Why good leaders make you feel safe – when the sense of trust and cooperation overpowers the fear of authority (video)

We have gone through a lot of aspects of leadership, each one having its own place in the puzzle of the leadership picture. One of them, perhaps one of the most important ones, has to do with safety, trust, and cooperation within the organization.

In this video Simon Sinek lets us peak into his vision on good leadership that has a lot to do with the leadership model of the military. Here’s what he says, “In the military, they give medals to people who are willing to sacrifice themselves so that others may gain. In business, we give bonuses to people who are willing to sacrifice others so that we may gain. We have it backwards.”

It is this deep controversy that prevents good leaders, from benefiting from their qualities. The truth is that great leaders are not necessarily born as such. It is the environment that has the power to turn (almost) anyone into a great leader.

But what is that, which is important in an organization? It’s the deep feeling of trust, safety and cooperation within its members. Unfortunately, this is a feeling that requires a lot of effort (on behalf of the leader) to be achieved. It’s not something you can simply instruct your employees to do.

If you think about it, it totally makes sense. Imagine the organization you work for is your family. You are safe there, you feel you belong there; you naturally trust and cooperate with others. In this world in which the modern dangers are everywhere (economy fluctuations, stock market uncertainties, new technologies, competition, etc) it is the safety within the organization that a good leader should focus on in order to achieve better results. “When a leader makes the choice to put the safety and lives of the people inside the organization first, to sacrifice their comforts and sacrifice the tangible results, so that the people remain and feel safe and feel like they belong, remarkable things happen.”

Being an authority, according to Simon Sinek, is not enough. He proposes that we think of leadership in terms of parenthood. Who is the great leader then? It’s the one who gives his employees enough opportunities, education, and discipline (when necessary). It’s the one who knows how to build self-confidence in his team and gives them the freedom to try and fail.

Find out more about Simon Sinek’s ideas on leadership and why good leaders make you feel safe here: