How great leaders inspire action

Learn how great leaders inspire action — Top 5 lessons from Simon Sinek’s ‘Start With Why’

Leadership insights for you to inspire action

What is my ‘Why’ and can I inspire people to act if I know what it is? What is my organization’s ‘Why’? How is starting with ‘why’ relevant for leaders across the world? Do sustainable successful organisations have clarity on their ‘why’? Is it same as the popular words of ‘vision’, ‘mission’ and ‘goals’ or the recent oft-discussed topic of ‘purpose’?These were some of the questions running through the eager minds of the future leaders attending Simon Sinek’s enthralling session in Orlando as part of our firm’s annual milestone event.

Simon clarified our questions by walking us through how leaders and organisations can inspire action, work for the greater good and become great by starting with ‘why’ (also commonly known as purpose, cause, belief). According to him, ‘why’ is different from words, such as vision, mission and goals etc., in the sense that it is more powerful as it aligns every stakeholder (people we actually care about) to a common set of beliefs and inspires them to go above and beyond everyone else to become great. The point that resonated with me the most is that ‘why’ attains tremendous power when it has an underlying purpose of making the world a better place.

The session inspired me to research more on Simon’s proposed framework as I always wanted to learn the techniques used by leaders to inspire action. After all, who would not want to be a great leader and mentor. I needed to know how people start to believe in what great leaders, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Joan of Arc, Hellen Keller, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others, believe in.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world “— Mahatma Gandhi

I chanced upon Simon’s famous TED talk titled ‘How great leaders inspire action’ where he introduces the concepts of Golden Circle and provides examples of firms and leaders who have been able to inspire action.

I thought I should share top lessons learnt from his book ‘Start With Why’ to help you learn about his framework and start inspiring action.

Top 5 lessons from ‘Start With Why’:

1. Prioritise Clarity (of Why), Discipline (of How) and Consistency (of What)

If leaders do not know why they do what they do, how will anyone else?

“I want to put a ding in the universe.” — Steve Jobs

As a leader one has to be aware of oneself and what drives one to achieve greatness.

One should have the courage and know-how to successfully challenge conventional thinking — the status quo.

I believe self-introspection, mindfulness, strong awareness of what all would make this world even more beautiful, and a never-ending passion to learn will help in achieving a clear why.

The leaders and organisations which inspire action, and can sustain to do so for longer periods of time, are the ones which have a clarity of their ‘why’, discipline of ‘how’, and consistency of ‘what’.

2. Balance the Golden Circle

Golden circle (see diagram below) is an important tool for conveying beliefs to stakeholders. Simon encourages leaders to think inside out of this circle by beginning from ‘Why’, move next to ‘How’ and finally to ‘What’. If you have achieved a clarity of ‘why’, your ‘how’ and ‘what’ will now be aligned to it and be of significance.

Balancing the golden circle would help leaders lay a strong foundation to the culture of your organisation.

I believe every aspiring entrepreneur will be greatly benefited and can grow faster by using this tool when pitching to their self, their families, friends, future employees or investors. They need to focus on the purpose first and move gradually to the unique selling proposition then to the product or service portfolio. For e.g. Apple’s “1000 songs in your pocket” introduction for iPod focussed on conveying Why first and moved onto How and What subsequently. Simon’s examples related to the importance of thinking inside out take me back to Theodore Levitt’s Marketing Myopia, especially cases of railroad vs aviation and TiVo vs digital cable companies.

3. Develop real trust as it comes from the things you can’t see

Leaders need to provide circle of safety, a sense of trust, an invisible net, practical or emotional to all stakeholders. This is a great responsibility on the shoulders of the leaders. People associate with great leaders because they feel protected.

Great leaders become great because they do not sacrifice their people for numbers.

Simon points out that trust and cooperation are feelings and not instructions to follow.

Empathy is needed to develop this trust like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella mentions in his book ‘Hit Refresh’. He also mentions that culture eats strategy for breakfast.

“The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say ‘I.’ And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say ‘I.’ They don’t think ‘I.’ They think ‘we’; they think ‘team.’ They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but ‘we’ gets the credit…. This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done.” — Peter Drucker, author of Managing for the Future

A culture of trust and cooperation put in place for people would result in reciprocal behaviour where individuals would take personal risks in order to advance the culture or organisation as a whole.

4. Design tipping points by bringing in innovators and early adopters to your side

Leaders should design their tipping points and not wait for one to materialise on its own. This can happen if leaders take time and effort to network and find people (innovators and early adopters) who believe in what they believe and not simply sell the idea/product to the majority. This can be done by communicating your ‘why’ to a larger audience.through tools like Medium, LinkedIn, Facebook and other social media networking tools.

