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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

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<v Speaker 1>fella Aledo.

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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 five sixty four. It's Christmas night. The house

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<v Speaker 2>is quieter, the leftovers are stacked in the fridge. The

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<v Speaker 2>decorations are still up, but the energy has shifted. The

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<v Speaker 2>calendar quietly flips into that strange space where Christmas is

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<v Speaker 2>over and the new year is staring at you from

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<v Speaker 2>a week away. This is one of the most overlooked

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<v Speaker 2>leadership windows of the entire year, not because nothing is happening,

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<v Speaker 2>but because everything slows down enough for reality to tap

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<v Speaker 2>you on the shoulder. This week exposes what you meant

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<v Speaker 2>to finish and didn't. Most leaders treat the final week

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<v Speaker 2>of the year like emotional overtime. They're tired, they're reflective,

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<v Speaker 2>They're already thinking about January goals, new plans, fresh starts.

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<v Speaker 2>The danger is skipping the unfinished business that quietly follows

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<v Speaker 2>you into the new year, and it always follows you. Tonight,

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<v Speaker 2>I want you to think less about resolutions and more

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<v Speaker 2>about loose ends because unresolved leadership never resets itself. And

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<v Speaker 2>here's the uncomfortable truth. What you fail to close in

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<v Speaker 2>December becomes friction in January. Conversations you delayed don't disappear.

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<v Speaker 2>Decisions you avoided don't age well. Issues you tolerated don't

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<v Speaker 2>magically improve because the year changed. They compound In emergency services, aviation,

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<v Speaker 2>and business. Unfinished tasks create hidden risk. In the cockpit,

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<v Speaker 2>we don't say we'll deal with that checklist item next flight.

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<v Speaker 2>In ems, we don't ignore a restock because a new

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<v Speaker 2>shift is coming. Leadership works the same way. This week

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<v Speaker 2>is your final checklist, not the flashy one, the quiet one.

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<v Speaker 2>Start with people who did you promise feedback to and

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<v Speaker 2>never delivered, Who carried extra weight this year and never

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<v Speaker 2>heard thank you directly from you? Who is ending the

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<v Speaker 2>year confused because you avoided a hard conversation. Leaders underestimate

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<v Speaker 2>how heavy silence feels to the people around them. A

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<v Speaker 2>delayed conversation feels like a message, even when you didn't

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<v Speaker 2>intend one. Closing the loop with people before the year

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<v Speaker 2>ends clears emotional debt. Next, look at decisions. What decision

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<v Speaker 2>did you delay because they were uncomfortable, political or messy.

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<v Speaker 2>What did you push into the future because you were

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<v Speaker 2>hoping the problem would solve itself. Leadership debt shows up

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<v Speaker 2>when January arrives and you're already behind. The new year

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't need new ideas if old decisions are still unresolved.

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<v Speaker 2>Clean decisions give you momentum. Lingering ones drain it now.

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<v Speaker 2>Look at your culture. What behaviors did you tolerate that

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<v Speaker 2>you told yourself you would address later. What standards quietly

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<v Speaker 2>slipped because you were tired, busy or avoiding conflict. Culture

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't reset on January first. It carries forward whatever you

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<v Speaker 2>allowed in December. If something bothered you all year and

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<v Speaker 2>you never addressed it, this is your moment. Silence sends approval,

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<v Speaker 2>whether you like it or not. This week also matters

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<v Speaker 2>for your personality too, as a leader and you personally,

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<v Speaker 2>What did you say you would do to take care

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<v Speaker 2>of yourself and never followed through with What boundary did

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<v Speaker 2>you promise yourself and then you broke repeatedly? Leadership fatigue

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't show up overnight. It accumulates from broken promises to yourself.

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<v Speaker 2>Ending the year honestly with yourself matters as much as

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<v Speaker 2>ending it clean with your team. Here's a simple way

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<v Speaker 2>to think about this week. Ask yourself one question each night,

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<v Speaker 2>what would I regret? Not closing before the year ends,

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<v Speaker 2>Not fixing everything, not reinventing the organization, closing what you

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<v Speaker 2>already know needs attention. This is red key leadership time.

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<v Speaker 2>These are high consequence moments disguised as quiet days. No spotlight,

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<v Speaker 2>no applause, no big announcement. These are the moments where

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<v Speaker 2>discipline matters more than motivation. Leaders who finish strong don't

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<v Speaker 2>sprint into January exhausted and cluttered. They walk in lighter

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<v Speaker 2>because they did the unglamorous work when no one was watching.

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<v Speaker 2>Before you plan the next year, earn it clear, the conversations,

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<v Speaker 2>make the decisions, acknowledge the people, fix the small things

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<v Speaker 2>that have been nagging you, tell the truth to yourself.

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<v Speaker 2>That is how professionals end a year. So, unfortunately, Christmas

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<v Speaker 2>is winding down, but leadership never truly clocks out. Use

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<v Speaker 2>this quiet week wisely, the version of you that shows

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<v Speaker 2>up in January depends on what you choose to close

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<v Speaker 2>right now. So finish strong, finish honest, and give the

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<v Speaker 2>new year a clean runway. This has been the Seven

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<v Speaker 2>Minute Leadership Podcast, and as always, I 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