Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building and gola GV.
Speaker 1: This is the Seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host
Speaker 1: Paul fella Aledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the Seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode three seventy one. Today's episode is called Speak
Speaker 2: the Language of Value, and I want you to really
Speaker 2: sit with that title for a second. Not speak the
Speaker 2: language of profit, not speak the language of authority, not
Speaker 2: even speak the language of leadership. Speak the language of value.
Speaker 2: It's a phrase I came up with after years of
Speaker 2: watching leaders talk in circles, using buzzwords and padding meetings
Speaker 2: with bs and giving generic feedback. It sounds like it
Speaker 2: was pulled from a corporate Bengo card. And the truth is,
Speaker 2: no one remembers that kind of leader, no one is
Speaker 2: inspired by that kind of leader, and no one follows
Speaker 2: that kind of leader. But when you learn to speak
Speaker 2: the language of value, everything changes. So let's start with
Speaker 2: this question. What is value In leadership terms, Value is
Speaker 2: what matters to the person in front of you. Value
Speaker 2: is what improves their day, strengthens their role, and connects
Speaker 2: their work to the mission. When you speak value, You're
Speaker 2: not just communicating, you're translating. You're saying, I see what
Speaker 2: you care about, and here's how what i'm asking ties
Speaker 2: into that. And here are three areas where leaders must
Speaker 2: speak the language of value. Number one in one on ones.
Speaker 2: If you're one on one sounds like status updates, you're
Speaker 2: missing the opportunity. Try saying things like this instead. What's
Speaker 2: something I can remove from your plate that's draining your energy?
Speaker 2: Or how can I help you grow this month in
Speaker 2: a way that benefits you? Or what does success look
Speaker 2: like to you right now? And how can I help
Speaker 2: you achieve it? That's value. That's a language that makes
Speaker 2: people feel seen. And the second time is during meetings.
Speaker 2: Stop speaking at people with data, speak to them with meaning.
Speaker 2: Instead of saying productivity is down fourteen percent, say here's
Speaker 2: how that drop affects your department and what can we
Speaker 2: do to fix it together? Or instead of we need
Speaker 2: to hit the numbers, say if we hit these numbers,
Speaker 2: here's how it benefits our team, better tools, more trust
Speaker 2: from leadership in future investments in you. And you've just
Speaker 2: gone from metrics to meaning. And the last place to
Speaker 2: use it is in crisis. This is where it matters
Speaker 2: most during uncertainty, people don't just want answers. They want reassurance,
Speaker 2: They want clarity, and they want a reason to keep
Speaker 2: moving forward. Your words in those moments either escalate fear
Speaker 2: or anchor your team speak in a way that gives
Speaker 2: them value. Here's what's in our control, or here's how
Speaker 2: we'll protect each other, or here's what matters most right now.
Speaker 2: And here's the part no one tells you. Speaking the
Speaker 2: language of value doesn't mean being nice. It means being real.
Speaker 2: It means not sugarcoating hard truths, but making sure people
Speaker 2: understand why the truth matters. It means saying things like
Speaker 2: I'm not going to let you fail on my watch,
Speaker 2: or you're too talented to stay where you're at, or
Speaker 2: you deserve better than what you're accepting. These are value
Speaker 2: based statements. They lift people, challenge people, and guide them
Speaker 2: to more. And I'll share a quick story. Years ago,
Speaker 2: I worked with a team that was deeply discouraged budget cuts,
Speaker 2: long hours, no recognition. One day I asked the group
Speaker 2: a simple question, what would make today feel like it mattered?
Speaker 2: Not a big strategy session, just that one question. Their
Speaker 2: answers had nothing to do with money. They said, I
Speaker 2: want to know if I'm doing a good job. I'd
Speaker 2: like to be thanked once in a while, and I
Speaker 2: want to feel like someone notices how hard I'm trying.
Speaker 2: So I changed the way I spoke to them. I
Speaker 2: made it a point to time my leadership communication to
Speaker 2: what they valued, and in about three weeks, morale changed,
Speaker 2: output improved, people stayed not because I gave a raise
Speaker 2: or added staff, but because I started speaking their language,
Speaker 2: the language of value. So here's your challenge for this week.
Speaker 2: In every interaction with your team, ask yourself, is what
Speaker 2: I'm about to say valuable to them? Will this message
Speaker 2: give them clarity, hope or purpose? Am I using language
Speaker 2: that makes them feel like an asset and not a number.
Speaker 2: If the answer is no, you have to rewrite your message.
Speaker 2: Because great leadership is not about volume, It's about value
Speaker 2: per word. So make sure you speak the language of
Speaker 2: value and you'll never have to raise your voice to
Speaker 2: be heard. This has been the seven Minute Leadership Podcast,
Speaker 2: and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.