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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 goalachieving. 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 this seven minute leadership podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>It's episode three point thirty eight. Don't Confuse tension with

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<v Speaker 2>toxicity is today's topic, so let's get straight to it.

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<v Speaker 2>There's a difference between tension and toxicity, and if you

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<v Speaker 2>don't learn to tell them apart, you'll start cutting out

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<v Speaker 2>the very things that could grow your team. Here's what

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<v Speaker 2>I mean by that. Tension in the workplace often shows

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<v Speaker 2>up during hard conversations, brainstorming sessions, strategy meetings, or team reviews.

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<v Speaker 2>It shows up when people care, when they're invested in

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<v Speaker 2>the work, the mission, and the out come. That friction

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<v Speaker 2>you feel when opinions clash, that's not necessarily a sign

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<v Speaker 2>of dysfunction. That might be the sign of a team

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<v Speaker 2>that gives a damn. Now contrasts that with toxicity. Toxicity

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<v Speaker 2>is sarcasm in place of solutions. It's back channel gossip.

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<v Speaker 2>It's the silent eye rolls in meetings. It's the disrespect,

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<v Speaker 2>the manipulation the people who weaponize feedback to push personal agendas.

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<v Speaker 2>Toxicity is about ego and control, but tension. Tension is different.

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<v Speaker 2>Tension is about ideas. It's about healthy disagreement. It's about

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<v Speaker 2>smart people battling it out not to win, but to

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<v Speaker 2>build something better. And that's what leaders get wrong. They

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<v Speaker 2>try to avoid any conflict, thinking it keeps the peace,

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<v Speaker 2>But what they're really doing is creating a fake harmony

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<v Speaker 2>that sacrifices honesty. They think if it's uncomfortable, it must

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<v Speaker 2>be a problem. But discomfort isn't always the enemy. Great

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<v Speaker 2>leaders don't eliminate tension. They guide it. They make the

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<v Speaker 2>room safe enough for disagreement while making it clear that

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<v Speaker 2>disrespect won't be tolerated. They let people challenge each other,

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<v Speaker 2>but they keep it above the belt. They allow energy

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<v Speaker 2>and emotion, but they anchor it to a shared purpose.

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<v Speaker 2>And here's the leadership trap. If you shut down tension

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<v Speaker 2>because it makes you uncomfortable, you'll create a team that

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<v Speaker 2>stops talking. They'll stop debating, they'll nod in meetings, smile

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<v Speaker 2>in the hallway, but behind the scenes, they've already checked out.

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<v Speaker 2>They're quiet not because they agree, but because they've given up.

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<v Speaker 2>So what do you do as a leader. Number one,

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<v Speaker 2>recognize the difference. Ask yourself, is this tension about the

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<v Speaker 2>work or about the person? If it's about ideas, methods,

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<v Speaker 2>or goals, lean into it. If it's personal attacks or

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<v Speaker 2>repeated patterns of sabotage, address it as toxicity. Number two,

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<v Speaker 2>reframe conflict when tension arises, don't immediately play referee. Try

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<v Speaker 2>saying something like this disagreement is a good thing. It

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<v Speaker 2>means we care. Let's focus on solving, not defending. You've

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<v Speaker 2>just reframed tension as progress, not a problem. And number

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<v Speaker 2>three normalize respectful pushback. Make it clear that challenging each

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<v Speaker 2>other isn't in subordination, its responsibility, especially when it's done respectfully.

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<v Speaker 2>When your team sees that they won't be punished for

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<v Speaker 2>speaking up, the right kind of tension becomes part of

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<v Speaker 2>your culture. In number four, lead by example. Model calm

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<v Speaker 2>during high tension moments. Don't flinch, don't shut it down,

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<v Speaker 2>don't make it personal. You guide it by showing that

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<v Speaker 2>tension doesn't rattle you, it sharpened you. So let me

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<v Speaker 2>tell you something I've learned the hard way. A room

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<v Speaker 2>with no tension is either full of apathy or full

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<v Speaker 2>of fear, and neither of those builds strong teams. You

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<v Speaker 2>want healthy friction, you want passionate voices. You want tension

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<v Speaker 2>that leads to better results, deeper trust, and stronger alignment.

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<v Speaker 2>So don't confuse tension with toxicity. Learn to see it,

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<v Speaker 2>learn to guide it, and make sure to let your

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<v Speaker 2>team sharpen each other without burning the place down. This

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<v Speaker 2>has been the seven minute Leadership podcast, and I thank

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<v Speaker 2>you for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>For more, Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellofalito dot

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<v Speaker 1>com