Happy Fall Semester, everyone! Hope all of your summers were super fulfilling and rejuvenating.
In his 2010 TED Talk “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”, Simon Sinek introduces the concept of the golden circle (pictured below). In the center of the concentric circles lies ‘Why’, followed by ‘How’ and ‘What’. Sinek argues that average companies and organizations know what and how they function, but less emphasis is placed on why they do it. Inspired organizations start with why, which then leads them to how and what.
Sinek uses Apple as a primary example of an inspired company. Apple believes in challenging the status quo – that’s their belief and reason behind existing. Because of this belief, they make products that fit with your lifestyle with uncompromised aesthetic and functionality – the how. Apple makes computers and mobile devices – the what. The crux of Sinek’s argument is that people respond to emotion, and the reason behind an organization is more persuasive than what an organization does. Starting with why differentiates between inspired and average.
Why am I saying all this? This past Tuesday, fellow PLA-er Alayna and I grabbed coffee and discussed our career goals and values, and she challenged me to consider my professional development using this framework. Starting with why: what am I passionate about? What drives me and what gives me energy? Right now, I’m struggling with defining what that it for me. I believe that my work should make a meaningful difference in the world, and I have an academic interest in mathematics/data/analytics, but I haven’t quite found the intersection of these two yet.
While Alayna introduced this concept of the golden circle to me in the context of personal development, I haven’t been able to stop considering how I can apply this thought process to other organizations I’m involved in. For example, take the Blue Band (where I’ve spent the majority of my time so far this year). In one of our leadership meetings this year, we talked about the importance of having a vision for the organization and seeing everything in context of the “big picture.” During that conversation, I started to draft my own Why-How-What for the Blue Band. Why? We believe in spreading school spirit and joy through music. How? We perform at the utmost levels of precision and musicality. What? We march and play music before and during the football games. This obviously isn’t perfect and doesn’t encapsulate every aspect of a complex organization like the Blue Band, but I think it still has some merit to it.
After thinking about the importance of knowing why an organization does what it does, I have solidified “vision” as one of the leadership qualities I most highly value. Having a clear, meaningful, inspired vision helps an organization know where it is coming from and where it should be going. It acts as a North Star for all important decision-making. This year, I hope to contribute to defining the vision of the organizations I help lead and to start to develop a vision for my own life, to help inform the decision I make here at Penn State and beyond.
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