Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t
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- Create Date：2021-04-01 10:53:13
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Simon Sinek
- ISBN：1591848016
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Summary
The New York Times bestselling follow-up to Simon Sinek's global hit Start With Why
Why do only a few people get to say “I love my job”？ It seems unfair that finding fulfillment at work is like winning a lottery; that only a few lucky ones get to feel valued by their organizations， to feel like they belong。
Imagine a world where almost everyone wakes up inspired to go to work， feels trusted and valued during the day， then returns home feeling fulfilled。
This is not a crazy， idealized notion。 Today， in many successful organizations， great leaders are creating environments in which people naturally work together to do remarkable things。
In his travels around the world since the publication of his bestseller Start with Why， Simon Sinek noticed that some teams were able to trust each other so deeply that they would literally put their lives on the line for each other。 Other teams， no matter what incentives were offered， were doomed to infighting， fragmentation and failure。 Why？
The answer became clear during a conversation with a Marine Corps general。
“Officers eat last，” he said。
Sinek watched as the most junior Marines ate first while the most senior Marines took their place at the back of the line。 What’s symbolic in the chow hall is deadly serious on the battlefield: great leaders sacrifice their own comfort—even their own survival—for the good of those in their care。
This principle has been true since the earliest tribes of hunters and gatherers。 It’s not a management theory; it’s biology。 Our brains and bodies evolved to help us find food， shelter， mates and especially safety。 We’ve always lived in a dangerous world， facing predators and enemies at every turn。 We thrived only when we felt safe among our group。
Our biology hasn’t changed in fifty thousand years， but our environment certainly has。 Today’s workplaces tend to be full of cynicism， paranoia and self-interest。 But the best organizations foster trust and cooperation because their leaders build what Sinek calls a Circle of Safety that separates the security inside the team from the challenges outside。
The Circle of Safety leads to stable， adaptive， confident teams， where everyone feels they belong and all energies are devoted to facing the common enemy and seizing big opportunities。
As he did in Start with Why， Sinek illustrates his ideas with fascinating true stories from a wide range of examples， from the military to manufacturing， from government to investment banking。
The biology is clear: when it matters most， leaders who are willing to eat last are rewarded with deeply loyal colleagues who will stop at nothing to advance their leader’s vision and their organization’s interests。 It’s amazing how well it works。
Why do only a few people get to say “I love my job”？ It seems unfair that finding fulfillment at work is like winning a lottery; that only a few lucky ones get to feel valued by their organizations， to feel like they belong。
Imagine a world where almost everyone wakes up inspired to go to work， feels trusted and valued during the day， then returns home feeling fulfilled。
This is not a crazy， idealized notion。 Today， in many successful organizations， great leaders are creating environments in which people naturally work together to do remarkable things。
In his travels around the world since the publication of his bestseller Start with Why， Simon Sinek noticed that some teams were able to trust each other so deeply that they would literally put their lives on the line for each other。 Other teams， no matter what incentives were offered， were doomed to infighting， fragmentation and failure。 Why？
The answer became clear during a conversation with a Marine Corps general。
“Officers eat last，” he said。
Sinek watched as the most junior Marines ate first while the most senior Marines took their place at the back of the line。 What’s symbolic in the chow hall is deadly serious on the battlefield: great leaders sacrifice their own comfort—even their own survival—for the good of those in their care。
This principle has been true since the earliest tribes of hunters and gatherers。 It’s not a management theory; it’s biology。 Our brains and bodies evolved to help us find food， shelter， mates and especially safety。 We’ve always lived in a dangerous world， facing predators and enemies at every turn。 We thrived only when we felt safe among our group。
Our biology hasn’t changed in fifty thousand years， but our environment certainly has。 Today’s workplaces tend to be full of cynicism， paranoia and self-interest。 But the best organizations foster trust and cooperation because their leaders build what Sinek calls a Circle of Safety that separates the security inside the team from the challenges outside。
