When Marines camp, the most junior members eat first. The more senior follow, with leaders eating last. If food runs out, leaders go hungry, not the rank-and-file. This exemplifies true leadership. Real leaders don't enrich themselves at the expense of others. They don't view people as resources to be casually turned on and off. Great leaders care for their people above all. In practical terms, great leaders create a Circle of Safety around their people. In dangerous environments, leaders expand that circle repeatedly. A company's strength comes not from products, but from people working together. Every member maintains the Circle. The leader ensures they do so. This is leadership's primary role - caring for those within their Circle. People make the leader at the top look like a genius, not the other way around.
The most vital responsibility of leadership is to protect your people as they take risks and aim high. Safeguarding your team from harm is the foremost priority. The world poses many dangers, both literal and philosophical. Your primary duty as a leader should be establishing a Circle of Safety for your employees, then progressively expanding that circle over time. This challenge can also be explained by basic human biology. Our bodies naturally produce four key chemicals: endorphins and dopamine motivate us to pursue goals, while serotonin and oxytocin enable teamwork and organizational commitment. In particular, serotonin drives us to seek the approval of respected colleagues. When we belong to an excellent group, oxytocin provides long-term motivation to value those connections. Leaders must also be cognizant of cortisol, released when we feel unsafe, causing stress. Unhealthy organizational cultures elicit constant cortisol flow, preventing employees from doing their best work. Each feel-good chemical is vital for individual and collective survival. Endorphins and dopamine give us the drive to labor and achieve objectives. Serotonin ensures we properly lead and follow. Oxytocin facilitates strong bonds of trust and love, enabling major leaps forward through collaborative problem-solving. Great leaders foster environments where chemicals are released for the right reasons, creating self-motivated teams versus those driven by external structures. As Simon Sinek states, the goal is balance, which seems to impart supernatural abilities like courage, foresight and empathy, generating remarkable results. For example, when 2008’s stock crash caused a 30% drop in orders, manufacturing firm Barry-Wehmiller refused to conduct layoffs during the lean year. Instead, CEO Bob Chapman implemented mandatory furloughs where every employee, including himself, took four unpaid weeks off so the burden was shared. Rather than self-preservation, workers helped each other through trading furlough time. This engendered tremendous loyalty and esprit de corps. Once business recovered, the program ended but those feelings endured. Barry-Wehmiller now boasts impressively low turnover, flourishing because its people feel safe. In summary, human systems aim first for survival, then thriving. Organizations where people feel secure perform best because employees can do their finest work. Savvy leaders combine biology and anthropology to elicit peak performance, not just top talent. They foster safety and are rewarded in kind. As Lieutenant General George Flynn states, leadership requires selflessness.
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