to lead others
means that you have a cleared a clear
vision of a world that does not yet
exist a world that could exist and by
articulating that cause that vision that
purpose over and over and over again it
inspires people who believe what you
believe who want to see that world built
to join to go with you to figure out
ways you know and so for me in my work
what leadership means is articulating
this world in which the vast majority of
the vast majority of us wake up every
single day inspire to go to work and
come home every single day fulfilled by
the work that we do that doesn’t mean we
have to like every day you know but we
can love every day you don’t like your
children every day but you could you but
you love your children every day right
and so the more I talk about this world
that does not yet exist you because
right now the world we live in the vast
majority of people 90 percent plus don’t
love what they do they may like it but
they don’t love it when I talk about
this world it inspires others who
believe what I believe and want to see
this world built join up and figure out
in their own way how to advance that
vision so it becomes real I despise the
fact lament the fact I cursed the fact
that so few people get to say I love my
job as if they’ve won some lottery you
know you go out with your friends and
some
says I love my job and every because oh
my god you’re so lucky that to me is
madness everybody
the vast majority should get to wake up
and say I love my job it is a right it
is a god-given right that we should love
where we work and we should demand it we
should demand that our leaders provide
an environment in which we want to come
where we want to care about about each
other where we feel safe to express our
vulnerabilities and our fears and our
concerns that we’re open to correction
and discipline and feedback that we’re
not defensive because we know that it’s
being given to help us improve and grow
and we want to improve and grow and in
turn we will help others improve and
grow because when we feel safe when we
feel that our leaders care more about us
than a number they care more about our
lives and our confidence and our joy in
our skill set more than some short-term
game that they care more about our
priorities than the priorities of some
disinterested external constituency then
we will respond in kind and we will
offer our blood and our sweat and our
tears and we will make sacrifices of all
kinds to see that our leaders vision is
advanced and that this company continues
to thrive not for them for ourselves it
becomes a deeply personal and become
something we love contributing to I talk
about it all the time
working hard for something we don’t care
about is called stress working hard for
something we love is called passion and
I’m tired of listening to see using we
only hire a passionate people what you
know what that means how do you know
that they’re passionate for interviewing
you’re not passionate for working you
know every person on the planet has
passion right we just don’t all have
passion for the same things give me
something to believe in
give me something to believe in give me
the opportunity to contribute to
something allow me to make mistakes and
try again
and you’ll have passion up the wazoo
