Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajiving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul
Speaker 1: Fello Aledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode five point fifty. Today we're stepping into one
Speaker 2: of my favorite analogies, one that always stops people and
Speaker 2: makes them think. I often say there are different styles
Speaker 2: of leadership, and to drive the point home, I use
Speaker 2: the analogy of a North Pole leader and a South
Speaker 2: Pole leader, polar opposites but living on the same planet.
Speaker 2: This simple picture, I think, teaches more about leadership style
Speaker 2: than any textbook ever could. It's clear, visual and instantly relatable.
Speaker 2: So picture our planet from above. The North poland South
Speaker 2: Pole sit at opposite ends, each with a completely different
Speaker 2: climate and culture. One is icy but full of motion,
Speaker 2: drifting sheets that shift with the wind. The other is
Speaker 2: a foundation of bedrock covered in ice, thick, stubborn and unmoving.
Speaker 2: Both are cold, both are extreme, Both operate from a
Speaker 2: reality shaped by their environment. Neither is wrong, but they
Speaker 2: could not be more different, and leadership feels the same.
Speaker 2: A North Pole leader is always moving their style has
Speaker 2: a momentum. They love speed. They live in a rhythm
Speaker 2: where urgency creates progress. They communicate quickly, They act quickly.
Speaker 2: They make decisions quickly because forward movement is their comfort zone.
Speaker 2: They're the type who walks into a problem and says,
Speaker 2: give me the facts so we can move. They thrive
Speaker 2: when things shift around them. They never let the ice
Speaker 2: settle under their feet. A south pole leader brings a
Speaker 2: different energy. They operate from stability. Their approach is steady.
Speaker 2: They like firm ground, strong processes, and well established expectations.
Speaker 2: They think before speaking. They decide after reviewing everything. They
Speaker 2: are dependable, predictable in a positive way, and their strength
Speaker 2: is consistency. They do not rush, they do not panic.
Speaker 2: They give their teams solid footing. Both styles work, both
Speaker 2: have value, Both can lead teams to high performance. The
Speaker 2: trouble happens when these two leaders have to work together
Speaker 2: without understanding the other person's natural climate. Think about your
Speaker 2: team right now. Some people thrive in motion, some feel
Speaker 2: safer with structure. When leaders fail to understand these differences,
Speaker 2: the workplace starts feeling like two magnetic fields colliding. And
Speaker 2: here's where the teaching moment kicks. In In leadership, your
Speaker 2: effectiveness is not defined by your poll. It is defined
Speaker 2: by your ability to recognize which pole you're operating from
Speaker 2: and when your team needs you to switch hemispheres. Real
Speaker 2: leadership happens in the middle of the globe, not at
Speaker 2: the extremes. I have seen north Pole leaders get frustrated
Speaker 2: because their team cannot keep up with their pace. They
Speaker 2: mistake steady for slow, They mistake thoughtful for stubborn. They
Speaker 2: miss the fact that South Pole people are often the
Speaker 2: ones keeping the entire operation from cracking under pressure. And
Speaker 2: I've also seen south Pole leaders get frustrated because the
Speaker 2: North Pole folks seem restless, unpredictable, or impatient. They mistake
Speaker 2: urgency for recklessness. They mistake movement for chaos. They miss
Speaker 2: the fact that north Pole energy prevents organizations from getting
Speaker 2: stuck in the same place for years. And here's a
Speaker 2: truth that many leaders overlook. The best teams in the
Speaker 2: world are not made of one poll. They're made of
Speaker 2: leaders who learn what poll they come from, understand the
Speaker 2: poll their people come from, and then blend those strengths
Speaker 2: into a shared climate where everyone can breathe. So here's
Speaker 2: your action steps. First, identify your leadership poll. Are you
Speaker 2: a mover or a stabilizer. Are you energized by speed
Speaker 2: or by structure? Think about your most recent decisions, your
Speaker 2: recent stress points, your communication habits. The answer is already there. Second,
Speaker 2: identify your team's polls, not through guesswork through conversation. Ask
Speaker 2: them how they approach work. Ask them how quickly they
Speaker 2: like to make decisions. Ask them what throws them off.
Speaker 2: These questions reveal everything. Third, build a shared climate. North
Speaker 2: pole leaders can slow down their delivery without losing speed.
Speaker 2: South pole leaders can raise their pace without losing structure.
Speaker 2: Both can meet in the middle if they know why
Speaker 2: the middle matters. The moment you start respecting the polarity
Speaker 2: of leadership styles, your entire team becomes easier to lead.
Speaker 2: You stop fighting personalities, you stop taking things personally, you
Speaker 2: stop expecting everyone to think like you. You will see
Speaker 2: the planet instead of the pole. So when you remember
Speaker 2: that leadership styles can be polar opposites but still exist
Speaker 2: on the same planet, you give yourself the freedom to
Speaker 2: lead with more awareness and a lot more empathy. Your
Speaker 2: job is not to change your poll. Your job is
Speaker 2: to understand it, then use that understanding to create better
Speaker 2: outcomes for your team. This has been this seven minute
Speaker 2: leadership podcast, and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot
Speaker 1: com