Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and goalajiving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellovaledo.
Speaker 1: Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 1: It's episode four to sixty three. Today's episode is about
Speaker 1: something that doesn't just shape teams, it shapes nations. It's
Speaker 1: about the dangers of spreading misinformation, especially when it comes
Speaker 1: from people in positions of power and leadership. So let's
Speaker 1: start with this. You have the right to consume whatever
Speaker 1: kind of news, media or opinion based content that feeds
Speaker 1: your appetite. That's the freedom of choice. Fox News, CNN,
Speaker 1: YouTube channels, TikTok, personalities podcasts. If it fills your cup,
Speaker 1: you're allowed to drink from it. But here's the issue.
Speaker 1: Just because something satisfies your appetite doesn't mean it's nourishing you.
Speaker 1: And even more dangerous if you're a person with influence,
Speaker 1: if you're someone who others listen to, then spreading what
Speaker 1: you consumed without verifying it can have real lasting damage.
Speaker 1: So let me explain this with an analogy I've been
Speaker 1: thinking about. Let's say I love to eat big Macs
Speaker 1: every day. I love the taste, they're affordable. I get
Speaker 1: comfort from them. That's my choice. No one is stopping
Speaker 1: me from eating one for lunch and dinner every day.
Speaker 1: And some people would even argue, it's only five hundred
Speaker 1: and forty calories, it's not that bad. But let's say
Speaker 1: I go a step further. Let's say I start telling people, hey,
Speaker 1: eating a big Mac is the healthiest decision you can
Speaker 1: make for your body. And that's where we cross a line.
Speaker 1: Some folks might actually believe me. After all, I said
Speaker 1: it with confidence, and I'm a leader, right, people trust
Speaker 1: what I say. But others would push back and say
Speaker 1: I'm wrong. Then the real experts, nutritionists, doctors, dietitians, they'd
Speaker 1: speak up. They'd say, Paul, that's not true. It's processed food.
Speaker 1: It's high in sodium, high in fat, and if you
Speaker 1: eat it all the time, it's going to catch up
Speaker 1: with you. But imagine if I ignore them and worshiet.
Speaker 1: Imagine I use my platform to discredit those experts and
Speaker 1: I say things like, those health experts are lying, they
Speaker 1: don't know what they're talking about. They're part of a
Speaker 1: system that's trying to control your diet, and now we
Speaker 1: have a real problem. And it's not just about food anymore.
Speaker 1: It's about power. It's about a leader using their influence
Speaker 1: to shape a reality that benefits them, not the people listening.
Speaker 1: And this is exactly what's happening in today's world, not
Speaker 1: just with food, but with politics, with science, with public safety,
Speaker 1: with emergency response. When a leader, any leader, spreads misinformation,
Speaker 1: whether intentionally or ignorantly, it weakens the system. And here's
Speaker 1: where leadership enters the chat in a serious way. If
Speaker 1: you're a leader of a team, a company, an agency,
Speaker 1: a government and you knowingly spread falsehoods, you are not leading.
Speaker 1: You're manipulating. You're not building trust, you're eroding it. You're
Speaker 1: not empowering people, you're misleading them. And you don't get
Speaker 1: to hide behind freedom of speech when your words have
Speaker 1: the power to create real world consequences. So let's go
Speaker 1: a step further. Some of you listening might be thinking, well,
Speaker 1: I don't hold national power, so this really doesn't apply
Speaker 1: to me. Wrong. It starts at the ground level. It
Speaker 1: starts and how you talk about your co workers. It
Speaker 1: starts in how you in turn and pass along a
Speaker 1: new policy. It starts with the rumors, you either repeat
Speaker 1: or shut down, because if someone on your team hears
Speaker 1: you spread a lie or an unverified claim even once,
Speaker 1: you're now part of the misinformation chain. And worse, you
Speaker 1: just gave others permission to do the same. So what's
Speaker 1: the leadership lesson here? It's this, Every leader is responsible
Speaker 1: for truth, and truth is not based on what you
Speaker 1: feel is right. Truth is based on facts, evidence, and
Speaker 1: the credibility of your sources. If you don't know something,
Speaker 1: say I don't know. If you're unsure, say I'll find out.
Speaker 1: If you're wrong, say I was wrong. These aren't signs
Speaker 1: of weakness. These are signs of responsibility. So let's wrap
Speaker 1: this up. The next time you're about to repeat something,
Speaker 1: you have to ask yourself, is this true? Is this helpful?
Speaker 1: And is it from a source that I would trust
Speaker 1: with my life? Because as a leader, your words don't
Speaker 1: just echo in a room. They ripple into decisions, beliefs,
Speaker 1: and behaviors, and if you're not careful, you might be
Speaker 1: handing out big max while calling them multivitamins. This has
Speaker 1: been the seven minute Leadership podcast, and I thank you
Speaker 1: for listening. For more. Paul fell of Alito podcasts. Visit
Speaker 1: Paulfellowalito dot com.