WEBVTT

1
00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:07.080
<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

2
00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:11.839
<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajiving. This

3
00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:18.079
<v Speaker 1>is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellavaledo.

4
00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:25.399
<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

5
00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:29.879
<v Speaker 2>It's episode six point eighty three. Let's talk about something

6
00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:38.000
<v Speaker 2>that is breaking teams, families, friendships, and entire organizations apart. Politics.

7
00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:42.159
<v Speaker 2>And here's the part that most leaders get wrong. This

8
00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:45.799
<v Speaker 2>is not about bad people. This is about good people

9
00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:50.159
<v Speaker 2>who see the world completely differently. That is what makes

10
00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:53.119
<v Speaker 2>this so dangerous and so important for you as a

11
00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:56.039
<v Speaker 2>leader to understand, because if you walk into this thinking

12
00:00:56.119 --> 00:00:59.359
<v Speaker 2>one side is right and the other side is wrong,

13
00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:02.759
<v Speaker 2>you are already lost control of the room. I want

14
00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:05.560
<v Speaker 2>you to picture this. Two of your best employees. Both

15
00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:08.959
<v Speaker 2>show up early, both work hard, both care about the mission,

16
00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:12.599
<v Speaker 2>Both would go out of their way to help a coworker,

17
00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:17.040
<v Speaker 2>and yet the second politics comes up, they can't stand

18
00:01:17.079 --> 00:01:21.680
<v Speaker 2>each other. What changed. Nothing about their character changed. What

19
00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:26.799
<v Speaker 2>changed is perception. Politics is not about facts the way

20
00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:29.719
<v Speaker 2>we think it is. It is about identity. It is

21
00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:34.280
<v Speaker 2>about values. It is about what someone believes is right,

22
00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:38.159
<v Speaker 2>fair and worth protecting and When you challenge someone's politics,

23
00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:42.359
<v Speaker 2>you were not challenging their opinion. You were challenging who

24
00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:46.799
<v Speaker 2>they believe they are. That is why conversations go from

25
00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:52.280
<v Speaker 2>zero to nuclear so fast. Now let's take this into

26
00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:56.120
<v Speaker 2>a leadership lens. As a leader, you are not there

27
00:01:56.200 --> 00:02:00.400
<v Speaker 2>to referee a political debate. You were there to protect

28
00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:02.840
<v Speaker 2>the mission, the culture, and the performance of your team,

29
00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:07.640
<v Speaker 2>and politics, if unmanaged, will quietly erode all three. Let

30
00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:11.080
<v Speaker 2>me give you a real world example. Go back to

31
00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:16.000
<v Speaker 2>the American Civil War. Brothers fought brothers, neighbors turned on

32
00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:19.879
<v Speaker 2>each other. These were not evil people on both sides.

33
00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:22.719
<v Speaker 2>These were people who believed deeply in what they thought

34
00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:27.039
<v Speaker 2>was right, and that belief was strong enough to divide

35
00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:30.240
<v Speaker 2>a nation. Now fast forward to today. We are not

36
00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:34.919
<v Speaker 2>fighting on battlefields, but we are fighting in boardrooms, breakrooms

37
00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:39.840
<v Speaker 2>and group chats. Same human behavior, different environment. So what

38
00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:43.479
<v Speaker 2>does a strong leader do with this? First, you set

39
00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:49.120
<v Speaker 2>the standard, not a suggestion, a standard. Your workplace is

40
00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:53.879
<v Speaker 2>not a political arena, it is a performance arena. You

41
00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:57.639
<v Speaker 2>were there to serve customers, patients, clients, missions, whatever your

42
00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:01.479
<v Speaker 2>world is. Politics does not get to hijack that. And

43
00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:06.159
<v Speaker 2>you have to say that clearly. Second, you separate respect

44
00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:10.719
<v Speaker 2>from agreement. This is where most teams fail. People think

45
00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:13.319
<v Speaker 2>if I disagree with you, I don't respect you, and

46
00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:16.360
<v Speaker 2>that's wrong. You can completely disagree with someone and still

47
00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:20.319
<v Speaker 2>respect their work ethic, their contribution, and their value to

48
00:03:20.360 --> 00:03:23.759
<v Speaker 2>the team. Leaders need to model this. If your team

49
00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:27.039
<v Speaker 2>sees you roll your eyes, shut people down, or make

50
00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:30.560
<v Speaker 2>sarcastic comments, they will follow your lead. If they see

51
00:03:30.599 --> 00:03:36.719
<v Speaker 2>you stay calm, listen, and redirect, they will follow that too. Third,

52
00:03:37.479 --> 00:03:42.080
<v Speaker 2>you recognize the emotional load. Politics today is not casual.

