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 Fellavaledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the Seven Minute Leadership Podcasts,
Speaker 2: Episode four to seventy five. Today, I want to share
Speaker 2: something personal about my leadership style, something that started out
Speaker 2: as a temporary fix during COVID and turned into one
Speaker 2: of the best leadership moves I've ever made. For fifteen years,
Speaker 2: I sat in an office, and like most leaders, it
Speaker 2: was where I got my work done. If I needed
Speaker 2: quiet time, I closed the door. If I wanted to
Speaker 2: be accessible, I left it open. And yes, plenty of problems, questions,
Speaker 2: and conversations walked through that door. It worked and I
Speaker 2: got a lot done. But in twenty twenty everything changed.
Speaker 2: COVID hit and we had to protect our crews from
Speaker 2: unnecessary exposure. That meant separating management from field staff. My
Speaker 2: office was converted into a bedroom so that the crews
Speaker 2: could have safe space at night instead of doubling up
Speaker 2: on sleeping arrangements. And suddenly I didn't have an office anymore.
Speaker 2: Where did I land in the conference room? The biggest
Speaker 2: room on the ground floor. My chair was against the wall.
Speaker 2: I had a clear view of the doors and windows,
Speaker 2: and more importantly, my people had a clear view of me.
Speaker 2: The moment they walked in for the start of their shift,
Speaker 2: what started as a crisis solution turned into a complete
Speaker 2: leadership philosophy shift. Almost six years later, I haven't moved
Speaker 2: back upstairs. Why because being in the conference room has
Speaker 2: taught me something I want every leader to think about.
Speaker 2: Your physical presence shapes your leadership presence. When I sit
Speaker 2: in the most visible, approachable, open room in the building,
Speaker 2: I'm sending a message without saying a single word. I'm
Speaker 2: telling my people I'm here. You don't need to knock,
Speaker 2: you don't need to wonder if I'm available, You can
Speaker 2: walk right in. That creates an atmosphere where conversations start naturally,
Speaker 2: where training happens spontaneously, and where trust is built one
Speaker 2: hello at a time. So let's be honest. Some leaders hide.
Speaker 2: They bury themselves behind a giant monitor, stacks of paperwork,
Speaker 2: or a closed office door. They think they're being productive,
Speaker 2: but what their team sees is distance. What their team
Speaker 2: feels is hesitation to approach them in distance never builds culture.
Speaker 2: Minimalist set up Now, a laptop, an iPad and an
Speaker 2: old school composition notebook isn't just lighter on my desk,
Speaker 2: It's lighter on my leadership. I'm not stuck in the
Speaker 2: chair lost in spreadsheets all day. I'm engaged, available, and
Speaker 2: more productive because all eyes are on me. And when
Speaker 2: your team can see you, they're reminded that you see them.
Speaker 2: So here's my challenge to you. Look at your office.
Speaker 2: Is it an open door or is it a wall
Speaker 2: between you and your people? Could you step out into
Speaker 2: a more visible, approachable space. Maybe it's moving your desk,
Speaker 2: Maybe it's spending half the day working in the common area.
Speaker 2: Maybe it's ditching some of the clutter that keeps you
Speaker 2: glued to one spot. Because leadership isn't about the walls
Speaker 2: you work behind. It's about the presence you bring to
Speaker 2: the people in front of you. My office doesn't have
Speaker 2: four walls anymore. In that that's exactly how I like it.
Speaker 2: This has been the seven minute Leadership podcast, and I
Speaker 2: thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.