I watched a TED talk called “Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe”. Simon Sinek, a management theorist, talked about how throughout time, humans have relied on creating trust and safety with those around us. It is in those circumstances where leaders emerge and we choose to trust them. He opened his talk with an example about Captain William Swenson, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2009 for his heroic actions in the military. Sinek wondered where these kinds of people come from, and initially thought that these “better people” are attracted to the military and the idea of helping others. However, Sinek concluded that, “if you get the environment right, every single one of us has the capacity to do these remarkable things, and more importantly, others have that capacity too”. I thought the idea of the environment being right was really interesting. I think that when people think about leadership in the general sense, they immediately think of presidents or CEOs – people in power and who have authority. However, it is important to note the difference between authorities and leaders, and understand that even the smallest gestures are examples of good leadership.

Sinek also uses an example of a company that was hit extremely hard by the 2008 recession, and they lost about 30 percent of their sales overnight. When the board was pushing layoffs, the CEO refused to do that to people. Instead, they worked to create a furlough program where every employee was required to take a four-week unpaid vacation whenever they wanted. By implementing this program, they saved 20 million dollars, but they also solidified the trust between employees and employers. One thing I thought was really interesting was how the CEO chose to announce this plan. He said that it was better that we all should suffer a little than anyone should have to suffer a lot.

One of the most interesting things that came out of that furlough program was that morale was boosted, and people began helping each other. Those who could afford an unpaid vacation, for example, would take a five-week vacation so someone who was struggling more only had to take three weeks off. At the end of the day, position does not matter in a leader, but your actions can really affect others. At the end of his talk, Sinek said that when he asked people “why would you do that?” everyone said the same thing, “because they would have done it for me”. This sense of trust and camaraderie runs so much deeper than we may notice, and has a lot of power.

Here’s the link for anyone who’s interested! https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe/details?language=en