Video Analysis Essay on Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe by Simon Sinek

In the video Why good leaders make you feel safe, Simon Sinek attempts to delineate the distinction between leadership and authority. The speaker holds the position that good leaders choose to make employees to feel safe at work by sacrificing so that their followers to be safe, to feel protected, and gain, which in turn make them do remarkable things. The video conveys three issues (i) how leaders foster trust and cooperation at the workplace; (ii) how safe work environment benefit the staff and the organization as a whole, and (iii) why leaders should put the well-being and interest of their followers or subordinates ahead of their self-interest.

Analysis of the Issue

I agree with Sineks argument that leadership is a choice rather than a rank. Sinek gives an excellent example depicting sacrificial leadership in the military and extrapolates it to the contemporary corporate environment. Similarly, he equates leaders to parents who have to sacrifice a lot just to take care of their children. It is true that to be an effective leader, one has to put himself in the shoes of his or her followers, identify with their problems or situation and motivate them to achieve a certain goal. Unlike authority, leadership involves motivating and inspiring followers to feel empowered to achieve a result that would not have otherwise achieved. Moreover, I believe that great leaders nurture trust and cooperation in their followers. From Sineks perspective, trust and cooperation are earned rather than commanded. I content that good leaders do foster trust and cooperation at work because these are intrinsic factors that if well exploited can enhance employees morale and job commitment.

Additionally, Sinek asserts that the only variable are the conditions inside the organization. The presenter provides a solid justification to this argument by observing that ups and downs are still rife in the contemporary economy, including uncertainty of the stock market and rapid technological changes that renders a business model obsolete overnight. This justification is correct because leaders have very little or no control over the external environment in which their organizations operate. Instead, they only have the chance of influencing the internal environment and setting the tone and direction for the organization to pursue. Creating and fostering safer workplace in which the safety, security, and personal and professional needs of the employees are respected and met can make the staff to feel like they belong and valued. This may in turn can motivate them to do remarkable things.

Relation to Class Materials

Sineks talk relates to strategic management particularly organizational leadership and human resource management, topics that have been covered in the text context, discussions, and other notes provided in the course. As learned in the course, effective leadership and HR management are integral parts of the strategic planning/management processes. The course text states that employees constitute the most critical resource of any organization since most of the resources, including money, materials, and equipment can only be utilized properly when the organization has an effective and well-motivated staff. From the discussion, it emerged that effective management of an organizations personnel is important to ensuring that the entity runs smoothly and efficiently. For employees to contribute or participate in the strategic planning in terms of the ways identified in the course notes such as market research, competitive analysis, financial reconciliation, product development, and HR management, among others, their leaders must set the appropriate tone to motivate their staff to achieve these goals.

Key Contributions to Strategic Management

The speaker make a number of significant contributions to the field of strategic management. First, he demonstrates how leaders foster trust and cooperation at the workplace. This is vital considering that trust and cooperation can promote teamwork and collaborative working not only among staff but also between employees and their leaders. Second, Senik articulates how a safe work environment benefit the staff and the organization as a whole. Creating and fostering a safe environment is an integral part of strategic management as employees need to establish working relationships with their colleagues and leaders to realize strategic goals. An understanding that leaders put the well-being and interest of the subordinates ahead of personal self-interest can serve as an intrinsic motivation that can stimulate workers to remarkably contribute to the strategic planning process.

Relation to the Selected Company

The content of this 12-minute video can be very helpful to Coca Cola Company Limited particularly in the areas of environmental analysis, strategy creation and implementation, and evaluation and control. Sinek discusses how leaders can influence and motivate employees and how to stimulate desire and energy to accomplish a job, role, task or goal. Being a full-blown, publicly traded global company, the insightful blend of anecdotes and research incorporated in this video can help me in designing my research and analyzing how the firms leadership creates a safe environment that enhances employee morale and job satisfaction in the organization. Insights from this video establishes a foundation upon which I can base my research.

Conclusion

Although presented about three years ago, it is imperative to note that the content of this video is still timely. Organizational leadership, working environment, and employee motivation are still areas of concern in todays corporate environment that requires further research. Despite research and numerous publications on these topics, many workers still do as little as they can, miss deadlines, feel unsafe and insecure at work, and even perform dismally. However, insights drawn from this presentation not only illuminate these issues.