WEBVTT

1
00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:07.040
<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

2
00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:11.160
<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building, and Goala giving.

3
00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:15.039
<v Speaker 1>This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host

4
00:00:15.359 --> 00:00:18.920
<v Speaker 1>Paul Felloledo.

5
00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:25.600
<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

6
00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:31.280
<v Speaker 2>It's episode seven ninety one. Today's episode is called Systems

7
00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:36.719
<v Speaker 2>that Remove Heroics. Every organization has that one person, the

8
00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:41.520
<v Speaker 2>employee who always saves the day, the paramedic who somehow

9
00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:46.759
<v Speaker 2>manages every impossible call, the IT technician who fixes every

10
00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:51.560
<v Speaker 2>computer crash, the office manager who knows every password, every vendor,

11
00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:56.119
<v Speaker 2>every process and every answer. And the salesperson who rescues

12
00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:01.200
<v Speaker 2>every major account. We celebrate the people, and we should.

13
00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:06.239
<v Speaker 2>They're talented, they're committed, they're dependable. Here's the leadership question

14
00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:09.599
<v Speaker 2>that I want you to think about today. Why does

15
00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:16.159
<v Speaker 2>your organization need rescuing so often? Heroics make for great stories,

16
00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:22.000
<v Speaker 2>systems make for great organizations. There is a dangerous trap

17
00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:27.200
<v Speaker 2>that many leaders fall into. They mistake repeated heroics for

18
00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:33.760
<v Speaker 2>organizational excellence, and it isn't. If your business constantly needs

19
00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:39.439
<v Speaker 2>someone to save it, your systems are failing. Imagine boarding

20
00:01:39.480 --> 00:01:43.159
<v Speaker 2>an airplane where the captain says, don't worry everyone. Every

21
00:01:43.239 --> 00:01:45.799
<v Speaker 2>landing is an emergency, but I'm really good at pulling

22
00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:49.200
<v Speaker 2>us out at the last second. You would get off

23
00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:53.920
<v Speaker 2>that airplane immediately. You don't want exceptional landings, you want

24
00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:59.000
<v Speaker 2>predictable ones. That's exactly what your employees want too. The

25
00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:05.400
<v Speaker 2>highest performance organizations rarely look dramatic. Everything appears almost boring.

26
00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:10.199
<v Speaker 2>The checklist gets completed, the equipment works, the communication flows,

27
00:02:10.280 --> 00:02:16.000
<v Speaker 2>People know their responsibilities. Problems are identified early. Small corrections

28
00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:20.800
<v Speaker 2>happen before they become major failures. That's all leadership, not

29
00:02:20.919 --> 00:02:26.000
<v Speaker 2>because people became less talented, because the system became more reliable.

30
00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:29.680
<v Speaker 2>In emergency services, we have a saying. We don't rise

31
00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:33.319
<v Speaker 2>to the occasion we fall back on our training. Training

32
00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:38.800
<v Speaker 2>is simply a system. Checklists are systems. Policies or systems.

33
00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:43.400
<v Speaker 2>Daily routines are systems. Morning briefings are all systems. After

34
00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:47.599
<v Speaker 2>action reviews are systems too. Every one of them exists

35
00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:53.680
<v Speaker 2>to reduce dependence on individual brilliance. Think about the pit

36
00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:58.039
<v Speaker 2>crew in Formula one racing. They change four tires in

37
00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:02.039
<v Speaker 2>about two seconds. People watch that and think they're witnessing magic.

38
00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:06.800
<v Speaker 2>They're not. They're witnessing thousands of hours of system refinement.

39
00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:11.360
<v Speaker 2>Every movement has been practiced, every position is defined, every

40
00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:15.680
<v Speaker 2>tool has a location. Nobody is improvising, nobody is trying

41
00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:20.479
<v Speaker 2>to become the hero. The system is the hero. Now

42
00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:24.680
<v Speaker 2>compare that to many workplaces. One employee knows how payroll works.

43
00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:28.479
<v Speaker 2>Another knows how to restart the server. Someone else knows

44
00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:34.280
<v Speaker 2>where the contract is. One supervisor remembers every customer's preferences

45
00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:41.319
<v Speaker 2>because nothing is documented. Leadership congratulates these employees for going

46
00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:45.360
<v Speaker 2>above and beyond. And meanwhile, every vacation creates panic. Every

47
00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:51.439
<v Speaker 2>retirement becomes a crisis. Every resignation feels like a natural disaster.

48
00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:56.560
<v Speaker 2>That isn't resilience, that's dependency. And one of my favorite

49
00:03:56.639 --> 00:04:02.039
<v Speaker 2>leadership questions is this, if this employee disappeared tomorrow, what

50
00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:07.159
<v Speaker 2>would happen. If your answer includes words like chaos, confusion, delays,

51
00:04:07.319 --> 00:04:13.039
<v Speaker 2>nobody knows. You've identified a system failure, not an employee problem,

52
00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:18.560
<v Speaker 2>a leadership problem. Real leadership isn't about creating indispensable people.

53
00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:24.439
<v Speaker 2>It's about creating indispensable systems. The military understands this, Aviation

54
00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:33.240
<v Speaker 2>understands this, hospitals understand this. High reliability organizations also understand this.

