Another small writing inspired by ‘Leaders eat Last’ from Simon Sinek and the reflection of what I learned from that book.
Anthropologically we are tribe based animals and as such, and as a tribe, we elect an Alpha or a leader. Historically this will happen in different ways. It might be a fight to the death from the two strongest in the tribe or it might be elevation through intellectual prowess but elevation to the head of the tribe occurs and the Alpha takes his / her seat.
So begins an intricate ballet of intertwined interests and motivations, one which anthropologists will suggest has been drawn out through the ages of time. The Alpha protects the tribe, in one way or another through the skill set which allowed them to rise to the top they afford protection to the rest of their people. This, Sinek calls ‘the circle of safety’. An Alpha creates a circle of safety, protecting the people within it and they retain the position of the Alpha in return.
The benefits of being the Alpha are obvious in status and recognition and reward. The price of being the Alpha is to maintain the circle of safety at all costs.
In return for creating and maintaining a circle of safety so the tribe protect the Alpha in a win-win situation which allows propagation of the tribe overall.
Simon Sinek will argue (correctly I think) that the hardware that we have inside our heads is no different to that of the hunter-gatherers who developed the circle of safety concept and we are still chemically and emotionally beholden to this.
The difficulty is that the system appears to be broken – I and we are surrounded by people who have been elevated into the role of Alpha, accumulating huge rewards and status as a result without either protecting the circle of safety or even creating the circle in the first instance. It’s not by chance that Simon Sinek’s book is entitled ‘Leaders eat last’. Until the tribe is protected and secured there is no reward for the Alpha; that comes after everyone else has eaten, after everyone else is protected and after everyone else is secure. That is the price and the privilege of responsibility.
As always this blog comments upon dentistry as a metaphor for society but dentistry has and is being let down entirely by its leaders and by people within the profession who have either been elevated to the level of Alpha or who have elevated themselves to that level without any clear understanding of the price of professionalism; the fee they have to pay in the social contract with society for the position of being a healthcare professional.
In a world where leadership has become a ‘buzz word’ or something to learn on a course, it’s useful to reflect back on the concept of the circle of safety if you’re lucky enough to hold a position in which you would be able to create one from start to finish and see if you have really done so.
As I’ve said before and will no doubt say again, none of us own the profession of dentistry - we’re allowed to borrow it for a very short while for the generations that come after us and we have a responsibility to protect it and enhance it for them. In many ways that’s what happened to us, that’s why we got to occupy this position and it’s exactly the price we should pay for the privilege we have.
We need leaders who understand this concept to stand up and stick their head above the parapet to help. We appear to be woefully short of such individuals within our profession but, as luck would have it on Thursday afternoon I saw one. On our business course in Nottingham a 28 year old called Mohsin Patel stood up and spoke to the group in ways which would not have been out of place for a 70 year old elder statesman at the end of his career. This gentleman has achieved unparalleled success in a short period of time with an ethical approach to practice and staff which I have rarely ever know.
It just goes to show that this is entirely possible, it’s just a choice.
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