The Circle of Safety leads to stable， adaptive， confident teams， where everyone feels they belong and all energies are devoted to facing the common enemy and seizing big opportunities。
As he did in Start with Why， Sinek illustrates his ideas with fascinating true stories from a wide range of examples， from the military to manufacturing， from government to investment banking。
The biology is clear: when it matters most， leaders who are willing to eat last are rewarded with deeply loyal colleagues who will stop at nothing to advance their leader’s vision and their organization’s interests。 It’s amazing how well it works。
Reviews
Steve Miller
，
A book full of anecdotes， tinged with the author's political leanings， it rates as average in my opinion。 His thesis that great leaders build cultures centered around serving employees， then customers， then outsiders is duly noted。 I found little in this book that was groundbreaking outside of his tangent near the end comparing the Baby Boom generation with Generation Y （Millenials？）。 He even acknowledged that Generation X （my generation） has largely been forgotten。 His theories about misguided A book full of anecdotes， tinged with the author's political leanings， it rates as average in my opinion。 His thesis that great leaders build cultures centered around serving employees， then customers， then outsiders is duly noted。 I found little in this book that was groundbreaking outside of his tangent near the end comparing the Baby Boom generation with Generation Y （Millenials？）。 He even acknowledged that Generation X （my generation） has largely been forgotten。 His theories about misguided diagnoses of ADHD and the corresponding thoughts that an addiction to dopamine-fueled habits （social media likes， receiving texts， etc） are a real threat to the younger generation has merit， but in today's political environment is a hot potato that "woke" corporations and media pundits will bury now and in the coming years。 The author will eventually be proven right， though he may face a dark winter of leftist cancellation before that happens。Getting back to his take on leadership， there's nothing new and inspiring。 He talks of the need for more and better leaders but from examples given， this would mean putting greedy corporate and executive habits back into the Pandora's Box。 This will never happen。 At the end of the book， the author is optimistic because （I'm paraphrasing） we got ourselves into the messes we are in， sure， but we are equally capable of getting ourselves out of these messes。 Me and my forgotten generation， who Boomers and Millenials alike ignore with disgust， aren't holding our collective breaths。 Prove me wrong， young people！ 。。。more
Conor Cunningham
，
Round the world for fun。 There's such tenuous links between the meandering stories and loosely fact based assertions to the actual title of the book - the actual leadership bit。 3 stars is generous。 I'd give it 2。5 if Goodreads supported such a rating （feature request！） Round the world for fun。 There's such tenuous links between the meandering stories and loosely fact based assertions to the actual title of the book - the actual leadership bit。 3 stars is generous。 I'd give it 2。5 if Goodreads supported such a rating （feature request！） 。。。more
Alexis Smith
，
Some great perspectives in this book！ Definitely taking something away with me！
Michael
，
This book is Beautiful。 It teaches you how to become a great leader， and most importantly a great person。
Jeff Palomino
，
Takes a few chapters to hit its stride， but it has some very insightful ideas on leadership that I’ll be thinking about a long time。 Expanded paperback with chapters on leading millennials was great。 Very glad to have read it。 That said， I’m not sure I buy his central argument that body chemicals are responsible when good leaders lead。 This aspect of the book surprised me。 To me， as a Christian， the ideas of what good leaders do and what they evoke in their organizations comes down to love， humi Takes a few chapters to hit its stride， but it has some very insightful ideas on leadership that I’ll be thinking about a long time。 Expanded paperback with chapters on leading millennials was great。 Very glad to have read it。 That said， I’m not sure I buy his central argument that body chemicals are responsible when good leaders lead。 This aspect of the book surprised me。 To me， as a Christian， the ideas of what good leaders do and what they evoke in their organizations comes down to love， humility and service - all very Jesus concepts。 Even so - really good book and I highly recommend it。 。。。more
Ali Khalid
，
Target are important but demonstrating empathy and communicating with staff will create an innovative pack。
Miftah Faridh
，
