The essential variable in leadership: "why".

• Author: Kavanagh, Shayne
• Position: Start with Why: How Great Leaders inspire Everyone to Take Action - Book review

Start with Why: How Great Leaders inspire Everyone to Take Action

Simon Sinek

Portfolio/Penguin

2011, 256 pages, $16

In Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, author Simon Sinek presents an alternative model of leadership based on inspiration. It contrasts with the transactional forms of leadership commonly found in organizations. Transactional modes of leadership are characterized by the use of positive and negative reinforcements (e.g., monetary incentives and punishments), and Sinek refers to these as "manipulative." He does not use the term pejoratively, but rather descriptively --by using such tools, a leader seeks to manipulate others into doing something they would otherwise not want to do.

Sinek advances an inspirational model of leadership that motivates people to do things because they want to. This pattern of leadership starts with "why." "Why" represents the most fundamental reason for the existence of the organization and the reason constituents and employees should care about the organization. "Why" is at the center of what Sinek calls the "Golden Circle" (see Exhibit 1), which tells us that while "why" is central, it must also be accompanied by "how" and "what." "What" is the service that an organization provides, and "how" is the method or approach used to provide that service.

The problem many organizations have, Sinek posits, is that they are able to clearly articulate their "what" and their "how," but not their "why." Inspirational leadership is impossible without the "why," leaving only transactional, manipulative modes of management. These styles of leadership will ultimately fail to attract, motivate, and retain a highly effective workforce, leading to subpar organizational performance. Hence, leaders must understand that employees and constituents don't get excited about "what" the organizational does, but rather "why" it does it.

EXPLAINING THE "WHY"

A good illustration of the consequences of missing the "why" comes from TiVo, the first digital video recording service (DVR). TiVo was first to market, is widely acknowledged to have had technology that was superior to the competitors that followed, and was well-funded by venture capital. The brand name "TiVo" even became a general-use verb for digitally recording a TV show, even for customers who did not use the TiVo service (much like one will "Xerox" a document on a competitor's photocopier). So, with DVR technology now commonplace, why is...