How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Leaders’ success relies on their abilities to inspire, motivate and share innovative ideas with other people. The key item in Simon Sinek’s video that mostly impacted my personal and professional life is the golden circle (2:02 – 3:17). According to Sinek, most organizations fail because they embrace the golden circle from the outside instead of from the inside. Leaders and organizations have the capacity to inspire and motivate people to achieve success, regardless of their size or financial status. Many people choose to follow leaders and organizations with the same beliefs as theirs. According to Sinek, international companies like Apple have achieved success because of what they believe in and not what they make. The idea that success relies on what people believe in and not what the result is further influences me to focus on inspiring others with my beliefs and not the results.

According to Sinek, people buy “why” firms do things and not “what” they do. Telling individuals about the results before telling them what one believes in is uninspiring and has higher chances of causing failure. The most inspiring and efficient way of achieving success in the field is by telling the people why things are done and not what things are done. Sinek’s idea of “why” and not “what” is my eye-opener for success, both in personal and professional lives.

Motivation is undoubtedly a typical element for leaders in hospitality organizations to improve the performance of employees. Motivated staff perform excellently and enhance job satisfaction. This reduces staff turnover rates and improves loyalty. Inspirational leaders have the best techniques for motivating their followers (Sinek). Besides, they have the best performing, loyal and satisfied followers, focused on accomplishing their mandates. At Marriot International, Inc., inspiring action influence philosophy is the key element that has enabled the organization to stand out from others in the hospitality industry. By sharing organizational beliefs with the public, Marriot has managed to inspire the followers that success is imminent through collaboration, innovation, and persistence. People with common beliefs as Marriot have continued to perform at higher levels while staying motivated. Sinek states that continuous motivation from the leaders has enabled the followers to maintain work satisfaction and reduce turnover.

The majority believe that the ingredients for success are money, the right people, and the right market conditions (Sinek). However, this is not always the case because many hospitality organizations have all three elements but still fail. The ability of the leaders in my organization to effectively embrace Sinek’s inspiring action philosophy in motivating the staff, thereby boosting the performance levels and work satisfaction of staff.

At Marriot International, Douglas McClelland’s acquired needs motivational theory serves as the best motivation tool for leaders. The theory offers the staff with needs for achievement, affiliation, and power that serve as vital motivational tools (de Andrade Baptista et al. p. 54-59). Its positive impact on motivation, performance, and satisfaction of the workers is great, making it the best motivational tool for my organization, currently and in the future. McClelland’s theory perfectly aligns with Sinek’s theory of inspiring action by emphasizing inspiration as a motivational tool for success.

Satisfaction theories such as Frederick Herzberg’s two dimensions theory promote the workers’ satisfaction at Marriot. According to Bevins, “hygiene” issues and motivation influence workers’ satisfaction by increasing or reducing staff satisfaction. A good working environment and conditions motivate the staff and maintain their satisfaction (Bevins). Sinek’s theory perfectly aligns with Herzberg’s theory by emphasizing on right working conditions as a motivational tool that keeps workers motivated, satisfied, and high performing.

Works Cited

Bevins, Daniel T. “Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation: A generational study.” (2018).

de Andrade Baptista, José Abel, et al. “Analysis of the Theory of Acquired Needs from McClelland as a Means of Work Satisfaction.” Timor Leste Journal of Business and Management 3 (2021): 54-59.

Sinek, Simon. “How great leaders inspire action.” YouTube. (May 4, 2010). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4 (Sinek)