Honestly， I feel this book started really slow by talking about hormones， etc。 I find it hard to keep reading it， but by the time I reach the mid and the final part of the book， I was hooked。 Really amazing book and eye-opener for me。 Inspired and motivated， I'll try some of this book tips for my daily life。 Thank you。 Honestly， I feel this book started really slow by talking about hormones， etc。 I find it hard to keep reading it， but by the time I reach the mid and the final part of the book， I was hooked。 Really amazing book and eye-opener for me。 Inspired and motivated， I'll try some of this book tips for my daily life。 Thank you。 。。。more
Andre-Louis
，
„Надеждата ни е в окситоцина。”
Annelise
，
One of the only physical books I will read this year， I was grateful for a coworker to drop this off on my desk because he thought it might inspire me。 Inspire me it did！ Filled with lots of leadership tidbits and great stories from inspirational （or terrible） leaders of the past， I liked the book and look forward to reading more of Sinek's work。 Honestly， anything that can help make ME a better leader/listener/follower/helper/empathizer/delegator/etc。 is something I'm interested in reading！ I t One of the only physical books I will read this year， I was grateful for a coworker to drop this off on my desk because he thought it might inspire me。 Inspire me it did！ Filled with lots of leadership tidbits and great stories from inspirational （or terrible） leaders of the past， I liked the book and look forward to reading more of Sinek's work。 Honestly， anything that can help make ME a better leader/listener/follower/helper/empathizer/delegator/etc。 is something I'm interested in reading！ I think one of the best things colleagues can do is pass things on that helped them， so I'm grateful my coworker shared this book with me。 Here's to me sharing my appreciation of it with you！ 。。。more
Connor
，
Thought-provoking， and has reminded me of changes I need to make in my life。
Patrick
，
This is a bit of an odd book。 The author's argument about the necessity of leadership which cares for the people being led， creating a "circle of safety，" relies heavily on his perspective of the working of four hormones。 I am not a scientist， but it seems to me that this part of his argument is reductionist and unnecessary for his thesis。 So what did I take away from the book？ First， that there has been a terrible breakdown of the concern of leaders for those led during the lifetime of the Boom This is a bit of an odd book。 The author's argument about the necessity of leadership which cares for the people being led， creating a "circle of safety，" relies heavily on his perspective of the working of four hormones。 I am not a scientist， but it seems to me that this part of his argument is reductionist and unnecessary for his thesis。 So what did I take away from the book？ First， that there has been a terrible breakdown of the concern of leaders for those led during the lifetime of the Boomers。 To be fair， one of his villains， Jack Welch， is hardly a Boomer having been born in 1935。 So Sinek could have better nuanced his argument。 But it is true that there has been a tragic change in the nature of leadership over the lifetime of Boomers some of which they suffered and in some of which they were willing participants or "leaders"。 The world and leadership in it is not the same as the Boomers come toward the end of their lives and a good argument can be made that the changes have been for the worse。 That leads me to a second observation and that is that for someone who grew up before some of the worse change the author describes much of the argument of this book seems self-evident。 It seems clear that leaders should be people who are deeply concerned about the safety of those they lead， that they should be concerned for real relationships with real people and not just about numbers， that integrity matters。 Did you really have to write a whole book about it？ Perhpas that is the most striking （depressing） observations that can be made about this book。 If what might have been fairly evident in 1954 could merit a whole book of this nature in 2014 the existence of the book itself might be a measure of how bad things have become。 。。。more
Brahma Teja Lankoti
，