55
00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:38.879
<v Speaker 2>The process has to survive the person. That's why pilots

56
00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:44.160
<v Speaker 2>use checklists. Even after thousands of flights. Nobody says, I've

57
00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:48.839
<v Speaker 2>landed enough airplanes. I don't need a checklist anymore. Experience

58
00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:58.360
<v Speaker 2>doesn't replace systems. Experience respects systems. Sometimes leaders accidentally reward heroics.

59
00:04:58.399 --> 00:05:02.800
<v Speaker 2>The employee stays late every night, everyone applauds. The supervisor

60
00:05:02.839 --> 00:05:07.279
<v Speaker 2>answers emails until midnight, and everyone calls them dedicated. The

61
00:05:07.319 --> 00:05:12.240
<v Speaker 2>manager fixes every scheduling mistake and everyone says they're amazing. Well,

62
00:05:12.680 --> 00:05:16.600
<v Speaker 2>maybe or maybe the scheduling process is broken, maybe the

63
00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:22.079
<v Speaker 2>staffing model is outdated, Maybe expectations aren't clear, maybe training

64
00:05:22.199 --> 00:05:27.519
<v Speaker 2>never happened. The applause hides the real problem. The hero

65
00:05:27.720 --> 00:05:31.959
<v Speaker 2>becomes the patch covering the crack in the foundation. The

66
00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:36.920
<v Speaker 2>danger is that patches eventually wear out. People burn out,

67
00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:40.759
<v Speaker 2>they retire, they transfer, they get sick, they leave. Then

68
00:05:40.800 --> 00:05:44.279
<v Speaker 2>the organization suddenly discovers that all of its success was

69
00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:49.279
<v Speaker 2>sitting inside one person's head. That's a terrifying business strategy.

70
00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:53.600
<v Speaker 2>And here's something I encourage every leader to do. Once

71
00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:58.920
<v Speaker 2>each month, identify one recurring problem. Ask yourself one question,

72
00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:03.399
<v Speaker 2>what's system would make this problem less likely to happen again.

73
00:06:04.279 --> 00:06:07.639
<v Speaker 2>Notice I didn't ask who caused it. I asked what

74
00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:13.439
<v Speaker 2>system could prevent it. That's a completely different conversation. Instead

75
00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:18.319
<v Speaker 2>of blame, you're designing. Instead of punishment, you're improving. Instead

76
00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:22.519
<v Speaker 2>of waiting for another hero, you're building an organization that

77
00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:28.000
<v Speaker 2>doesn't need one. The strongest cultures aren't filled with superheroes.

78
00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:34.399
<v Speaker 2>They're filled with ordinary people operating inside extraordinary systems. That's

79
00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:38.800
<v Speaker 2>how consistency is created. That's how quality improves, that's how

80
00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:44.000
<v Speaker 2>trust grows. Every employee feels safer because expectations are clear.

81
00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:50.360
<v Speaker 2>Customers receive predictable service. Leaders sleep better because success no

82
00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:54.240
<v Speaker 2>longer depends on hoping the right person shows up every day.

83
00:06:55.279 --> 00:07:00.480
<v Speaker 2>And there's another hidden benefit. Great systems create future leaders.

84
00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:06.600
<v Speaker 2>When work is organized well, new employees learn faster. Supervisors

85
00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:11.560
<v Speaker 2>spend less time putting out the fires. Experienced employees spend

86
00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:16.759
<v Speaker 2>more time coaching instead of rescuing. Leadership becomes scalable. Your

87
00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:21.879
<v Speaker 2>organization becomes stronger every year instead of becoming more fragile.

88
00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:28.480
<v Speaker 2>So here's today's leadership challenge. This week, look around your organization.

89
00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:32.720
<v Speaker 2>Find one place where someone is constantly saving the day.

90
00:07:33.399 --> 00:07:37.839
<v Speaker 2>Don't start by thanking the hero Start by asking why

91
00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:42.360
<v Speaker 2>the rescue keeps happening. That question may uncover the biggest

92
00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:47.879
<v Speaker 2>opportunity your organization has been missing, because leadership isn't measured

93
00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:51.759
<v Speaker 2>by how many fires you put out. It's measured by

94
00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:54.480
<v Speaker 2>how many fires never start because you built the right

95
00:07:54.560 --> 00:08:01.920
<v Speaker 2>system in the first place. So if this one made

96
00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:05.560
<v Speaker 2>you think about the hidden dependence your organization has on

97
00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:09.439
<v Speaker 2>a few key people, share it with another leader. Start

98
00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:15.279
<v Speaker 2>the conversation about replacing repeated heroics with repeatable systems. Great

99
00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:19.399
<v Speaker 2>organizations don't depend on luck, They depend on disciplined leadership

100
00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:24.399
<v Speaker 2>in systems people can trust every single day. If you

101
00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:28.160
<v Speaker 2>want more free leadership resources, head over to paulfallovalito dot

102
00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:30.920
<v Speaker 2>com and click on free Stuff. I have over twenty

103
00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:34.720
<v Speaker 2>five free leadership documents you can download and start using today.

104
00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:38.519
<v Speaker 2>This has been the seven minute leadership podcast, and I

105
00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:39.600
<v Speaker 2>thank you for listening.

106
00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:43.960
<v Speaker 1>For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot

107
00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:44.759
<v Speaker 1>com