"Leaders Eat Last" - Simon Sinek

On one of my morning walks, I was hazily tuning in and out of a podcast when I heard the interviewee mention a book title that caught my attention, “Leaders Eat Last.” I took mental note. Though it’s a title, I liked it as a quote. I started coming up with my own interpretations but then I started wondering, why this matters and why it’s important.  

More often than not, in our culture, businesses give bonuses to people who make sacrifices for the leader’s benefit. According to Simon Sinek, the author, this way of thinking is backwards. It creates a cycle where employees are “pitted against” each other, which, in turn, causes feelings of emptiness and dissatisfaction. Inspired by the military, where medals are given to those who sacrifice for the benefit of others, Sinek’s motive is to reconfigure what it means to be a leader, emphasizing that true leaders build an environment where the people they’re responsible for feel safe. When feelings of safety and trust are created, people thrive – they speak their minds, are open to collaboration and are empathetic. And it all starts with the leadership. 

With such a small team at Mestiza, there’s no time for politics or competition! I suppose it’s natural to feel that occasional pang of jealousy when you feel like you’re going nowhere and others around you seem to have their foot on the accelerator. What I’ve learned as an entrepreneur is that, in order to scale a healthy business, your vision must align with your values, and your values need to motivate your employees.  Building a viable business doesn’t happen overnight, and you need teammates to do it. By practicing what you preach, encouraging collaboration, leaving the door open, and letting your team know you have their back, you're inspiring them to do the same whether it's inside your organization or in their personal life. It is one step towards rethinking our norms and thinking outside of the box! 

xx,