Simon Sinek on Empathy and Perspective

[iteles]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyTQ5-SQYTo

If you want to be a great leader, start with empathy.

Practicing empathy

Great story about a barista who was brilliant and when asked, immediately said he loved him job. Why? 'Throughout the day, managers walk past and ask if there's anything that I need to do my job better - not just my manager, any manager. At Caesar's Palace where I also work, they are just checking if we're doing everything right, they catch us when we're doing anything wrong, so there I just keep my head down.'

As leaders, we need to practice empathy.

Great example of difference between non-empathy and empathy: 'Your numbers are down for the 3rd quarter in a row, you need to pick them up or I can't defend you' vs 'Your numbers are down for the 3rd quarter in a row, are you OK? I'm worried about you, what's going on?'

Empathy is caring about the human being, not just their output

"The Millenial Problem

https://youtu.be/RyTQ5-SQYTo?t=510 Apparently this young generation is un-leadable. How do we practice empathy with a group we don't understand of are struggling with? This is split into 4 parts:

• Parenting - Millennials have been subjected to a failed parenting strategy where parents molly-coddle them and they get what they want just because they want it and in a world of social media where they become extremely good at curating exactly how the world sees them
  • Both of these things create low self-esteem and a lack of sense of where they are coming from
  • "My door is always open" is a useless offer because it assumed they will have the courage to walk through it and know which questions to ask
• Technology - Dopamine-releasing social media plays a huge role in their lives and often self-worth is wrapped up in this. It is a generation that has learned to always carry their phones.
  • If you as a leader are holding your phone or have your phone out, it makes whoever you're talking to fell less important, just because your phone is in view
  • If you don't believe this, watch 1 minute of this section of the video, it's super illustrative: https://youtu.be/RyTQ5-SQYTo?t=898
  • It hurts our ability to relate to each other
• Impatience - They are the generation of instant gratification because everything is available immediately
  • A typical conversation is: "I think I'm going to quit." "Why?" "Because I feel I'm not making an impact." "You know you've only been here 8 months, right?"
  • They are constantly looking to make an impact and leave their mark and they want to do that quickly. [@iteles personal musing: My hypothesis here is that if we lay out a clear path to get to an impact together, this will be dampened]
• Environment - We're putting this wonderful and enthusiastic group of people and putting them in corporate environments that don't care about them as human beings
  • Laying people off because a company doesn't meet its numbers is the best way to destroy trust and cooperation in an organisation because those who remain go to work every day wondering whether they're next, even if they work hard
  • We create an environment where everyone comes to work everyday hiding and faking
  • You need to create an environment where people feel safe enough to say 'I need help' or 'I don't know what I'm doing' or 'I made a mistake'
  • "We just can't get the performance out of our people" - maybe it's not them, it's you, you're the common denominator

Ask the question "How do I help my people be at their natural best?" - if you practice empathy, relate to what they may be going through, it will profoundly change the decisions we make.

Perspective

It's not about winning or losing. It's an infinite game.

• In Vietnam, the Americans were playing to win whereas the Vietnamese were fighting for the lives - they would fight for as long as necessary
• The companies that we admire and are extremely successful are not playing to win, which is why they are so frustrating to their competition - they are playing to be around for the long haul
  • Jim Senegal (founder of Costco) doesn't talk about the quarter's profits, he talks about the next 50 years
  • At a Microsoft summit, a large proportion of the talks were about how to beat Apple; at an Apple summit, all the presentations were about how to help teachers teach and students learn
• Don't be obsessed with the competition, be obsessed with where you're going
• "The infinite player isn't playing to be number 1 every day with every product, they're playing to outlast the competition"
• They understand that sometimes you're a little better and sometimes you're a little less good than the competition but if you wake up every morning and compete against yourself, understanding how you further your purpose, over time, you will be ahead more often

[nelsonic]

Simon Sinek Explains What Almost Every Leader Gets Wrong: https://youtu.be/Ar20m23XY_c The Infinite Game: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Infinite-Game-Businesses-Achieve-Long-Lasting/dp/0241295599 (only available June 6, 2019...)

[Svishva]

Thanks, @iteles, and @nelsonic For sharing. This is important every Person must be learned.

Sharing my playlist of Simon Sinek. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfe4aCz_HK7lYbZ5FgB6u38AMZcbax7er

:)