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<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

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<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building, and goalachieving. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellowliedo.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>It's episode three sixty four and let's talk about something

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<v Speaker 2>most leadership manuals don't prepare you for, and that's the

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<v Speaker 2>gray areas. You know what I mean. Those moments where

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<v Speaker 2>there's no clear policy, no obvious precedent, and no perfect playbook.

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<v Speaker 2>The email you probably shouldn't send but also shouldn't ignore

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<v Speaker 2>the employee who technically did nothing wrong, but something still

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<v Speaker 2>feels off. The moment where values, relationships, and results are

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<v Speaker 2>all tugging in different directions and you have to make

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<v Speaker 2>a decision anyway. This is where real leadership happens. Most

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<v Speaker 2>people want leadership to be black and white, right or wrong,

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<v Speaker 2>easy or not, but we don't live in that world,

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<v Speaker 2>especially not in the trenches of management and team building.

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<v Speaker 2>Most of leadership, especially at the higher levels, is spent

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<v Speaker 2>navigating ambiguity and pretending otherwise is a great way to

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<v Speaker 2>lose credibility fast. Owning the gray areas means doing what

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<v Speaker 2>most people avoid slowing down, thinking deeper, asking better questions,

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<v Speaker 2>and sometimes standing alone with your decision, because in those

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<v Speaker 2>in between moments, people don't just see your leadership style,

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<v Speaker 2>they see your character. So let's break this down a

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<v Speaker 2>little further. Gray areas test your values. When everything is clear.

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<v Speaker 2>Values are easy. Of course we value honesty, of course

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<v Speaker 2>we respect our people. But what about when telling the

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<v Speaker 2>full truth means you throw someone under the bus, or

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<v Speaker 2>when showing compassion means bending a rule that might bite

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<v Speaker 2>you later. This is where you prove that your values

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<v Speaker 2>aren't just slogans on a wall. They're real. The next

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<v Speaker 2>one is gray areas require judgment, not just knowledge. If

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<v Speaker 2>leadership were a game of trivia, the smartest person would

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<v Speaker 2>always win, but it's not. The gray areas are where

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<v Speaker 2>intelligence meets intuition. You have to weigh consequences, personalities, timing, tone,

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<v Speaker 2>and optics while also remembering the mission. There's no certification

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<v Speaker 2>for that. It's experience. It's trial and error. It's listening

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<v Speaker 2>more than talking. It's learning when to pause, when to

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<v Speaker 2>ask for input, and when to trust your gut feelings.

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<v Speaker 2>The next one is gray areas, or where trust is

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<v Speaker 2>either built or broken. People watch how you lead in

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<v Speaker 2>the gray. They may not tell you they're watching, but

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<v Speaker 2>they are. How you respond when it's murky tells them

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<v Speaker 2>who you really are. It tells them if you're fair, consistent, courageous,

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<v Speaker 2>or just protecting yourself. For example, imagine someone makes a

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<v Speaker 2>mistake that's not a fireable offense, but it's serious. You

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<v Speaker 2>have no official policy for it. If you ignore it,

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<v Speaker 2>people think you're weak. If you come down too hard,

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<v Speaker 2>they think you're harsh. So what do you do, and

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<v Speaker 2>here's the answer. You own it, Address it with honesty,

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<v Speaker 2>acknowledge the complexity, make your decision, and explain your reasoning,

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<v Speaker 2>and then move forward with accountability and transparency. That's how

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<v Speaker 2>you lead in the gray. Owning the gray also means

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<v Speaker 2>preparing your people to do the same. It's not enough

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<v Speaker 2>for you to be the only one who can navigate

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<v Speaker 2>the mess. You have to equip your team to think

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<v Speaker 2>this way too. That means mentoring. It means asking them

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<v Speaker 2>what do you think we should do? Instead of just

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<v Speaker 2>handing down decisions. The best leaders don't pretend to have

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<v Speaker 2>all the answers. They build teams who know how to

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<v Speaker 2>operate even when the rules are blurry. And this last

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<v Speaker 2>one is gray areas, or where culture is built. If

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<v Speaker 2>you really want to know what your company culture really is,

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<v Speaker 2>look at how your team behaves when no one's watching

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<v Speaker 2>in the situation is not black or white. That's your

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<v Speaker 2>culture and action. That's the result of your tone you've

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<v Speaker 2>set as a leader. Because remember this, black and white

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<v Speaker 2>decisions don't define your culture, the gray ones do. So

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<v Speaker 2>think of one gray area that you're currently avoiding. Maybe

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<v Speaker 2>it's a conversation, a decision, or a situation that just

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<v Speaker 2>feels messy. Don't push it aside, lean into it. Write

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<v Speaker 2>down your values, what your gut says, and what you

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<v Speaker 2>hope your team would say about your decision thirty days

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<v Speaker 2>from now, and then make the call. Leadership isn't about

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<v Speaker 2>having all the answers. It's about being willing to step

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<v Speaker 2>into uncertainty and lead anyway in owning the gray areas.

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<v Speaker 2>This has been the seven minute Leadership podcast and I

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<v Speaker 2>thank you for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.