Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building and goala GV.
Speaker 1: This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host
Speaker 1: Paul Fellavledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the Seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode seven eighty two. Today's episode is called the
Speaker 2: Power of Being Seen. There is a simple question that
Speaker 2: every leader should ask themselves. When was the last time
Speaker 2: one of my employees truly felt seen by me? Not managed,
Speaker 2: not supervised, not evaluated scene There is a huge difference.
Speaker 2: One of the greatest mistakes leaders make is believing that
Speaker 2: recognition only happens during performance reviews, employee Appreciation Week, or
Speaker 2: when someone wins Employee the Month. That is recognition, but
Speaker 2: being seen as something much deeper. Being seen means your
Speaker 2: people know they matter before they produce results. Think about
Speaker 2: your own career. You probably remember a boss who knew
Speaker 2: your name before you even introduced yourself, or someone who
Speaker 2: noticed you stayed late, or someone who asked how your
Speaker 2: child was doing after surgery, or someone who remembered your
Speaker 2: birthday without Facebook reminding them. You remember those moments because
Speaker 2: they weren't about work, They were about you. Leadership is
Speaker 2: incredibly visible. Employees watch everything. They notice where you stand
Speaker 2: during meetings. They notice who you speak to in the hallway,
Speaker 2: They notice who you walk past without making eye contact.
Speaker 2: They notice who gets your attention. And here's the part
Speaker 2: many real many leaders never realize. People aren't counting how
Speaker 2: many conversations you have with them. They're counting how many
Speaker 2: opportunities you had to notice them and didn't. That can
Speaker 2: slowly change how they feel about the organization. I've spent
Speaker 2: most of my career in EMS. One thing I learned
Speaker 2: early is that people don't always tell you when they're struggling.
Speaker 2: Sometimes they stop talking, Sometimes they become quieter, Sometimes they
Speaker 2: withdraw from the team. Sometimes they still show up every
Speaker 2: day and perform their job while carrying something incredibly heavy.
Speaker 2: You never know what someone walked through before they walk
Speaker 2: through your front door. A leader who notices has an
Speaker 2: advantage not because they know everything, because people trust them
Speaker 2: enough to eventually tell them what's happening. Being seen creates
Speaker 2: psychological safety, it creates loyalty, it creates connection, and those
Speaker 2: things are difficult for your competition to steal. And here's
Speaker 2: another interesting thought. Every employee enters your workplace hoping someone
Speaker 2: notices the effort they're putting in, not because they need applause,
Speaker 2: because effort without acknowledgment eventually feels invisible. Imagine spending weeks
Speaker 2: improving a process, covering over time, helping new employees, taking
Speaker 2: extra responsibility, doing everything the organization asks, and then hearing nothing. Eventually,
Speaker 2: your brain starts asking a dangerous question, does any of
Speaker 2: this even matter? That question destroys motivation faster than almost
Speaker 2: anything else. This isn't about handing out trophies. It's about
Speaker 2: paying attention. Great leaders are observers. They notice changes in attitude,
Speaker 2: they notice changes in performance, they notice new ideas, they
Speaker 2: notice confidence growing, they notice confidence disappearing. The best leaders
Speaker 2: I've ever met were incredibly aware of what was happening
Speaker 2: around them, not because they were gifted, because they intentionally looked.
Speaker 2: So here's something you can try tomorrow. Walk through your
Speaker 2: workplace a little slower, put your phone in your pocket,
Speaker 2: make eye contact, learn one thing about one employee that
Speaker 2: you didn't know yesterday. Ask better questions. Instead of asking
Speaker 2: how's everything going, try asking what's been taking up most
Speaker 2: of your attention this week? Or what's one thing making
Speaker 2: your job harder than it needs to be. Those questions
Speaker 2: invite conversation. People don't remember perfect leaders, They remember leaders
Speaker 2: who made them feel important. Leadership isn't measured by how
Speaker 2: many people report to you. It's measured by how many
Speaker 2: people believe you genuinely care about them. I've always believed
Speaker 2: that culture is built in tiny moments. It's the conversation
Speaker 2: in the hallway, the wave across the parking lot, the
Speaker 2: thank you after a difficult shift, the handwritten note, the
Speaker 2: unexpected phone call. None of those take much time. All
Speaker 2: of them leave an impression. And here's another thought. Employees
Speaker 2: rarely quit organizations where they consistently feel seen, respected and valued.
Speaker 2: Money matters, Benefits matter, Schedules matter. Feeling invisible matters too, Sometimes,
Speaker 2: even more, Leadership isn't always about making the biggest decision
Speaker 2: in the room. Sometimes it's noticing the quietest person in
Speaker 2: the room, the one who hasn't spoken, the one carrying
Speaker 2: the extra weight, the one wondering if anyone would notice
Speaker 2: if they stopped trying. That's where leadership lives, not in
Speaker 2: the spotlight, in the moments where another human being realizes
Speaker 2: someone noticed them. Maybe that's today's challenge. Before your workday ends,
Speaker 2: intentionally make one person feel seen, not because it's on
Speaker 2: a checklist, because that's what leaders do. You might discover
Speaker 2: that one small moment changes someone's entire day, and you
Speaker 2: may never know how much they actually needed it. So
Speaker 2: as you head into this week, remember this. Every person
Speaker 2: you lead wants to know one thing. Do I matter here?
Speaker 2: Your answer isn't found in a policy manual or an
Speaker 2: annual review. It's found in the small moments when you
Speaker 2: notice people, when you encourage people and remind them they
Speaker 2: are important. The power of being seen may become one
Speaker 2: of the greatest leadership tools that you will ever develop.
Speaker 2: This has been the seven Minute Leadership Podcast and I
Speaker 2: thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul Fellervilito podcasts, visit Paul fellowalito dot com.