Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and goalajving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul
Speaker 1: fella Aledo. Hello everyone, and welcome to this seven minute
Speaker 1: leadership podcast. It's episode seven sixty seven. Today's episode is
Speaker 1: called warning Signs before Walkouts. Every leader worries about the
Speaker 1: moment someone resigns. The email arrives, the meeting invitation appears,
Speaker 1: someone says, can we talk for a minute. You immediately
Speaker 1: begin wondering what happened. The truth is employees rarely wake
Speaker 1: up on a Tuesday morning and suddenly decide to quit.
Speaker 1: Walkouts usually begin weeks or months before the resignation letter.
Speaker 1: The decision grows quietly while leaders stay focused on schedules, reports, meetings,
Speaker 1: and deadlines, and people almost always leave twice, first emotionally
Speaker 1: then physically. If you can recognize the emotional departure, you
Speaker 1: may still have time to change the ending. So let's
Speaker 1: talk about some warning signs that leaders overlook every single day.
Speaker 1: The first warning sign is that curiosity disappears. The employee
Speaker 1: who used to ask questions suddenly stops asking. They no
Speaker 1: longer volunteer, ideas, they stop challenging inefficient processes. They become
Speaker 1: professionally silent. Many leaders mistake silence for satisfaction. It usually isn't.
Speaker 1: When people believe their voice no longer matters, they stop
Speaker 1: using it. Silence isn't peace. Silence is often withdrawal. The
Speaker 1: second warning sign is shrinking effort. Notice I didn't say
Speaker 1: poor performance. Performance often stays high. Experienced employees can contribute
Speaker 1: producing quality work long after they've mentally checked out. What
Speaker 1: changes is the extra effort. They stop staying late, they
Speaker 1: stop mentoring new employees, They stop fixing the little problems
Speaker 1: nobody notices. They stop caring about things that aren't written
Speaker 1: in their job description. They're doing their job. They're no
Speaker 1: longer doing your mission. That difference matters. And here's another signal.
Speaker 1: Watch what happens after meetings. Engaged employees continue talking, They
Speaker 1: discuss ideas in the hallway, they brainstorm improvements, they laugh,
Speaker 1: They build momentum. Disengaged employees stand up their things and disappear.
Speaker 1: Every meeting has an after meeting. That's often where culture
Speaker 1: reveals itself. And another warning sign is emotional neutrality. We
Speaker 1: often expect burned out employees to be angry. Many aren't.
Speaker 1: Their calm, perhaps too calm. Good news doesn't excite them.
Speaker 1: Bad news doesn't upset them. Recognition barely gets a reaction.
Speaker 1: Criticism doesn't either. They've emotionally disconnected from the outcome. When
Speaker 1: someone stops reacting, they've often stopped investing. And here's one
Speaker 1: leader's miss. Constantly the employee stops talking about the future.
Speaker 1: Listen carefully to their language. Instead of saying next quarter,
Speaker 1: we should, they say you guys should. One word changes everything,
Speaker 1: we becomes you. That tiny shift tells you they're already
Speaker 1: picturing life somewhere else. Language always leaks reality, so pay
Speaker 1: attention to it. And here's another overlooked indicator. The employee
Speaker 1: becomes incredibly organized. That sounds strange. People preparing to leave
Speaker 1: often begin documenting everything. They clean their desk, organize digital files,
Speaker 1: update procedures, finish loose ends. They begin creating clean exits.
Speaker 1: Many leaders praise this behavior. Sometimes it's preparation for departure.
Speaker 1: And let's discuss attendance. Everyone notices increased absences. Fewer people
Speaker 1: notice increased precision. Employees preparing to leave often use every
Speaker 1: hour of vacation they've accumulated every doctor's appointment get scheduled,
Speaker 1: every personal errand suddenly becomes important. Why Because they're interviewing
Speaker 1: or they're preparing for transition. The calendar tells stories, so
Speaker 1: read it carefully. And here's a difficult truth. Some employees
Speaker 1: stop bringing problems to leadership. At first glance, this sounds wonderful.
Speaker 1: No complaints, no conflict, no issues. The reality is different.
Speaker 1: People stop reporting problems when they've stopped believing the problems
Speaker 1: will be solved. Silence is rarely proof that everything is healthy.
Speaker 1: Sometimes it's proof that hope has disappeared. Now here's something
Speaker 1: I've learned from emergency services. People rarely experience catastrophic failure
Speaker 1: without earlier indicators. Equipment usually gives warning signs. Engines make
Speaker 1: unusual sounds, batteries weaken, temperatures rise, pressure changes. The same
Speaker 1: applies to people. Organizations don't lose great employees without signals.
Speaker 1: The signals simply get ignored because leaders are busy, because
Speaker 1: leaders assume everything is fine, because leader's mistake. Activity for engagement,
Speaker 1: Leadership requires noticing what everyone else walks past. So here's
Speaker 1: a question, when was the last time you asked one
Speaker 1: of your top performers this simple question, what has become
Speaker 1: harder around here than it needs to be? Not how's
Speaker 1: everything going? Nobody answers that honestly. Ask about friction, ask
Speaker 1: about obstacles, ask about frustrations. Those conversations uncover issues before
Speaker 1: resignation letters do. And here's another powerful habit. Schedule conversations
Speaker 1: with employees when nothing is wrong. If every meeting with
Speaker 1: leadership only happens after mistakes, discipline, or annual reviews, you've
Speaker 1: already created the wrong relationship. The best retention tool isn't
Speaker 1: higher pay. It isn't pizza, It isn't another employee appreciation week.
Speaker 1: It's consistent attention. People stay where they feel seen. And finally,
Speaker 1: remember this, walkouts don't begin at the exit door. They
Speaker 1: begin when employees believe their effort no longer changes anything.
Speaker 1: That's the moment leaders need to recognize, not months later,
Speaker 1: not after the resignation, right then, because once someone emotionally leaves,
Speaker 1: the physical departure often becomes a matter of timing. Great
Speaker 1: leaders don't wait for resignation letters. They learn to recognize
Speaker 1: quiet changes in attitude, language, energy, and engagement. Those small
Speaker 1: observations can save great employees strength and culture and prevent
Speaker 1: surprises that shake an entire organization. Leadership isn't about reacting
Speaker 1: to walkouts. Leadership is about recognizing the warning signs long
Speaker 1: before someone reaches the door. So as you head into
Speaker 1: your next leadership conversation, I want you to spend a
Speaker 1: few minutes paying attention to what isn't being said. Listen
Speaker 1: for quieter voices, disappearing ideas in those subtle changes in attitude.
Speaker 1: Those small signals often tell the biggest story. The leaders
Speaker 1: who notice them first, or the leader's people continue choosing
Speaker 1: to follow. This has been the seven Minute Leadership Podcast,
Speaker 1: and I thank you for listening. For more, Paul Fell
Speaker 1: of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.