The document summarizes key points from a Simon Sinek keynote talk about leadership and team dynamics. It discusses how trust between team members allows people to work together productively by releasing dopamine and serotonin, while distrust causes people to work against each other. It also explains that effective leaders create an environment where people feel safe and valued, which releases oxytocin and encourages hard work. Leaders prioritize people over metrics and sacrifice for their team to build strong relationships based on trust.

1. “LEADERS EAT LAST:
WHY SOME TEAMS COME TOGETHER
AND OTHERS DON'T”
BY SIMON SINEK
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2. The natural human inclination is to come
together, combine our talents, seize the
opportunities and attack the danger. When we
don’t trust each other, we work against each
other to protect ourselves.
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3. Leadership sets the tone and the conditions.
If you get the conditions right, the
organization thrives.
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4. When there is no circle of safety, we force our
employees to expend their energy to protect
themselves from each other, and as such,
they’re less productive.
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5. If you want to direct the behavior of people
in an organization, you tell them a target
and offer them an incentive.
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6. Dopamine is released when you accomplish
something you set out to accomplish, when you
cross something off your to do list, when you hit
the goal. Dopamine makes us achievement
machines, but we have to know that we’re making
progress.
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7. We’re visual animals, we have to see our goals
to have the dopamine system work. This is why
you have to write down your goals; we’re no
good with the abstract. Give me a number, tell
me what I need to hit and I will work towards
that. We like metrics because they tell us that
we’re making progress.
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8. Serotonin is closely tied to self confidence. When
we are recognized within our tribe, we feel our
value go up. Serotonin reinforces the relationship
between management and the employee.
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9. Serotonin is the leadership chemical.
Leaders will sacrifice for you and expect
nothing in return.
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10. When we spend our energy without expectation
of anything in return, that releases oxytocin.
We as humans put a premium on those willing
to sacrifice a non-redeemable commodity.
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11. Cortisol makes us selfish and inhibits the release
of oxytocin. Negative work environments make a
healthy environment impossible.
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12. Unhealthy cultures are ones in which metrics
are the predominant means of measuring
performance. Endorphins and dopamine are the
selfish chemicals, which need to be balanced by
the selfless chemicals serotonin and oxytocin.
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13. When someone is willing to sacrifice for us,
we work extra hard because on a biological
level, we want to make them proud. If they
didn’t give a chance for us to fail, we wouldn’t
work as hard because we’re social animals.
We want to make good on the sacrifice.
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14. Even though, intellectually, we want to align
ourselves with the best, as social animals, we
don’t want to be around people who are selfishly
driven. We want to be around people who are
selflessly driven.
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15. A leader would never say, “Give me a reason to
trust you.” That’s why we call them leaders,
because they go first.
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16. Great leaders sacrifice the numbers to save the
people, because when push comes to shove,
numbers won’t save you, people will.
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17. We reinforce trust with physical contact.
That’s why your hand is a magical thing
in business.
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18. You think business is about contracts – it
isn’t. It's about human beings looking for
others around which they can feel safe.
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19. Email thank you messages don’t work because
they're too easy; rather, three days later if you
send a hand written message with the exact
same words, that will make the person feel
better – it takes time and energy.
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20. “The responsibility of leadership is not
to come up with all the ideas but to
create an environment in which great
ideas can thrive.” – Sinek
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