Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajieving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul
Speaker 1: fella Aledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode five point fifty nine. Today we're stepping into
Speaker 2: a Christmas story that has nothing to do with ornaments, cookies,
Speaker 2: or twinkling lights. It is a ghost story for leaders,
Speaker 2: the kind that speaks to the things you have avoided
Speaker 2: all year. The ghost crew. These are the problems you
Speaker 2: did not address, the decisions you pushed off, the conversations
Speaker 2: you sidestepped, and the behaviors you tolerated because the timing
Speaker 2: never felt right. These ghosts wait in the corners of
Speaker 2: your leader, and the holiday season is when they tend
Speaker 2: to reveal themselves. Picture in old building on Christmas week,
Speaker 2: snow against the windows, quiet hallways, the last crew has
Speaker 2: clocked out. The lights click off one by one. You
Speaker 2: stand alone in the silence, thinking about the year. At first,
Speaker 2: the room feels still. Then, like every true ghost story,
Speaker 2: you sense you're not alone. You hear the faint echo
Speaker 2: of an argument two employees had months ago that you
Speaker 2: never stepped in to resolve. That is the ghost of
Speaker 2: conflict avoided. It lingers because no one addressed the root cause.
Speaker 2: Another ghost appears near the break room, the ghost of
Speaker 2: tolerated behavior. This is the employee who keeps missing deadlines
Speaker 2: or slipping on responsibilities. You never confronted it directly because
Speaker 2: it felt easier to pick up the slack. You see,
Speaker 2: and that decision is haunting you now. Further down the
Speaker 2: hall is the ghost of overdue decisions. Every leader knows
Speaker 2: this one. It represents the choices you postponed, the policy
Speaker 2: you never updated, the standard you let slide. Little by
Speaker 2: little you thought you had time. Now the unfinished decision
Speaker 2: stands in front of you, demanding attention. The final ghost
Speaker 2: appears behind you, quiet but powerful, the ghost of culture drift.
Speaker 2: This is the accumulated weight of everything you let slide.
Speaker 2: It's the slow erosion of expectations. It is the moment
Speaker 2: when your team starts guessing what you stand for instead
Speaker 2: of knowing it. Culture rarely collapses all at once. It
Speaker 2: fades when leaders fail to intervene. What makes this a
Speaker 2: true Christmas ghost story is that ghosts show themselves when
Speaker 2: we finally slow down long enough to notice them. Leaders
Speaker 2: move fast all year, and speed hides problems. Stillness exposes them.
Speaker 2: This is your Scrooge moment. The ghosts have arrived to
Speaker 2: teach you something before the year ends. So how do
Speaker 2: you clear the ghost crew before they follow you into
Speaker 2: the next year. The first step is recognition. You cannot
Speaker 2: defeat what you will not name. Make a list the
Speaker 2: conflict you avoided, the behavior you tolerated, the decision you delayed,
Speaker 2: the part of your culture that you let drift. Seeing
Speaker 2: them written out is the leadership version of turning a
Speaker 2: flashlight on in a dark room. The second step is
Speaker 2: accepting responsibility. Ghosts appear because leaders allow them to appear.
Speaker 2: When you take ownership, you immediately gain the power to
Speaker 2: change it. Accountability is the end. The third step is action,
Speaker 2: direct action. For the ghost of conflict avoided, hold the conversation,
Speaker 2: sit the people down and address it. For the ghost
Speaker 2: of tolerated behavior, reset expectations and be clear about what
Speaker 2: changes now. For the ghost of overdue decisions, make the
Speaker 2: decision and communicate it. For the ghost of culture drift,
Speaker 2: re establish your standards and follow them consistently. The fourth
Speaker 2: step is prevention. Ghosts come back. When leaders slide into
Speaker 2: old habits. You prevent that by creating a simple leadership rule.
Speaker 2: When something feels uncomfortable to address, that is your signal
Speaker 2: to address it immediately. Problems do not evaporate with time,
Speaker 2: they multiply, So walk into the new year with a
Speaker 2: clean slate. Clear the ghosts that have followed you. Your
Speaker 2: team will feel lighter, communication will definitely improve, and culture
Speaker 2: will strengthen, and your leadership will feel sharper and more intentional.
Speaker 2: The ghost crew only has power when you ignore it.
Speaker 2: The moment you confront it, the haunting ends. This has
Speaker 2: been the seven minute Leadership podcast and I thank you
Speaker 2: for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.