Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajiving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul
Speaker 1: Fello Aledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to this seven minute leadership podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode six oh four. I recently got off a
Speaker 2: call with a client who said something that stopped me cold,
Speaker 2: and I have his permission to talk about this. He said,
Speaker 2: I love my job and I'm really damn good at it.
Speaker 2: The problem is I have a boss who won't get
Speaker 2: out of my way, and now I don't want to
Speaker 2: get up and come to work. That sentence matters not
Speaker 2: because it's dramatic, not because it's emotional. It matters because
Speaker 2: it is the sound of a great employee quietly disengaging.
Speaker 2: This episode is for two people. It is for the
Speaker 2: employee who feels boxed in second guest and slowly drained
Speaker 2: by someone above them. And it's for the leader who
Speaker 2: might not realize they are the reason someone great is
Speaker 2: thinking about quitting a job they once loved. So let's
Speaker 2: start with the employee side. When someone says I love
Speaker 2: my job and I'm really good at it, that tells
Speaker 2: me everything I need to know. This is not laziness,
Speaker 2: This is not entitlement. This is pride and work, This
Speaker 2: is ownership. This is someone who wants to contribute and win.
Speaker 2: The problem is not the work. The problem is friction.
Speaker 2: And here's the advice I gave him. And if you're
Speaker 2: in this position, please listen closely. First, name the real
Speaker 2: issue clearly and professionally. Most people stay vague because they're afraid.
Speaker 2: They say things like I feel unsupported or I feel micromanaged,
Speaker 2: and that language is emotional and easy to dismiss. Instead,
Speaker 2: get specific, What decisions are being overridden, What work is
Speaker 2: being redone? What authority do you think you have that
Speaker 2: you actually do not. Clarity removes drama, vague frustration creates it. Second,
Speaker 2: have the conversation before resentment does it for you. Resentment
Speaker 2: is patient. It waits until you're tired, short and sharp.
Speaker 2: Then it talks for you in ways you cannot take back.
Speaker 2: The conversation sounds like this. I care about this role.
Speaker 2: I take pride in the results. Right now, the way
Speaker 2: decisions are being handled is slowing me down and affecting
Speaker 2: my motivation. I want to talk about how we can
Speaker 2: fix that. This is not an attack. This is ownership. Third,
Speaker 2: ask one question that changes everything. What does success look
Speaker 2: like if you fully trust me in this role? That
Speaker 2: question forces alignment or exposes the lack of it. If
Speaker 2: the answer is clear, you now have a target. If
Speaker 2: the answer is fuzzy, the issue was never you. Fourth,
Speaker 2: protect your standards even if you cannot change the environment immediately.
Speaker 2: If you're good at your job, stay good at your job.
Speaker 2: Do not lower your performance to match someone else's insecurity.
Speaker 2: That road only ends one way, and it damages your reputation,
Speaker 2: not theirs. Now, let's flip this to the leader side,
Speaker 2: because this is where the real lesson lives. Leaders If
Speaker 2: someone who loves their job no longer wants to come
Speaker 2: to work, that is a leadership problem until proven otherwise.
Speaker 2: So let me say this plainly. Control is not leadership.
Speaker 2: Hovering is not leadership. Re Checking every move is not leadership.
Speaker 2: Those behaviors are usually fear wearing a title. Great leaders
Speaker 2: higher capable people than they give them room to operate.
Speaker 2: Your job is not to be everywhere. Your job is
Speaker 2: to be clear, available, and decisive when needed. If you
Speaker 2: have someone who is damn good at what they do,
Speaker 2: your role is to remove obstacles not become one. Ask
Speaker 2: yourself this tonight. Am I adding value? Or am I
Speaker 2: adding drag? Am I stepping in because something is broken?
Speaker 2: Or because I am uncomfortable not being involved? Do my
Speaker 2: people feel trusted or tolerated? And here's a hard operational truth.
Speaker 2: Good people do not quit work they love. They quit
Speaker 2: friction that they cannot fix in the most dangerous part
Speaker 2: is this, They often do not complain loudly. They go quiet,
Speaker 2: they disengage, they stop bringing ideas, they stop pushing, and
Speaker 2: then one day they leave and leadership act surprised. If
Speaker 2: you're a leader listening to this, do one thing this week.
Speaker 2: Ask your strongest performer, where am I getting in your way?
Speaker 2: And then listen without defending yourself. If you're an employee
Speaker 2: listening to this, remember this. You're allowed to want autonomy.
Speaker 2: You're allowed to protect your energy. You're allowed to expect
Speaker 2: clarity from leadership. But you also owe it to yourself
Speaker 2: to speak up before burnout speaks for you. Leadership is
Speaker 2: not about control. It is about trust, direction, and restraint.
Speaker 2: And sometimes the most powerful move a leader can make
Speaker 2: is stepping back. So if this episode felt personal, that's
Speaker 2: because it's happening everywhere. Good people want to do good work.
Speaker 2: Leaders either create space for that or they slowly squeeze
Speaker 2: it out. Whether you sit in the chair with the
Speaker 2: title or the chair doing the work, your responsibility is
Speaker 2: the same. Clarity, ownership, and honest conversation beat silent frustration
Speaker 2: every time. This has been the seven minute Leadership Podcast,
Speaker 2: and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.