WEBVTT

1
00:00:04.200 --> 00:00:06.960
<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

2
00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:11.199
<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building, and goal achieving.

3
00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:14.960
<v Speaker 1>This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host

4
00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:16.399
<v Speaker 1>Paul Felloledo.

5
00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:25.320
<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

6
00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:29.839
<v Speaker 2>It's episode five eighty one. Today we're talking about something

7
00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:33.960
<v Speaker 2>most leaders say that they value, but few truly commit

8
00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:39.359
<v Speaker 2>to disaster dry runs. I'm not talking about a binder

9
00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:41.840
<v Speaker 2>on a shelf. I'm not talking about a policy that

10
00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:46.079
<v Speaker 2>checks a box. I'm talking about actually practicing what you

11
00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:51.640
<v Speaker 2>will do when things break, when people panic, when systems fail,

12
00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:57.079
<v Speaker 2>and when time starts working against you. In emergency services,

13
00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:01.600
<v Speaker 2>we live by drills, fire drills, mask casualty drills, active

14
00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:07.599
<v Speaker 2>threat drills, communication failures, weather events, power outages. We run

15
00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:11.000
<v Speaker 2>scenarios that we hope never happen because we know one

16
00:01:11.079 --> 00:01:14.439
<v Speaker 2>thing to be true. The first time you do something

17
00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:19.200
<v Speaker 2>should never be during the real disaster, and leadership works

18
00:01:19.239 --> 00:01:23.599
<v Speaker 2>the same way. Most leadership failures during a crisis are

19
00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:28.719
<v Speaker 2>not because leaders are bad people. They fail because they're unprepared.

20
00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:33.280
<v Speaker 2>They freeze, they overthink, they look for permission. They default

21
00:01:33.319 --> 00:01:37.079
<v Speaker 2>to hope instead of action, and hope is not a

22
00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:43.040
<v Speaker 2>plan a disaster. Dry run is leadership rehearsal. It is

23
00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:46.920
<v Speaker 2>the difference between reacting and responding. It is the difference

24
00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:52.640
<v Speaker 2>between chaos and control. Here's what I've learned from real disasters.

25
00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:56.640
<v Speaker 2>Stress does not make you rise to the occasion. Stress

26
00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:00.799
<v Speaker 2>makes you fall to your level of preparation. If you've

27
00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:06.000
<v Speaker 2>never practiced tough conversations, you will avoid them when emotions

28
00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:11.520
<v Speaker 2>are high. If you never practiced decision making with incomplete information,

29
00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:16.080
<v Speaker 2>you will stall when clarity is missing. If you've never

30
00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:20.400
<v Speaker 2>practiced delegation under pressure, you will try to do everything

31
00:02:20.439 --> 00:02:25.560
<v Speaker 2>yourself and become the bottleneck. Dry runs expose weak spots

32
00:02:25.879 --> 00:02:30.280
<v Speaker 2>while the cost is low. Think about aviation. Pilots spend

33
00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:36.080
<v Speaker 2>hours in simulators practicing engine failures, bad weather, and instrument malfunctions.

34
00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:39.719
<v Speaker 2>They're not doing it because flying is dangerous every day.

35
00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:43.039
<v Speaker 2>They're doing it because when something goes wrong, there's no

36
00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:48.280
<v Speaker 2>time to learn. Leadership has its own simulators, we just

37
00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:52.039
<v Speaker 2>rarely use them. A dry run can be simple, it

38
00:02:52.039 --> 00:02:56.159
<v Speaker 2>can be uncomfortable, It can be hypothetical, but it must

39
00:02:56.159 --> 00:03:02.759
<v Speaker 2>be intentional. Ask your team questions like these, what happens

40
00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:07.199
<v Speaker 2>if our top performer quits tomorrow? What happens if our

41
00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:11.599
<v Speaker 2>systems go down for forty eight hours? What happens if

42
00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:16.199
<v Speaker 2>a mistake goes public? What happens if you're unavailable and

43
00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:20.240
<v Speaker 2>someone else has to lead? And then sit back and listen.

44
00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:26.159
<v Speaker 2>You will quickly find gaps and communication, authority, and confidence.

