Book Club: The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek

Several weeks ago on the podcast we discussed six book recommendations for emotionally intelligent leaders.

So, on today’s episode of Coffee on Leadership, I wanted to dive deeper into one of my favorites - The Infinite Game by the one and only Simon Sinek.

Of course, you already know I am a big Simon Sinek fan, and I often reference his work. In this book, Sinek talks about the importance of embracing an infinite mindset when it comes to leadership and business strategy. This book provides so much perspective on what it means to be a leader in today's world. A good leader can positively impact their teams, who then, in turn, learn and continue that cycle to change the world around them.

I hope this episode will inspire you to go to your nearest bookstore, grab your favorite cup of coffee, and enjoy this gem. Let me know if you do so, and shoot me a DM with some of your favorite takeaways from the book; I will be glad to discuss them with you.

On this episode you’ll hear…

  • How leaders can benefit from cultivating an infinite mindset

  • Why good leaders make better parents and vice versa

  • The five essential principles from The Infinite Game

  • The importance of understanding the ripple effects you can create as a passionate leader

Ready for more?

Listen in:

  • ** This is a raw, unedited transcript

    Chaili Trentham 00:00

    I just sat down at my desk to record this podcast and realize this is episode 50. I wrote an episode for you earlier in this week, and then just sat down. And when I opened the project file and saw Episode 50, that kind of blew my mind. Remember if this started as a project in 2020, during COVID, and here we are, well, though there have been some significant breaks in there. But here we are. And I am just so grateful to every single one of you who listens to this podcast and shares it with teams shows it with your friends. And more importantly, those of you who I know, listen to every episode and send me a text, or an email, or a message, I am just always forever grateful for how you engage and are in the leadership conversation. And if you're a listener who has never reached out to me, please do because I love that more than anything to be in conversation about leadership development.

    So this episode, I wanted to talk about a book rack that I put out in the episode with six book recommendations for leaders, it was a few episodes back, we'll link it in the show notes. But one of the books that I always recommend right now, when people ask what I'm reading in the leadership space is Simon Sinek book, the infinite game. Now, if you know me, you know that I'm a big Simon Sinek fan, from his TED talk on the gold golden circle to his book, start with why I give that to a lot of leaders. I referenced that a lot. And I think when we talk about our why that has become something that we hear all the time now. And we really owe it to Simon Sinek for really coining that term and bringing that to life. But the book, the infinite game is one of his newer books, where he breaks down this idea of finite versus infinite games borrowed from a psychologist who had published some works on that, I think in the 70s, or 80s, I forget right now. But when we talk about shifting our perspective, from a finite game mindset to an infinite game mindset, what does that mean, you ask? Well, it means that instead of focusing on winning or losing, that would be a finite game mindset. We focus on advancing a purpose, a cause or a mission that's bigger than ourselves. And that connects perfectly with the why, right. And when Simon Sinek talks about identifying your why, and knowing your why this is perfectly in line with that. we prioritize relationships over transactions in an infinite mindset. And we take a long term perspective, even if it means sacrificing on the short term. So that's like, bare bones, infinite mindset versus finite mindset. But I want you to pick up this book, because if that sounds at all interesting to you, I want you to lean in, because this book really, really resonates because it's really aligned with what Brene Brown can talk about in her research on daring leadership, and Brene. And Simon have a really great podcast episode together about this book, when he was releasing this book that I really encourage you to listen to. And we'll link that in the show notes too, because it is brilliant and amazing. But in both cases, the way that Brene approaches her work, and Simon in the infinite game. The message is clear. Great leaders prioritize people over profits, they create cultures of trust, they collaborate, they innovate. And they embrace the ideas of vulnerability and empathy and resilience. Right. And that's why any books that approaches leadership from this perspective, I will recommend, right and say like, you've got to read this, because I just think we have to be always making the shift and always getting better at it. One of my favorite parts of the book is when Simon talks about how great leaders are like parents, okay, and so think about that, if you are a parent, they don't just focus on getting kids to behave or get good grades, they focus on creating an environment where kids can learn and grow and become the best version of themselves, right? We all want that for our kids. And they prioritize the relationship with our kids over the long term instead of the short term goal of getting them to do what they want. Right. There's a lot of things that Chadwick and I will do with our own kids where we are focused on Well, we hope this sets them up for the future, right? And we're going to parent in that way. So whether you're a leader, a CEO, a manager, someone who just wants to be better in your personal life, the infinite game has something for you, I promise. It's a reminder that leadership is not a destination. It's a journey. We all know that. It's about constantly improving, constantly learning and constantly striving to make a really positive impact in the world. So there's kind of some key points that I pulled out of this book to give you because I know I said you've got to read this But I know that you might not pick it up until later. So I'm just going to entice you a little bit more to put this in your Amazon cart, okay with some five key points that Simon Sinek makes in the book.

