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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 golachieving. This

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

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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 six sixty four. Let me give you something

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<v Speaker 2>that will challenge the way you lead starting today. Most

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<v Speaker 2>leaders talk too much. Not because they're bad leaders, not

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<v Speaker 2>because they are trying to dominate. They talk too much

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<v Speaker 2>because they believe that leadership is about having the answer

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<v Speaker 2>in real time. They think if they are not speaking,

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<v Speaker 2>they are not leading, and that belief is quietly destroying

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<v Speaker 2>their authority. Silence creates something I call the power gap,

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<v Speaker 2>and most leaders are terrified of it. The power gap

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<v Speaker 2>is that moment after a question is asked, after a

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<v Speaker 2>decision is challenged, or after tension hits the room and

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<v Speaker 2>nobody speaks. That space feels uncomfortable. It feels like something

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<v Speaker 2>is broken. So what do most leaders do. They rush

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<v Speaker 2>in to fill it. They explain more, They soften their position,

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<v Speaker 2>They talk their way into being understood, and in doing that,

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<v Speaker 2>they give away their leverage. Because when you fill every silence,

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<v Speaker 2>you remove the need for anyone else to step up.

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<v Speaker 2>Silence forces ownership. When you stop talking, people start thinking.

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<v Speaker 2>When you stop explaining, people start engaging. When you stop

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<v Speaker 2>rescuing the conversation, people start revealing who they really are.

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<v Speaker 2>Silence is not passive. Silence is pressure. So let me

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<v Speaker 2>walk you through a real leadership moment you're in at

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<v Speaker 2>you present a plan, someone pushes back, not aggressively, but

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<v Speaker 2>enough to challenge you. The average leader responds immediately. They defend,

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<v Speaker 2>they clarify, They try to win the room. A strong

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<v Speaker 2>leader does something different. They pause, They let the comment

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<v Speaker 2>sit in the air, They look at the person, they

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<v Speaker 2>give them space to continue, and then they say something simple,

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<v Speaker 2>tell me more, and then they go silent again. Now

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<v Speaker 2>the other person has to step into that space. They

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<v Speaker 2>have to expand their thought, They have to explain themselves

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<v Speaker 2>more clearly. And here's what happens next. They either strengthen

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<v Speaker 2>their position or they expose the weakness in it. Either way,

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<v Speaker 2>you win as a leader. Silence turns reactions into data.

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<v Speaker 2>Now let's take this one level deeper. Silence also reveals confidence.

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<v Speaker 2>If you need to constantly speak, explain, or justify yourself,

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<v Speaker 2>people start to question your certainty They may not say

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<v Speaker 2>it out loud, but they feel it. But when you're

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<v Speaker 2>comfortable with silence, when you can let a room sit

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<v Speaker 2>for a few seconds without jumping in, it signals something powerful.

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<v Speaker 2>It tells people you're not rattled. It tells people you're thinking.

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<v Speaker 2>It tells people you are in control of yourself, and

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<v Speaker 2>in leadership, control of yourself is everything. There is another

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<v Speaker 2>side to this that most leaders miss. Silence exposes truth.

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<v Speaker 2>Think about the last time someone gave you a weak answer.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe it was an employee explaining why something didn't get done.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe it was a leader trying to justify a bad decision.

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<v Speaker 2>If you jump in too fast, you let them off

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<v Speaker 2>the hook. But if you stay silent, something interesting happens.

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<v Speaker 2>They keep talking, and the more they talk, the closer

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<v Speaker 2>they get to the truth. Silence removes the escape hatch.

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<v Speaker 2>People will often correct themselves, reveal gaps, or admit what

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<v Speaker 2>really happened. If you give them enough space, Your job

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<v Speaker 2>as a leader is not to fill that space. Your

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<v Speaker 2>job is to hold it. Now, let's talk about something

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<v Speaker 2>that will hit close to home. Silence in conflict. When

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<v Speaker 2>emotions rise, most leaders speed up, They talk faster, they interrupt,

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<v Speaker 2>They try to regain control with words. That is the

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<v Speaker 2>exact moment where silence becomes your strongest move. When someone

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<v Speaker 2>is emotional, your words will not land the way you

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<v Speaker 2>think they will. They are not listening for logic, they're reacting.

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<v Speaker 2>But silence changes the tempo. It slows the moment down.

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<v Speaker 2>It gives the other person space to burn off that

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<v Speaker 2>initial reaction. It allows you to observe instead of react,

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<v Speaker 2>and when you finally do speak, your words carry more

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<v Speaker 2>weight because they're not competing with noise. Silence is not avoidance,

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<v Speaker 2>it is control of timing. Now I want to give

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<v Speaker 2>you a practical move you can start using today. The

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<v Speaker 2>next time you ask a question, count to three in

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<v Speaker 2>your head before saying anything else, not one, not two,

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<v Speaker 2>a full three. It will feel long, it will feel awkward.

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<v Speaker 2>You will want to jump in. Just wait. Watch what happens.

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<v Speaker 2>People will fill that space. They will give you better answers.

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<v Speaker 2>They will think instead of react, and you'll start to

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<v Speaker 2>see something shift. You will feel the room begin to

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<v Speaker 2>work harder. That is leadership. In another move, when someone

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<v Speaker 2>gives you an answer that feels incomplete, do not correct

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<v Speaker 2>them immediately, pause, look at them, then ask one follow up,

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<v Speaker 2>question what am I missing, and then go silent. You'll

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<v Speaker 2>be amazed at what comes next. Now, let me bring

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<v Speaker 2>this home. Silence is not about saying less. It's about

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<v Speaker 2>saying what matters, in letting it land. Too many leaders

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<v Speaker 2>talk to be heard. Strong leaders speak with purpose and

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<v Speaker 2>then step back. They let their words do the work,

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<v Speaker 2>They let their team do the thinking. They let the

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<v Speaker 2>moment breathe. Because leadership is not measured by how much

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<v Speaker 2>you say. It's measured by what happens after you stop talking.

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<v Speaker 2>If your team depends on your voice for every answer,

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<v Speaker 2>you have built a fragile system. If your team can think, respond,

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<v Speaker 2>and act in the space you create, you've built something

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<v Speaker 2>strong and that starts with silence. So here is your

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<v Speaker 2>challenge today. Find one moment where you would normally jump

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<v Speaker 2>in and just do the opposite. Pause, hold the space,

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<v Speaker 2>let the silence work. You will feel the discomfort that's

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<v Speaker 2>part of all of this, But inside that discomfort is

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<v Speaker 2>where your next level of leadership lives. And if you

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<v Speaker 2>want more free leadership resources, head over to Paulfolovalito dot

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<v Speaker 2>com and click on free Stuff. I have over twenty

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<v Speaker 2>five free leadership documents you can download and start using today.

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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

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<v Speaker 1>com