E.M.Rogers Diffusion of Innovations Theory explains how, over time, an idea/product gains momentum and how it spreads through a specific population. The result of this diffusion is that people, as part of a social system, adopt a new idea, behavior, or product. Rogers suggests that around 2.5% of people would be innovators and 13.5% would be early adopters.

Leaders should not ignore the diffusion theory.

Like Malcolm Gladwell suggested in his book ‘The Tipping Point’, it should be the connectors and influencers — the top 15%–18% (left side of Roger’s Diffusion Theory bell curve) that leaders need to focus on first in bringing them onto their side. These influencers would help leaders design a tipping point that lasts beyond the initial tip.

5. Find people who connect with your ‘Why’ and help you with ‘How’

Great leaders have the ability to find good fits to join their organisations. These people embody the cause of their leaders which makes it easier for the leaders to march on to greatness. For e.g. Steve Jobs had extremely brilliant people such as Steve Wozniak by his side without whom it would have been difficult for Apple to achieve what it could achieve.

People are either motivated or they are not. Unless leaders give motivated people something to believe in, something bigger than their job to work towards, there is a high chance that people will quit and find a new job. Leaders will then be stuck with whoever is left which is not ideal.

Simon mentioned in his Orlando session that traditional thought process of organisations is to please the short term ‘share-renters’ (commonly known as shareholders) instead of focussing on their long term stakeholders — their customers, their employees and their families.

“I knew that to lead effectively I needed to get some things square in my own mind — and, ultimately, in the minds of everyone who works at Microsoft. Why does Microsoft exist? And why do I exist in this new role? These are questions everyone in every organization should ask themselves. I worried that failing to ask these questions, and truly answer them, risked perpetuating earlier mistakes and, worse, not being honest.”
― Satya Nadella, Hit Refresh

Impact of a clear ‘why’ on personal lives

I believe our personal lives will be positively impacted as well if we are clear on our ‘why’. We would become more mindful, have less stress and be more peaceful for our choices and actions will then be governed by a greater purpose. We would be able to attract people who believe in what we believe and lead a balanced life.

Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own and in no way affiliated to the organisation(s) I have been/am associated with.

How Great Leaders Inspire Action by Simon Sinek (Transcript)

Simon Sinek at TED Talks

In this TED talk given in 2009, Simon Sinek speaks on how great leaders inspire action, with his powerful Golden Circle concept……

TRANSCRIPT:

Simon Sinek – Leadership Expert

How do you explain when things don’t go as we assume? Or better, how do you explain when others are able to achieve things that seem to defy all of the assumptions? For example: Why is Apple so innovative? Year after year, after year, after year, they’re more innovative than all their competition.

And yet, they’re just a computer company. They’re just like everyone else. They have the same access to the same talent, the same agencies, the same consultants, the same media. Then why is it that they seem to have something different?

Why is it that Martin Luther King led the Civil Rights Movement? He wasn’t the only man who suffered in a pre-civil rights America, and he certainly wasn’t the only great orator of the day. Why him?

And why is it that the Wright Brothers were able to figure out controlled, powered man flight when there were certainly other teams who were better qualified, better funded… and they didn’t achieve powered man flight, and the Wright Brothers beat them to it. There’s something else at play here.

About three and a half years ago I made a discovery. And this discovery profoundly changed my view on how I thought the world worked, and it even profoundly changed the way in which I operate in it.

As it turns out, there’s a pattern. As it turns out, all the great and inspiring leaders and organizations in the world — whether it’s Apple or Martin Luther King or the Wright Brothers — they all think, act and communicate the exact same way. And it’s the complete opposite to everyone else. All I did was codify it, and it’s probably the world’s simplest idea. I call it the Golden Circle.

Why? How? What? This little idea explains why some organizations and some leaders are able to inspire where others aren’t. Let me define the terms really quickly. Every single person, every single organization on the planet knows what they do, 100 percent. Some know how they do it, whether you call it your differentiated value proposition or your proprietary process or your USP. But very, very few people or organizations know why they do what they do.

And by “why” I don’t mean “to make a profit.” That’s a result. It’s always a result. By “why,” I mean: What’s your purpose? What’s your cause? What’s your belief? Why does your organization exist?

Why do you get out of bed in the morning? And why should anyone care?

Well, as a result, the way we think, the way we act, the way we communicate is from the outside in. It’s obvious. We go from the clearest thing to the fuzziest thing. But the inspired leaders and the inspired organizations — regardless of their size, regardless of their industry — all think, act and communicate from the inside out.

