In Chapter 14 of 16 in his 2009 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author Simon Sinek shares why United States Air Force (USAF) General Lori Robinson's leadership style, humility, & purpose has created a loyal following. "Start With Why" author Sinek deconstructs General Robinson's leadership style and its empowering affect on others, including himself. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.
Transcript
Erik Michielsen: Through your journey, you have spent some time working with the United States Air Force and met some incredible people there that inspired you. One was Brigadier General Lori Robinson. What did she teach you about humility and inspiration?
Simon Sinek: Lori Robinson is one of the most gifted natural leaders I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. What is remarkable about her is that she is not what you would expect. It is not about power or fire and brimstone. She is very humble and, in fact, self deprecating a lot of the time. She has an undying belief. She knows her job is to show up and clear a path for others so they can succeed. She says I`m in the Air Force because I want to leave this country in better form than I found it. It is because she shows up to work everyday with that purpose it has accelerated her career but more importantly created a following for her. She is going to leave the Air Force in better shape than she found it and because of her this country will be left in better shape than when she found it. She is pretty remarkable.