One of the reasons I adore Simon Sinek is because he uses empathy to put his point across。 Be it his Ted Talk， interviews or books he uses this human emotion called empathy and stresses on it a lot。 After reading the book， you just realize you have read a gem of a book。 This book contains good content which must be read by Millennials especially and also Gen X & Gen Y。 The examples and stories in the book were well researched。 To make his point， Simon always uses stories and examples which are e One of the reasons I adore Simon Sinek is because he uses empathy to put his point across。 Be it his Ted Talk， interviews or books he uses this human emotion called empathy and stresses on it a lot。 After reading the book， you just realize you have read a gem of a book。 This book contains good content which must be read by Millennials especially and also Gen X & Gen Y。 The examples and stories in the book were well researched。 To make his point， Simon always uses stories and examples which are eye opening and evocative。 I think that is one of the reasons why he is such a prolific speaker。 The chapter on human chemicals in this book， I literally loved it。 And， these chemicals were used to describe any social context， their purpose， and their outcomes。 This book will definitely be a handbook for millennials like me to become good leaders。 Help others and make this world a better to live in。Inspire on！ 。。。more
Crisan Raoul
，
Very good insights into human behavior when it comes to collaboration and leadership。
Chelsea Seba
，
I read it twice。 Pure genius。 We have implemented many ideas from this book in my company now。 The dividends are endless。
Steph
，
This felt a lot more dense than The Infinite Game， but maybe I read them in the "wrong" order。 I did like the focus on cooperation and do believe that people work tirelessly for leaders that they trust to keep them safe。 This Simon Sinek guys knows his stuff。 =） I also loved the "Circle of Safety" idea， especially when it was related to how accepted certain people feel at， for example， Comic Con because they're with their people。 And OMG， this couldn't be more true！ When I'm at book fests I feel This felt a lot more dense than The Infinite Game， but maybe I read them in the "wrong" order。 I did like the focus on cooperation and do believe that people work tirelessly for leaders that they trust to keep them safe。 This Simon Sinek guys knows his stuff。 =） I also loved the "Circle of Safety" idea， especially when it was related to how accepted certain people feel at， for example， Comic Con because they're with their people。 And OMG， this couldn't be more true！ When I'm at book fests I feel legit like I'm home！ "The more we trust that the people to the left of us and the people to the right of us have our backs， the better equipped we are to face the constant threats from the outside together。" A Stephen Colbert quote that I learned from this book: "You can't laugh and be afraid at the same time。" 。。。more
Michael Scherotter
，
Really great perspective on what it takes to make a great leader。
T T
，
Insightful ！（@ud）
Kris
，
Loved about 4/5 this of this book。 The last 5th was important - a discussion on millennials and a discussion on the impact of technology on our relationships- but it was less impactful than the rest of the book。 Perhaps that's on me， and my own need to look at my use of electronics， or my own powerlessness to change the use of electronics in those around me， or the feeling of - well， this was written before a pandemic where EVERYTHING happens on a device。 I'll revisit that section when I'm less Loved about 4/5 this of this book。 The last 5th was important - a discussion on millennials and a discussion on the impact of technology on our relationships- but it was less impactful than the rest of the book。 Perhaps that's on me， and my own need to look at my use of electronics， or my own powerlessness to change the use of electronics in those around me， or the feeling of - well， this was written before a pandemic where EVERYTHING happens on a device。 I'll revisit that section when I'm less tired both of the devices and discussions about the devices。 。。。more
Sebastian Oremek
，
Wenn Leadership in vielen Unternehmen alleine nur den Titel dieses Buchs berücksichtigen und umsetzen würde， dann würden wir Managementseitig schon in einer besseren Welt leben。Eines der besten Bücher von Simon Sinke， das durch die Ideen und Beispiele zur Kreativität anregen und viel Inspiration liefert。 Es beschreibt viele Ansätze und Wege， die zu einem modernen und vor allem nötigen neuen Verständnis von Führung leiten。 #Books #Leadership
philip
，
I’m not sure if Simon is a careful scholar， but he has an inspirational message。He marshals a lot of stats and historical case studies to support points about why we need to value people over numbers， empowerment over direction， collaboration over individual contribution， etc。 But after I started reading this as an inspirational book vs。 an informational one， it really spoke to me。My heart and hope are in the nonprofit world。 I want data driven ideas， but I need those ideas to inspire。 People wo I’m not sure if Simon is a careful scholar， but he has an inspirational message。He marshals a lot of stats and historical case studies to support points about why we need to value people over numbers， empowerment over direction， collaboration over individual contribution， etc。 But after I started reading this as an inspirational book vs。 an informational one， it really spoke to me。My heart and hope are in the nonprofit world。 I want data driven ideas， but I need those ideas to inspire。 People work for me for free， and they freely give their time to do so。 I’m probably not Simon’s main audience in this regard， but he presents enough compelling ideas and supportive info for me to test his ideas and work toward his better world。I have a lot of ideas to consider， people to look up， and businesses to follow。 I’m thankful when any book gives me that。 。。。more
