2 The Why and How of Your Initiative
Simon Sinek and Why
Simon Sinek is the author of Start With Why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action.
Some of you are likely to be familiar with Simon Sinek’s work from other units.
You would have noted from the title of his book that it is partly aimed at leaders. We want you to remember that even if you are not formally in a leadership role this approach is useful to you and to others, to help you to make sense of what you are doing. If you are developing a new idea or you are setting out to influence and inspire others to action, then the Why, How, What is likely to focus your efforts.
Sinek uses the Golden Circle (pictured below) to suggest that the power of his approach comes from the WHY of his concept which then radiates out and influences the How and What. The Circle also helps us to remember the sequence of the Why How What process.
By creating a Why for a project or change, you are aiming to inspire people to act. When you inspire it gives people a sense of purpose or belonging. This is not so much about external motivation or requiring someone to act. It helps to create a desire to participate, follow or act. It becomes a personal commitment.
When we aspire to something or want to participate, it becomes an appeal to our emotions. Emotion, especially when it comes to safeguarding our families, colleagues, teams and our place of work, doing something with purpose, is powerful and universal.
How to use the WHY HOW WHAT approach.
Here are details about the Why, How and What. Please read these in preparation for the Why How What exercise after the reading. The Why What How approach is very useful when you need to inspire yourself and those around you to get on board your initiative, when change is part of the issues, or when the issue is complex. There are other situations when you will be able to effectively use this approach.
Your reasoning and critical thinking is likely to be sound. The most important element that Why How What adds is meaning.
WHY
By creating a ‘why’ for a project or change, we are aiming to inspire people to act. Being able to inspire gives people a sense of purpose or belonging. This has less to do with external motivation or requiring someone to act. The desire to participate, follow or act is a personal commitment. Aspiration appeals to our emotions. Emotion, especially when it comes to safeguarding our families, colleagues, teams and context, is powerful and universal.
HOW
Knowing the Why helps you know and understand the rest. The next question is How are you going to do it? The How relates to the principles and values that guide HOW you can bring things to life. Understanding the How of how things get down in the organisation and also holding people accountable to the guiding principles helps you to work to get things done.
WHAT
Why is the belief and inspiration.
How is about the actions that you need to take to make the belief happen.
What is about the results of those actions. These include the outcomes of your actions, the way you communicate, the stories you tell, to make sure that the WHY and the WHAT are consistent.
Sinek says that it is at the WHAT level that authenticity happens. For him, consistency is that there is balance. The Golden Circle says that there must be balance. The circles need to ‘fit’ and the order is crucial: Why, How, What.
AUTHENTICITY
Sinek says that it is at the What level that authenticity happens. Authenticity comes from consistency. Authenticity shows up when the Why makes the purpose clear and there is discipline to the How. Finally, the What needs to be consistent with the Why. Everything makes sense. You and others can see and experience the fit between these three elements. Simon Sinek says that authenticity comes from balance, the balance of Why, How, What.
The Golden Circle shows how this balance works. The circles need to ‘fit’ and the order is crucial: Why, How, What.
You have to know WHY you do WHAT you do. If people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it, so it follows that if you don’t know WHY you do WHAT you do how will anyone else.
Simon Sinek2
Many of Sinek’s examples are in the commercial space and are about motivating consumers or employees. In this unit, the ‘Why, How, What’ approach would be about inspiring your colleagues and other stakeholders, and of course, yourself, to believe in and adopt your project idea and your other initiatives.
There is much written about Sinek’s ideas and the Golden Circle if you want to investigate further. We recommend his early book, and there are others:
- Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Penguin.
Activity
Action: Now we want you to explore the Why of your Project or another initiative in which you are currently active. What is it that will inspire others to participate in a meaningful way, other than of course, if it is likely to be a requirement?
Write the Why. Keep the Why to three sentences at the most.
Action: Continue to write the How and What of your activity. Use the Golden Circle template or use your Reflective Journal.
Action: Review your Why, How, What. Find a colleague who isn’t or hasn’t been involved in the activity. Share the activity description. Allow time for questions.
Now share your Why, How, What. Ask for feedback. You are really interested in knowing how effectively the meaning of the activity was conveyed and how inspired the listener was by your Why, How, What pitch.
Action: Record your observations and ‘what next’ in your Reflective Journal. Make a note about how you could use this process in other situations.
This approach will really help you to create meaning and relevance, including with your work place project. .
References
- Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Penguin.
- Ibid. p. 66.