Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajiving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellovledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode seven oh six. Let me give you a
Speaker 2: scene that plays out every single day in businesses, departments,
Speaker 2: and organizations.
Speaker 1: All over the world.
Speaker 2: There is no shouting, no dramatic resignation, no slammed doors.
Speaker 2: There is silence. A high performer starts to pull back.
Speaker 2: They stop volunteering ideas, they stop staying late to solve problems.
Speaker 2: They stop caring about outcomes they once owned. They're still there,
Speaker 2: still clocking in, still doing the job. But something has
Speaker 2: changed and most leaders miss it. Here's the reality when
Speaker 2: great talent walks away silently. It is the loudest commentary
Speaker 2: on your leadership, not your policies, not your mission statement,
Speaker 2: not your leadership books, sitting on your desk, your leadership.
Speaker 2: Because people do not leave loudly when they trust you.
Speaker 2: They do not disengage quietly. When they feel seen respected
Speaker 2: and valued, they speak up, They fight for improvement, they
Speaker 2: lean in. Silence is not peace in your organization. Silence
Speaker 2: is a warning. So let me break this down. The
Speaker 2: first stages withdrawal. This is where your best people begin
Speaker 2: to shrink their presence. They used to challenge ideas, Now
Speaker 2: they nod. They used to bring solutions, now they wait
Speaker 2: for instructions. Leaders often mistake this for compliance. It's not compliance.
Speaker 2: It is resignation without paperwork. The second stage is detachment.
Speaker 2: They stop identifying with the team. They stop saying we
Speaker 2: and start saying they listen closely to language in your organization.
Speaker 2: Language tells you everything. They decided that they changed the schedule.
Speaker 2: They don't listen. That is not an employee talking. That
Speaker 2: is someone who has already left mentally. The third stage
Speaker 2: is replacement, and this is where it gets dangerous because
Speaker 2: while you still see them on your roster, they are
Speaker 2: already exploring their next move. They're updating resumes, taking calls,
Speaker 2: building exits. You're not losing them when they leave, you
Speaker 2: lost them months ago. And here's the part most leaders
Speaker 2: don't want to hear. It is rarely about money. Yes,
Speaker 2: compensation matters, but great talent will stay for the right
Speaker 2: leader even when money is not perfect. They leave because
Speaker 2: of friction unclear expectations, inconsistent accountability, favoritism, leaders who talk
Speaker 2: more than they listen, leaders who correct in public and
Speaker 2: ignore in private, or worse, leaders who do nothing. Doing
Speaker 2: nothing is the fastest way to lose great people because
Speaker 2: you're top performers do not need perfect leadership. They need
Speaker 2: engaged leadership. They need to know you're paying attention. So
Speaker 2: what do you do about it? First you start looking
Speaker 2: for quiet signals. Stop waiting for complaints, stop waiting for
Speaker 2: exit interviews. Watch behavior. Has someone who used to speak
Speaker 2: up gone quiet? Has someone who used to take ownership
Speaker 2: started passing the ball? That's not random? That is a message. Second,
Speaker 2: if you ask better questions, not surface level questions, not
Speaker 2: everything good, that question gets you nothing. Ask this instead,
Speaker 2: what is getting in your way right now? What is
Speaker 2: frustrating you that you have not told me yet? What
Speaker 2: would make your job easier tomorrow? Then do something with
Speaker 2: the answers, because asking and ignoring is worse than not
Speaker 2: asking at all. And Third, you close the gap between
Speaker 2: what you say and what you do. Your team is
Speaker 2: watching everything. If you talk about accountability but let certain
Speaker 2: people slide, they notice. If you talk about respect but
Speaker 2: allow toxic behavior, they notice and once they notice enough,
Speaker 2: they stop believing, and when belief disappears, effort follows. Fourth,
Speaker 2: you protect your top performers from unnecessary noise. High performers
Speaker 2: want to produce, They want to win. They do not
Speaker 2: want to navigate drama, politics, or constant friction. If your
Speaker 2: best people are spending more time dealing with problems than
Speaker 2: solving them, you're burning them out, and burned out talent
Speaker 2: does not complain loudly. They fade, and finally, you create
Speaker 2: an environment we're speaking up is safe because if your
Speaker 2: team is afraid to tell you the truth, they will
Speaker 2: tell someone else, and that someone else might be their
Speaker 2: next employer. You don't need perfect systems, you don't need
Speaker 2: complex strategies. You need awareness, You need presence. You need
Speaker 2: to pay attention to the quiet, because the quiet is
Speaker 2: where the truth lives. And let me leave you with this,
Speaker 2: If your best people are getting quieter, you do not
Speaker 2: have a performance problem. You have a leadership signal, and
Speaker 2: you have a choice ignore it and wait for the
Speaker 2: resignation email, or address it now and keep the talent
Speaker 2: you worked so hard to build, because when great talent
Speaker 2: walks away silently, it's not just their exit it's your
Speaker 2: evaluation and your team is already writing it. So if
Speaker 2: this episode made you stop and think about someone on
Speaker 2: your team, do not wait have the conversation. Pay attention
Speaker 2: to the quiet signals. Leadership is not measured by what
Speaker 2: people say to your face. It's measured by what they
Speaker 2: choose not to say. And if you want more free
Speaker 2: leadership resources, head over to Paulfolovalito dot com and click
Speaker 2: on free Stuff. I have over twenty five free leadership
Speaker 2: documents that you can download and start using today. This
Speaker 2: has been the seven Minute Leadership Podcast and I thank
Speaker 2: you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul Fellovalito podcast, is It Paul Fellowalito dot
Speaker 1: com