Teopocho
，
3。75 I'm a huge fan of Simon Sinek。 I like his ideas and I watched most of his clips on the internet。 That may be the reason why I felt that his words in the book are not as powerful as told by him in person。 Besides the concept of the circle of safety which can be considered “new” compared to other books on leadership， I found sometimes the book lost in a roster of anecdotes sometimes redundant。 Overall it's an intriguing book that deserves to be read。 3。75 I'm a huge fan of Simon Sinek。 I like his ideas and I watched most of his clips on the internet。 That may be the reason why I felt that his words in the book are not as powerful as told by him in person。 Besides the concept of the circle of safety which can be considered “new” compared to other books on leadership， I found sometimes the book lost in a roster of anecdotes sometimes redundant。 Overall it's an intriguing book that deserves to be read。 。。。more
Pavel
，
Tak tahle kniha mi konečně vysvětlila， proč je naše politická scéna taková， jaká je。Hutný obsah je zlehčen mnoha lidskými příběhy， takže se dá dobře přečíst。 Populárně Simon Sinek vysvětluje to PROČ by měli ti lídři jíst poslední a samozřejmě i to， že o tom， že od zítřka v kantýně budete pro oběd chodit jako poslední （pokud jste teda vedoucí）， tak o tom to doopravdy není。Ale nebojte se。 Co teda dělat vám krásně tahle kniha vysvětlí :）
Colette
，
These concepts will help leaders set vision for their teams， inspire their teams and demonstrate commitment to each employee's well-being。 One of my favorite quotes: “。。。Leadership is always a commitment to human beings。。。 Leaders would sooner sacrifice what is theirs to save what is ours。 And they would never sacrifice what is ours to save what is theirs。。。 And when we feel sure they will keep us safe， we will march behind them and work tirelessly to see their visions come to life。。。" These concepts will help leaders set vision for their teams， inspire their teams and demonstrate commitment to each employee's well-being。 One of my favorite quotes: “。。。Leadership is always a commitment to human beings。。。 Leaders would sooner sacrifice what is theirs to save what is ours。 And they would never sacrifice what is ours to save what is theirs。。。 And when we feel sure they will keep us safe， we will march behind them and work tirelessly to see their visions come to life。。。" 。。。more
Sunjay
，
The first 2 parts are good。 After that it just gets weird。 He just rants about millennials for SO long。 It's really hard to see why that was needed for a book supposedly about leadership。 The pop psychology is a bit of a stretch but I did kind of enjoy the connections， despite their looseness。 But unfortunately the last third of the book is utterly pointless。 The first 2 parts are good。 After that it just gets weird。 He just rants about millennials for SO long。 It's really hard to see why that was needed for a book supposedly about leadership。 The pop psychology is a bit of a stretch but I did kind of enjoy the connections， despite their looseness。 But unfortunately the last third of the book is utterly pointless。 。。。more
Nick Perri
，
3。5 - a few unique bits of info but a lot of overlap with similar books。 Seemed to jump around quite a bit
Anton Sigurdur
，
I am a huge Simon Sinek fan now。 He does not dissappoint。 The message in this book is fantastic and put forth in a simple manner， using no theory but real life stories and anecdotes。 Help and serve others！ Will read this one many times。
Sophie
，
Read this one for uni。 There were some interesting ideas here about neuroscience which aligned with my study， and some useful contextual examples。 However， Sinek lost me （a Gen Y-er） when he descended into what was essentially a rant about the glories of ‘The Greatest Generation’ and the many faults of Gen Y/Millennials。 It’s a dated argument， and really not helpful if we’re to fix the great big mess that is the world。
Isabel
，
A wonderful book for those entering the professional world。
Jaiprakash
，
What a book。 It is a must read for anyone who ever wants to lead a team。 The book clearly differentiates between what it means to be a leader and what it means to be a manager。 Definitely recommended to be read。 Even more than Start with Why。 This is a book that should be made mandatory for every working professional。 Deep insights in every aspect and if we follow even a small percentage of what the author says， we will be able to create a better future。
Alfred Nchimbi
，