WEBVTT

1
00:00:04.120 --> 00:00:06.879
<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

2
00:00:06.919 --> 00:00:11.039
<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building, and Goala giving.

3
00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:14.880
<v Speaker 1>This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host

4
00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:23.719
<v Speaker 1>Paul fella Aledo. Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven

5
00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:28.480
<v Speaker 1>Minute Leadership Podcast. It's episode six thirteen. Let's start with

6
00:00:28.519 --> 00:00:32.880
<v Speaker 1>a scene you've probably lived through. You walk into a meeting, confident,

7
00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:37.000
<v Speaker 1>you sit down. Someone starts talking about a new system,

8
00:00:37.479 --> 00:00:41.280
<v Speaker 1>a new platform, a new tool. Everyone else seems to understand.

9
00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:46.119
<v Speaker 1>Heads are nodding, people are using acronyms, screens are flying,

10
00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:50.159
<v Speaker 1>and you realize something uncomfortable in real time. You are

11
00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:53.000
<v Speaker 1>leading people who are operating in a world that has

12
00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:57.039
<v Speaker 1>already moved past you. Not because you're dumb, not because

13
00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:00.799
<v Speaker 1>you do not care, but because you never scheduled time

14
00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:05.280
<v Speaker 1>to stay current. Leadership does not fall apart in one

15
00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:09.400
<v Speaker 1>big moment. It erodes quietly when leaders stop understanding the

16
00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:13.319
<v Speaker 1>tools their people are using every day. That is why

17
00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:18.599
<v Speaker 1>every leader, regardless of title or industry, needs a recurring

18
00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:22.680
<v Speaker 1>tech update on their calendar, not once a year, not

19
00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:28.159
<v Speaker 1>when something breaks on purpose, scheduled protected. Let me tell

20
00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:31.799
<v Speaker 1>you a quick story. Years ago, I watched a solid

21
00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:37.519
<v Speaker 1>leader slowly lose credibility, good person, strong work ethic, trusted

22
00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:41.719
<v Speaker 1>by the team. The problem was not attitude, The problem

23
00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:47.200
<v Speaker 1>was relevance. His team adopted new tools faster than he did.

24
00:01:47.719 --> 00:01:53.560
<v Speaker 1>They stopped bringing him into conversations early. They simplified explanations

25
00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:57.480
<v Speaker 1>around him. They worked around him instead of with him.

26
00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:01.599
<v Speaker 1>He did not lose authority, he lost awareness, and awareness

27
00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:07.280
<v Speaker 1>is oxygen in leadership. Here's the uncomfortable truth. When leaders

28
00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:10.840
<v Speaker 1>do not understand the tools, they stop asking good questions.

29
00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:15.080
<v Speaker 1>When they stop asking good questions, people stop bringing them

30
00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:21.639
<v Speaker 1>into decisions. When that happens, leadership becomes ceremonial. A title

31
00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:26.400
<v Speaker 1>without awareness is just decoration. Now, let me be clear,

32
00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:30.400
<v Speaker 1>this is not about becoming the most technical person in

33
00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:33.960
<v Speaker 1>the room. You do not need to code, You do

34
00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:38.000
<v Speaker 1>not need to master every platform. You need literacy enough

35
00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:42.800
<v Speaker 1>understanding to lead intelligently, ask smart questions and see risk

36
00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:46.360
<v Speaker 1>before it bites you. So let me give you a simple,

37
00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:51.479
<v Speaker 1>repeatable way to handle this. Every leader should schedule what

38
00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:55.000
<v Speaker 1>I call a tech reality check. Put it on your

39
00:02:55.039 --> 00:03:00.879
<v Speaker 1>calendar quarterly at minimum, monthly is better. Here's how it works. First,

40
00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:05.159
<v Speaker 1>you do not run it, You attend it. Pick one

41
00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:08.240
<v Speaker 1>trusted person from your team who lives in the tools

42
00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:15.039
<v Speaker 1>every day it, operations, admin, marketing, whoever actually touches the system.

43
00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:20.039
<v Speaker 1>Their job is to brief you, not impress you. Second,

44
00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:24.479
<v Speaker 1>you ask five questions, what tools are we using today

45
00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:28.039
<v Speaker 1>that we were not using six months ago? What tool

46
00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:32.759
<v Speaker 1>do people complain about the most, What tool do people

47
00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:37.919
<v Speaker 1>rely on the most but never talk about? What workarounds

48
00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:42.240
<v Speaker 1>have people created that leadership does not see? And what

49
00:03:42.439 --> 00:03:47.240
<v Speaker 1>risks are we one update away from not understanding? Those

50
00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:50.759
<v Speaker 1>five questions will tell you more about your organization than

51
00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:56.199
<v Speaker 1>most reports ever will. Third, you shut up and listen.