45
00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:30.520
<v Speaker 2>And that's the point. Dry runs are not about predicting

46
00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:33.759
<v Speaker 2>the future. They're about training your brain and your team

47
00:03:33.879 --> 00:03:38.599
<v Speaker 2>to move forward when things feel unfamiliar. This is where

48
00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:43.960
<v Speaker 2>real leadership shows up. High consequence moments demand leaders who

49
00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:48.080
<v Speaker 2>have already thought through the hard parts. Dry runs teach

50
00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:52.439
<v Speaker 2>leaders to recognize those moments before they spiral. And here's

51
00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:57.240
<v Speaker 2>a hard truth. If your organization cannot survive without you,

52
00:03:57.240 --> 00:04:01.280
<v Speaker 2>you have not built leadership. You have built depends. Dry

53
00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:06.080
<v Speaker 2>runs force you to test that reality. They also build trust.

54
00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:09.599
<v Speaker 2>When people know there is a plan, even a rough one,

55
00:04:10.039 --> 00:04:18.000
<v Speaker 2>Anxiety drops, confidence rises, execution improves. I've watched teams handle

56
00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:23.160
<v Speaker 2>real disasters better than minor inconveniences because they practiced the

57
00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:27.360
<v Speaker 2>big stuff and ignored the small stuff. That is backwards.

58
00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:30.160
<v Speaker 2>Leaders should rehearse the moments that would cause the most

59
00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:35.639
<v Speaker 2>damage if mishandled. So here's a simple framework you can use. First,

60
00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:43.000
<v Speaker 2>identify one realistic worst case scenario, not fantasy, not apocalypse,

61
00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:48.560
<v Speaker 2>something that could actually happen. Second, walk through it step

62
00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:52.879
<v Speaker 2>by step with your team. Who decides, who communicates, who documents,

63
00:04:53.319 --> 00:04:59.759
<v Speaker 2>who supports. Third, look for friction points, confusion, overlap, silence,

64
00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:05.480
<v Speaker 2>has hesitation. Those are leadership gaps showing themselves. And then fourth,

65
00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:10.240
<v Speaker 2>fix one thing, not everything, one improvement every dry run.

66
00:05:11.160 --> 00:05:15.000
<v Speaker 2>This is how strong cultures are built, not through slogans,

67
00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:19.680
<v Speaker 2>but through repetition. And here's the bonus. Lesson dry runs

68
00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:24.720
<v Speaker 2>also train emotional control. People learn how they react under

69
00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:29.360
<v Speaker 2>pressure before it counts. That awareness alone makes better leaders.

70
00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:33.720
<v Speaker 2>And think about timely my brand mascot, the hourglass figure

71
00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:37.639
<v Speaker 2>I introduced last year on my website. He reminds us

72
00:05:37.639 --> 00:05:43.319
<v Speaker 2>that time disappears fastest during a crisis. Dry runs by

73
00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:48.120
<v Speaker 2>you time before the clock starts screaming. So, if you're

74
00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:51.800
<v Speaker 2>leading a business, a nonprofit, a public safety organization, or

75
00:05:51.839 --> 00:05:56.600
<v Speaker 2>even a family, ask yourself this question. When things go wrong,

76
00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:01.680
<v Speaker 2>are we guessing or executing? The answer tells you everything

77
00:06:01.720 --> 00:06:07.720
<v Speaker 2>you need to know about your readiness. So leadership is

78
00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:12.720
<v Speaker 2>not proven when things are calm, it is proven when

79
00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:19.000
<v Speaker 2>the plan actually gets tested. Disaster dry runs are not pessimistic,

80
00:06:19.319 --> 00:06:23.879
<v Speaker 2>they are responsible. They respect the people who demand on you.

81
00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:29.319
<v Speaker 2>Most practice does not eliminate risk, but it dramatically improves survival.

82
00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:32.480
<v Speaker 2>So run the drill now while the stakes are low,

83
00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:37.360
<v Speaker 2>so you're not inventing leadership under pressure later. This has

84
00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:40.240
<v Speaker 2>been the seven Minute Leadership Podcast, and I thank you

85
00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:40.839
<v Speaker 2>for listening.

86
00:06:41.079 --> 00:06:45.040
<v Speaker 1>For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot

87
00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:45.920
<v Speaker 1>com