    Obviously, embracing infinite mindset is one of those. So the infinite mindset, like if said, is focusing on the long term rather than short term wins. I love it because he talks about how the players in the game are lined up. In a finite game, like in the finite game, you know who the players are, you know, the positions they're in, in an infinite game. Sometimes those players don't even know that the other players exist yet, right? Like, it's this big, wondrous world I feel like that we're living in and he helps paint this picture of how everything is connected and intersects in some way. But we may not recognize that until later. So we have to start playing the game before we know who the players are. This for me is super motivating, makes me feel even more engaged in the work that I do. Because even when faced with challenges and setbacks, you know, it's a part of a bigger picture, right? So to embrace an infinite mindset, leaders get to focus on the why behind their work and strive for that culture of purpose and meaning with their teams. It connects to ideas of transformational leadership, which I love, and emphasizes the importance of being inspiring and motivating and collaborating towards a shared vision.

    Point number two that I love is he talks about creating a just cause throughout this book, adjust cause is defined as a mission or a purpose that be good, that goes beyond money, and inspires people to work towards a greater good. And I really think that that deeper, more meaningful why in anything that we do is so much more motivating than money, right? Obviously, money is important, and we have to pay bills, and that is why we work. But when we're leading to think about the deeper meaning and the greater good in that process is so important. And creating a just cause can help leaders to build strong relations, relationships with their teams, as well as the culture of shared values and purpose, right when you're all working towards this just cause together. It's why nonprofits thrive, right? Like nonprofit teams are some of the most cohesive teams not always, but sometimes really, when they're so passionate about the work that they're doing. It connects them and that values and purpose drives their everyday work. And so it's really easy to feel like you're in flow together and feel like you're on that collective mission together.

    A third point that's made in this book is talking about building trusting teams. And trust is essential. I feel like I hear this come up all the time, either with people talking about if they trust their organization, or their leaders or leaders talk about I don't know if I can trust them to get their work done. Trust is a crucial part of relationships. And at the end of the day, leadership is relationship building, right? It's so important for collaboration and for innovation, which is where most of our businesses are headed. And to build trusting teams, leaders have to focus on creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas and opinions, and trust that it will be received well and trust that people others will listen and trust that people will straight strive to understand what they're saying. And vice versa. Trust is such a cyclical process of engaging in vulnerable behaviors, you know, to earn that trust, but then also offering that trust so that somebody feels safe enough to bring their biggest ideas and best innovation to the table. For me, this one building trusting teams really connects to authentic leadership, which you know, is my bread and butter. So this for me emphasizes just the importance of what it means to be transparent what it means to be open and what it means to be honest, as a leader. And this is like woven throughout the book.

    The other thing Simon talks a lot about is exercising empathetic leadership, which I feel like Has this come up like every episode that I've done in the past few months, I think it adds me is being a more empathetic leader. Empathy is so key to building relationships and to understanding the needs of the people around you and your team. And so by taking the time to understand and appreciate everyone's perspectives, leaders can create that culture of trust and collaboration and make better decisions that take into account everyone who's involved. It's so important and I think empathy and emotional intelligence go hand in hand. Because it's all about being aware and managing your emotions as well as understanding and empathizing with the emotion of others, right? So we have to become more emotionally aware, more emotionally intelligent and more empathetic leaders in the process and

    And then the fifth little part that Simon touches on that I'll kind of wrap up here with is he talks about leading with a sense of service, prioritizing, serving others over serving themselves. And to me that's connected to that just cause right like, for me, those go hand in hand. But by focusing on the needs of teams and our clients, rather than just on our own ambition, leaders really can create movement towards purpose and impact that inspires everyone to walk towards purpose and impact, right. And this, I think, it just emphasizes why we do what we do. At the core of our being is we want to serve others connect with others, do right by others. And so this is a key one that I think, to read this book and think about for your own leadership can be really, really important.

    So overall, go pick up the book, Have I convinced you to add it to your Amazon cart yet, or to go to the bookstore this weekend and grab it and read it over a cup of coffee. The infinite game provides so much perspective on what it means to be a leader in today's world. I mean, Simon Sinek is the best of the best when it comes to leadership development in business right now. And by embracing and infinite mindset, the one that he's teaching in this book, creating a just cause building, trusting teams exercising empathetic leadership, and leading with a sense of service leaders really can make a positive impact on their teams immediately. Like it's not something where you are going to see the outcome six months down the road, I really think it's something that starts the same day that you start executing on it. And that changes your teams, who then in turn, learn that and continue that cycle, and ultimately change the world around them, right. And when we do that, I just think we create this ripple effect in the leadership space where we are. And that is important. So as you're thinking about your leadership, even if you don't pick up this book yet, I want you to think about the ways that you can touch on those five things, embracing an infinite, infinite mindset, creating the just cause, build a trusting team, be more empathetic and lead with service. I'm curious to see how it helps your leadership this week. So let me know. Also send me a message if you pick up the book. I want to talk about all your favorite parts along the way. And I will have more book wrecks coming to the podcast soon because you know I could talk about books all day long. So have a great read. Cheers.

PodcastHaley Hatcher