53
00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:47.000
<v Speaker 2>It is personal. People are carrying stress from news cycles,

54
00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:50.840
<v Speaker 2>social media, and constant noise. They walk into your workplace

55
00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:56.120
<v Speaker 2>already charged up, so when something small gets said, it explodes.

56
00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:58.840
<v Speaker 2>You have to read the room. This is where your

57
00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:03.120
<v Speaker 2>red key leadership comes into play. These are high consequence moments.

58
00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:06.360
<v Speaker 2>You do not ignore them. You step in early. You

59
00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:11.759
<v Speaker 2>redirect the conversation. You protect the environment before its spirals. Fourth,

60
00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:15.639
<v Speaker 2>you create a shared identity that is stronger than politics.

61
00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:18.600
<v Speaker 2>This is one of the most powerful leadership moves you

62
00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:23.160
<v Speaker 2>can make. If your team identifies more with their political

63
00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:26.480
<v Speaker 2>beliefs than they do with your mission, you are going

64
00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:30.279
<v Speaker 2>to lose control. But if they identify as a high

65
00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:33.800
<v Speaker 2>performing team, as professionals, as people who take pride in

66
00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:38.399
<v Speaker 2>what they do, that becomes the anchor, That becomes the

67
00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:41.319
<v Speaker 2>thing that keeps them aligned even when they disagree. Think

68
00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:46.879
<v Speaker 2>about elite teams, military units, flight crews, emergency response teams.

69
00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:50.399
<v Speaker 2>There's no time for political division when the mission is

70
00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:55.279
<v Speaker 2>on the line. The mission wins always, and that is

71
00:04:55.319 --> 00:04:59.439
<v Speaker 2>the culture you have to build. Now here's where I

72
00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:03.199
<v Speaker 2>want to challenge you. Look at your own leadership. Are

73
00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:08.079
<v Speaker 2>you contributing to the divide even unintentionally? Are you making

74
00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:12.720
<v Speaker 2>comments that signal where you stand. Are you allowing certain

75
00:05:12.759 --> 00:05:16.160
<v Speaker 2>conversations to happen because you agree with them while shutting

76
00:05:16.199 --> 00:05:21.000
<v Speaker 2>others down? Your team is watching everything you do. Leadership

77
00:05:21.079 --> 00:05:26.399
<v Speaker 2>is not neutral. Even your silence sends a message. If

78
00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:30.360
<v Speaker 2>you allow political division to grow unchecked, it will show

79
00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:34.160
<v Speaker 2>up in performance. It will show up in communication breakdowns,

80
00:05:34.839 --> 00:05:37.600
<v Speaker 2>it will show up in people refusing to help each other,

81
00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:41.720
<v Speaker 2>and before you know it, your culture is fractured. So

82
00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:46.879
<v Speaker 2>here's your play. Set the standard model, respect, read the

83
00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:50.759
<v Speaker 2>emotional environment, anchor your team to the mission, and hold

84
00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:54.319
<v Speaker 2>the line. Because this is not about controlling what people

85
00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:58.199
<v Speaker 2>believe It is about controlling how they behave inside your organization,

86
00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:06.439
<v Speaker 2>and that is your job every single day. At the

87
00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:11.680
<v Speaker 2>end of the day, good people will always have different views.

88
00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:16.600
<v Speaker 2>That is not the problem. The problem is when those

89
00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:21.800
<v Speaker 2>differences start to weaken the team. Your job as a

90
00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:24.959
<v Speaker 2>leader is to keep people focused on what matters most,

91
00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:30.279
<v Speaker 2>the mission, the standard, and the way you treat each other.

92
00:06:31.079 --> 00:06:33.560
<v Speaker 2>If you can do that, you don't eliminate the vision,

93
00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:38.160
<v Speaker 2>You manage it, and that is real leadership. This has

94
00:06:38.199 --> 00:06:41.120
<v Speaker 2>been the seven minute Leadership podcast and I thank you

95
00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:41.720
<v Speaker 2>for listening.

96
00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:46.600
<v Speaker 1>For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.