Let me give you an example. I use Apple because they’re easy to understand and everybody gets it. If Apple were like everyone else, a marketing message from them might sound like this: “We make great computers. They’re beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. Want to buy one?” “Meh.” And that’s how most of us communicate. That’s how most marketing is done, that’s how most sales is done and that’s how most of us communicate interpersonally.

We say what we do, we say how we’re different or how we’re better and we expect some sort of a behavior, a purchase, a vote, something like that. Here’s our new law firm: We have the best lawyers with the biggest clients, we always perform for our clients who do business with us. Here’s our new car: It gets great gas mileage, it has leather seats, buy our car. But it’s uninspiring.

Here’s how Apple actually communicates. “Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?” Totally different right?

You’re ready to buy a computer from me. All I did was reverse the order of the information. What it proves to us is that people don’t buy what you do; people buy why you do it. People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.

This explains why every single person in this room is perfectly comfortable buying a computer from Apple. But we’re also perfectly comfortable buying an MP3 player from Apple, or a phone from Apple, or a DVR from Apple. But, as I said before, Apple’s just a computer company. There’s nothing that distinguishes them structurally from any of their competitors. Their competitors are all equally qualified to make all of these products.

In fact, they tried. A few years ago, Gateway came out with flat screen TVs. They’re eminently qualified to make flat screen TVs. They’ve been making flat screen monitors for years. Nobody bought one. Dell came out with MP3 players and PDAs, and they make great quality products, and they can make perfectly well-designed products — and nobody bought one.

In fact, talking about it now, we can’t even imagine buying an MP3 player from Dell. Why would you buy an MP3 player from a computer company? But we do it every day. People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.

Biology, Not Psychology

Here’s the best part: None of what I’m telling you is my opinion. It’s all grounded in the tenets of biology. Not psychology, biology. If you look at a cross-section of the human brain, looking from the top down, what you see is the human brain is actually broken into three major components that correlate perfectly with the golden circle.

Our newest brain, our Homo sapien brain, our neocortex, corresponds with the “what” level. The neocortex is responsible for all of our rational and analytical thought and language.

The middle two sections make up our limbic brains, and our limbic brains are responsible for all of our feelings, like trust and loyalty. It’s also responsible for all human behavior, all decision-making, and it has no capacity for language.

In other words, when we communicate from the outside in, yes, people can understand vast amounts of complicated information like features and benefits and facts and figures. It just doesn’t drive behavior. When we can communicate from the inside out, we’re talking directly to the part of the brain that controls behavior, and then we allow people to rationalize it with the tangible things we say and do. This is where gut decisions come from.

You know, sometimes you can give somebody all the facts and figures, and they say, “I know what all the facts and details say, but it just doesn’t feel right.” Why would we use that verb, it doesn’t “feel” right? Because the part of the brain that controls decision-making doesn’t control language. And the best we can muster up is, “I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel right.”

Or sometimes you say you’re leading with your heart, or you’re leading with your soul. Well, I hate to break it to you, those aren’t other body parts controlling your behavior. It’s all happening here in your limbic brain, the part of the brain that controls decision-making and not language.

How Great Leaders Inspire Action by Perception, Beliefs and Motivation

This article was last updated on September 5, 2017

The success and failure of a corporation, agenda or goal depends entirely on the leadership. They can make themselves a hero and mark themselves in the glory of history books or they can live long enough to see themselves become a villain. There are many competitive advantages which a company can have, but great leadership is something which cannot be duplicated. Great leaders motivate us, spark us, ignite us, and push us – to go places which defy all assumptions.

How Great Leaders Inspire Action by Perception, Beliefs and Motivation

The golden circle of inspiration

If we analyze all the great leaders that history has ever produced and the lessons learned in life we can clearly see that they follow a simple pattern. Some people refer to this pattern as the golden circle and it answers three simple questions. Why? How? What? The way a leader respond to these questions would define if a leader would be able to inspire action or not.

There are plenty of books and articles written on how to motivate people, but a human black box is something which cannot be decoded that easily. Some motivation factors work for one set of people, other don’t. Motivation factors might influence people to do their job but as soon that motivation factor diminishes, the actions are gone. Great leaders on the other hand aspire action by giving them a meaning and a purpose. They give them something to be associated to, to be proud about. They tell them the reason of their existence and how their part would matter to the world.

A great leader makes sure that his followers realize and understand the “why” behind his actions. If their why is a paycheck, then your followers are just not into you. Th why pushes a person forwards, the why gives you motivation when the seas are rough and the why helps you move ahead of competition. It’s never about the product, the result, the money or the fame. It’s always about the why. And that’s what distinguishes a great leader from a good leader.

Perception& Inspiration.

