Leaders Eat Last - Review

When people visualize leadership they see many different things. Some envision powerful CEOs, influential politicians, or military generals. Other people conjure images of teachers, pastors, or social workers. Simon Sinek, in his book Leaders Eat Last, paints a picture of a leadership that summons the power to lead and serve simultaneously. Sinek argues that true leadership is an act of service toward others and that capstone leadership is about cornerstone culture creation.

Capstone leadership is about cornerstone culture.

His book is evaluates organizational culture from different perspectives. Each one adds a layer of context to the role and function of the leader. He discusses the modern work place and how people get things done as groups. These groups function in ways relevant to their culture which is the responsibility of those in charge. Sinek also examines leadership from an anthropomorphic point of view and takes a long look a the history of leaders and followers.

I would not recommend reading this book. It is simple, obvious, and boring. Sorry Simon, I loved Start With Why, but I can't get behind this one. He writes about servant leadership without any substance or conviction. I know that he means what he says but I felt a lack of depth to his arguments about eating last. In an ironic twist, I felt like our author didn't ever articulate a compelling reason why leaders need to eat last. Perhaps my tradition in the church has created an unrealistic standard of discussion around the topic of servant leadership. Perhaps this book is not very insightful.

One redeeming quality of the book is his discussion about generational approaches toward leadership. This discussion found itself embedded towards the end of the text and nearly redeemed the entirety of the book. I think Sinek buried the lead here and should have based his discussions about leadership through this lens instead.