She Reads, She Leads Book Club with Dr. Heidi Rivers

Kick off the Fall season with intention at our She Reads, She Leads Book Club on September 22nd, as Dr. Heidi Rivers facilitates a thoughtful discussion on Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek.

• Validate Empathy as a Business Strategy: Participants will discuss ways to push the leadership conversation away from the idea that women need to “suppress emotions” to succeed.
• Construct a “Circle of Safety”: Participants will honestly evaluate their current work environments to explore where they expend their professional energy and practical ways to shield themselves and their teams from toxic corporate cultures.
• Separate Leadership from Title: Participants will strategize ways to dismantle the “Imposter Syndrome” that suggests you cannot lead until you have a specific title.

• The vocabulary to defend “caring” not as a personality trait, but as a biological necessity. They will understand that fostering trust and loyalty is a harder, more effective metric of leadership than simply driving short-term results.
• Strategies for becoming a “buffer.” Even if the wider organization is chaotic, participants will learn that they can create a “sub-culture” of safety for the people who sit directly next to them, effectively stopping the flow of stress at their own desk.
• A renewed sense of agency, regardless of where they sit on the organizational chart.

This event is taking place at the TeamWomen office:
5315 West 16th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55416

Online registration for this event closes September 20, 2026.

Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

Imagine a world where almost everyone wakes up inspired to go to work, feels trusted and valued during the day, and then returns home feeling fulfilled. This is not a crazy, idealized notion. Today, in many successful organizations, great leaders create environments in which people naturally work together to do remarkable things.

In his work with organizations around the world, Simon Sinek noticed that some teams trust each other so deeply that they would literally put their lives on the line for each other. Other teams, no matter what incentives are offered, are doomed to infighting, fragmentation and failure. Why?

The answer became clear during a conversation with a Marine Corps general. “Officers eat last,” he said. Sinek watched as the most junior Marines ate first while the most senior Marines took their place at the back of the line. What’s symbolic in the chow hall is deadly serious on the battlefield: Great leaders sacrifice their own comfort–even their own survival–for the good of those in their care.

Too many workplaces are driven by cynicism, paranoia, and self-interest. But the best ones foster trust and cooperation because their leaders build what Sinek calls a “Circle of Safety” that separates the security inside the team from the challenges outside.

Sinek illustrates his ideas with fascinating true stories that range from the military to big business, from government to investment banking.

Buy your copy here!

Dr. Heidi Rivers holds her PhD in Organizational Leadership and EdD in Adult Learning. After more than 20 years building a career in higher education as what is referred to as a blended professional–someone who bridges the academic realm and the business real–she recently decided to focus her professional attention exclusively in the business realm and more specifically and leader and people development. She currently serves as the Manager of Enterprise Training and Compliance for the Metropolitan Airport Commission, which runs MSP International Airport and our 6 regional general aviation airports. Dr. Rivers’ own research, titled Other Duties as Assigned, which provides critical feminist perspectives of leadership practices and leader development, drew her to Sinek’s pop perspective on servant leadership and trust building. Sinek’s book echoes what women and feminist leadership researchers have long understood to be true: people always come first.

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