Simon Sinek's One Expectation for Every New Employee: Take Yourself On

Simon Sinek personally calls every new employee who joins his company. He tells them two things: welcome, and here is my one expectation of you. That expectation is simple and specific. He wants every person to leave the company as a better version of themselves, regardless of how long they stay or whether they even enjoyed the experience.

The Call

The call starts with context. Sinek tells new hires that the company has an outsized impact on the world and that they are now part of it. Then he gets to the real point.

"I only have one expectation of you. I expect you to take yourself on."

He tells them the company will provide some of the resources and education they need. Some of it they will have to pursue on their own. But the expectation is clear: when you leave, you should know you are a better version of yourself because you worked here.

Accountability, Not Just Aspiration

What makes this more than a nice onboarding speech is that Sinek's team actually holds people to it. When someone has performance issues or behavioral problems, the conversation is not purely punitive. It gets framed as an opportunity: "This is a great opportunity to take yourself on."

That reframing matters. It shifts accountability conversations from "you are failing" to "you have a chance to grow." The expectation was set on day one, so the employee already agreed to it. It becomes a shared standard, not a surprise.

Why It Works

The approach works for two reasons. First, it gives employees a personal stake in their own development that exists independently of their job performance. You can be great at your job and still not be taking yourself on. Second, it creates a culture where growth is explicitly valued and publicly discussed, not left to individual initiative or annual reviews.

Sinek notes that his team is vocal about this expectation. They are proud of it. That visibility is the difference between a value that lives on a wall and one that actually shapes behavior.

Key Takeaways

• Setting a single, personal expectation on day one creates a shared standard for the entire employee experience.
• Framing performance issues as growth opportunities changes the tone of accountability conversations.
• Being vocal about growth expectations makes them real. Unspoken values do not shape behavior.