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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 golajiving. 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. Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute

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<v Speaker 1>Leadership Podcast. It's episode four ninety eight. If you open

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<v Speaker 1>your iPhone photo app and scroll down to the bottom,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll find a folder called media Types. Inside that folder,

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<v Speaker 1>there's one called screenshots, And if you're like most people,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll have hundreds, maybe thousands of them, quick grabs of

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<v Speaker 1>a recipe, a quote you liked, a text you didn't

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<v Speaker 1>want to forget, and maybe, just maybe you'll reference a

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<v Speaker 1>few hundred of those screenshots in a year. But the rest,

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<v Speaker 1>the rest sit there taking up space forever. So now

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<v Speaker 1>let's connect this to leadership. Every one of us is

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<v Speaker 1>walking around with screenshots we didn't even know we took.

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<v Speaker 1>Our brain is the most advanced photo app in the world.

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<v Speaker 1>It's snapping images not with a click, but with experiences,

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<v Speaker 1>and unlike your iPhone, there's no delete all button. Think

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<v Speaker 1>about police officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, nurses, doctors. Their world

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<v Speaker 1>is trauma, heartbreak and chaos every single day. Their brain

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<v Speaker 1>is taking subconscious screenshots of those moments. The accident scene,

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<v Speaker 1>the child they couldn't save, the argument with a distraught

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<v Speaker 1>family click click, click, stored forever, And it's not just

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<v Speaker 1>first response. Maybe someone on your team grew up in

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<v Speaker 1>a rough home click. Maybe they went through a nasty

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<v Speaker 1>divorce click. Maybe they lost a parent too soon click.

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<v Speaker 1>These screenshots don't sit neatly in a folder on their phone.

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<v Speaker 1>They sit in the back of their mind, waiting to resurface,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes in dreams, sometimes in conversations, sometimes in a quiet

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<v Speaker 1>moment when they least expect it. Now here's the leadership lesson.

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<v Speaker 1>Those screenshots take up space, just like the ones on

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<v Speaker 1>your phone, except the ones in your brain don't just

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<v Speaker 1>eat up storage. They eat up energy, focus, and enjoy.

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<v Speaker 1>So what do we do about it? First, we need

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<v Speaker 1>to understand that the people we lead are carrying unseen screenshots.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't know their file count, you don't know how

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<v Speaker 1>heavy their storage is. So as a leader, practice empathy.

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<v Speaker 1>That doesn't mean lowering standards, but it does mean raising

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<v Speaker 1>your awareness. Second, create a culture where people can process

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<v Speaker 1>those screenshots. That might be through wellness programs, employee assistance,

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<v Speaker 1>or simply creating a safe place to talk. Leaders who

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<v Speaker 1>dismiss mental health is weakness are missing the truth. Unprocessed

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<v Speaker 1>screenshots slow performance, cause burnout and drive turnover. Third, check

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<v Speaker 1>your own storage. You've taken screenshots too, Some of yours

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<v Speaker 1>may even go back decades. Maybe it's time to finally

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<v Speaker 1>talk about them, write them down, or try to delete

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<v Speaker 1>what you can. If you wouldn't let your phone store

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<v Speaker 1>ridge sit at ninety nine percent full, why would you

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<v Speaker 1>let your mind do the same thing. And finally, here's

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<v Speaker 1>the action step. Ask yourself, how can I lead in

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<v Speaker 1>a way that acknowledges the hidden screenshots that my people carry.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe it's asking how are you doing really? Maybe it's

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<v Speaker 1>being approachable when someone is clearly having a tough day.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe it's simply showing kindness in the small moments. Because

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<v Speaker 1>leadership isn't just about goals, numbers, and performance. It's about

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<v Speaker 1>recognizing that behind every uniform, every suit, every badge, and

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<v Speaker 1>every smile, there's a gallery of screenshots. Some are happy,

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<v Speaker 1>some are painful, And the more we understand that, the

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<v Speaker 1>stronger we become as leaders. So I see this happen

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<v Speaker 1>in real life all the time. The rough ambulance call

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<v Speaker 1>where someone breaks down because something they saw triggers one

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<v Speaker 1>of their screenshots. So here's my challenge. The next time

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<v Speaker 1>you open your photo app and scroll to that screenshot folder,

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<v Speaker 1>let it be a reminder, a reminder that people around

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<v Speaker 1>you are carrying thousands of mental screenshots that you may

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<v Speaker 1>never see or know about, but they do have them.

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<v Speaker 1>We all do, and as a leader, you can't delete them,

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<v Speaker 1>but you can help manage them and the storage that

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<v Speaker 1>they're occupying. This has been the seven minute Leadership podcast

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<v Speaker 1>and I thank you for listening. For more Paul fell

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<v Speaker 1>of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfelloalito dot com