52
00:03:56.479 --> 00:03:58.800
<v Speaker 1>This is not a demo session. This is not a

53
00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:02.840
<v Speaker 1>sales pitch. This is not about how shiny something looks.

54
00:04:02.919 --> 00:04:07.680
<v Speaker 1>This is about friction, risk, time loss, and blind spots.

55
00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:12.680
<v Speaker 1>Pay attention to tone. When people hesitate, when they laugh nervously,

56
00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:16.920
<v Speaker 1>when they say we make it work. Those are leadership

57
00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:21.519
<v Speaker 1>warning lights. Fourth, you decide one thing, not ten, not

58
00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:25.839
<v Speaker 1>a roadmap. One decision. Maybe it's training. Maybe it's killing

59
00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:30.000
<v Speaker 1>a tool that everyone hates but leadership keeps defending. Maybe

60
00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:33.399
<v Speaker 1>it is approving budget. Maybe it is slowing down an

61
00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:38.600
<v Speaker 1>implementation that is overwhelming the team. Leadership is not about

62
00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:42.600
<v Speaker 1>knowing everything. It's about choosing something after you see clearly.

63
00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:49.519
<v Speaker 1>Here's why this matters more than ever. Technology shapes pace,

64
00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:58.319
<v Speaker 1>pace shape stress, Stress shapes behavior, and behavior shapes culture.

65
00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:02.319
<v Speaker 1>If you want to talk about burn out, retention, and performance,

66
00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:06.120
<v Speaker 1>you cannot ignore the systems people fight with every day.

67
00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:11.040
<v Speaker 1>People do not quit jobs, They quit friction that leadership

68
00:05:11.079 --> 00:05:15.480
<v Speaker 1>refuses to see. In one more thing, leaders miss tech

69
00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:22.759
<v Speaker 1>is where risk hides quietly. Cybersecurity issues, data exposures, compliance gaps,

70
00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:27.879
<v Speaker 1>bad habits that feel normal until they become headlines. Leaders

71
00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:32.839
<v Speaker 1>who schedule tech updates spot problems early. Leaders who avoid

72
00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:37.839
<v Speaker 1>them meet problems publicly. This is also about respect. When

73
00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:41.480
<v Speaker 1>your team sees you showing up to learn, not posture,

74
00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:46.279
<v Speaker 1>not pretend. You send a message. You tell them awareness matters,

75
00:05:46.360 --> 00:05:50.519
<v Speaker 1>You tell them their reality matters. You tell them you

76
00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:54.439
<v Speaker 1>are not too important to understand how the work actually happens.

77
00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:58.800
<v Speaker 1>That builds trust faster than any speech. And let me

78
00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:03.519
<v Speaker 1>give you a final gut. If your organization lost its

79
00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:08.040
<v Speaker 1>core systems tomorrow, would you understand the impact well enough

80
00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:11.480
<v Speaker 1>to lead through it. If the answer is no, that

81
00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:16.040
<v Speaker 1>is not failure. That is a calendar problem. Leadership does

82
00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:21.480
<v Speaker 1>not require perfection. It requires attention. Schedule the update, protect

83
00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:26.839
<v Speaker 1>the time, ask better questions, make one decision. That is

84
00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:34.600
<v Speaker 1>how leaders stay relevant without chasing every trend. So leadership

85
00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:38.360
<v Speaker 1>is not about keeping up for the sake of ego.

86
00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:44.160
<v Speaker 1>It's about staying close enough to reality to lead responsibly.

87
00:06:45.160 --> 00:06:49.680
<v Speaker 1>If you want credibility, clarity and calm in your organization,

88
00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:54.360
<v Speaker 1>this is one habit that pays off every single time.

89
00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:58.519
<v Speaker 1>And if you want more free leadership resources, head over

90
00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:01.680
<v Speaker 1>to Paul fallavalito dot com and click on free Stuff.

91
00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:05.600
<v Speaker 1>I have over twenty five free leadership documents you can

92
00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:10.120
<v Speaker 1>download today. This has been the seven minute leadership podcast

93
00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:12.560
<v Speaker 1>and I thank you for listening. For more Paul Fell

94
00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:16.519
<v Speaker 1>of Alito podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com