A review by alyselizzabeth
Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't by Simon Sinek

5.0

The concept of leaders eating last comes from the military, my husband lead a small group of soldiers and this was one thing I remembered about his experience. He told me how his soldiers ate first, that he made sure each had a cot or bed before he worried about himself, and he would take the floor if there were none left for him after his men were taken care of. He had high expectations for his men, and he always put the good of his man above himself. For these reasons, I was not surprised when the military was used for a few examples of what good leadership looks like. What I found interesting however, were the other examples that were unexpected. The author called examples from different generations why some generations were more prone to have different leadership styles than others, what the pros and cons of the style of leadership were for each, and the outcome on organization. Addiction, which was probably the most surprising way to find examples of why people respond positively to some kind of leadership and negatively to others, was also used. The author then ties back to how specific types of leadership can help or hurt an organization. I’ve read books in the past that loosely pull a conclusion from an argument - I’ve even read another book that grossly attempted to use eating disorders/addiction as an example for organizations (it was incredibly distasteful) but this author does it tactfully and it feels relevant to the book. The book was so interesting to me that at times I almost forgot it was about leadership. Highly recommend.