There is a significant position which an inspiring leader holds, a position of authority and power. He can use that power to get things done, but he doesn’t. That is because he doesn’t need to. People follow him not because they are bound to, but because they want to. So how does a leader inspire action among his people, he does so by recognizing what motivates his people, leading by action and creating a strong positive culture.

There are certain things which leaders do which have a huge impact on the peoples’ perception of them. A person may perceive his leader favorably or not, in various scenarios such as; if he cares for them, if he listens to them, if he is empathetic or sympathetic or if he leads by example or not. If a person starts believing that his leader is giving out the clear message that “you are not important to me,” then guess what – the agenda, the vision or the company are not going to be important to them as well.

Great leaders inspire action by improving the perception of their followers by:

Beliefs& Inspiration.

It is true that success is directly proportional to actions, but how does an action start? It starts with one simple yet critical element: belief. Great leaders believe in themselves, in their ideas, in their persistence and in other people. Their beliefs inspire actions and that’s what makes them unique. You don’t have to go around telling people about what needs to be done and what actions need to be taken. Rather, you just have to tell people about your beliefs and people who believe what you belief would associate themselves to the cause and they would make it their own.

You never need numbers. Rather, you need connections. You need to believe in yourself first, before you go around inspiring people. So, forget about quantity and focus on quality. You forget about receiving and focus on giving. Only then, you will be able to create an everlasting bond and relationship. If you are there when they need you, they would be there when you need them. And how do great leaders inspire action by cultivating those beliefs, they do it by:

Motivation & Inspiration.

Motivation is a great thing if you need to get something done, but it is entirely different form inspiration. Surely, people work hard when they are motivated, but they will work harder if they are inspired. Some people might think that motivation and inspiration are the same things. But that’s wrong. For example, I work hard so that I get praised, I work so that I get my paycheck. This is motivation as I am not inspired by the things I do at work. I am inspired by the things I do in my free time, for example, I am inspired when I write this article and I am inspired when I help people.

Motivations makes sure that a job is completed, inspiration makes sure it gets done in an effective way. The results however are completely different. Inspiration is the springboard for creativity as it facilitates progress towards goals. Great leaders provide inspiration to the people so that they do what they are doing in a way that effects them, the community and the world at large. It makes them see the bigger picture, rather than focusing on a single goal because they are filled with a belief that their ideas have a bigger impact. Motivation doesn’t create new ideas and adventure, inspiration does.

And in order to achieve greatness and success, a great leader inspire action by following these five traits:

Steve Jobs, Bill Gates are quintessential example of inspiring leaders and I believe as well that they must have checked these boxes as well.

Conclusion

If you look around yourself, you would realize that there a lot of leaders who emphasize on what they are doing – the product, the features, the benefits etc. When they run out of things, they hire marketers who focus providing information about how a product/service/ agenda would increase their sales, make them profitable, make them happy etc. Most of them tend to ignore the why aspect. Great leaders always focus on the why effect if they need to inspire action. People are moved by the “why-aspect”. Histories are made when people understand it. So the next time you plan on making a difference, you need to create a competitive advantage by inspiring people with the WHY of your existence.

TED Summaries

TED Talks Worth Sharing

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

Speaker: Simon Sinek – Simon is author of “Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action” http://www.ted.com/speakers/simon_sinek

Summary

What gives the great leaders their edge? Why were Martin Luther King, Wright Brothers, & Steve Jobs successful when others have access to similar resources and conditions? The thing these leaders have in common is summarised in the ‘Golden Circle’.

The best organisations can explain and sell the ‘why’ first, and use this to inspire others. People don’t buy what you do, but why you do it. Using Apple as an example, their sales statements starts with their “why” – they design differently to push the boundary. Once you accept their why, you trust them to build anything for you – a computer, an MP3 player, phone. Other quality electronics companies known for 1 product (eg Dell computers) struggle to sell anything else, because they are only known for what they make not why.

The most central parts of the brain control behaviour – this is what people speak to when they answer ‘why’. Answering ‘what’ deals with fact, figures, but still might not feel right on gut feeling.

Simon gives the example of the Wright brothers against Samuel Pierpont Langley. Samuel had all the usually be the recipes to success on his side – money, market conditions, and a well educated and connected team. But while Samuel was driven by wealth and power, the Wright brother’s team were motivated by the idea of changing the course of history with powered flight. The Wright brothers achieved flight first, and Samuel immediately quit once the goal of being first was out of reach.

Different people are comfortable to adopt new technology at different times. The early adopters take up the first 15-18%, with the mainstream being the next 68%. The mainstream need the early adopters to try it first, on gut instinct. This makes hitting 20% market share vital – hitting the tipping point where the mainstream will start to take up quickly. Early adopters are sold everything on the ‘why’ – they will adopt a poor quality product if they like the idea behind it.

People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.