Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul
Speaker 1: fella Aledo. Hello everyone, and welcome to the Seven Minute
Speaker 1: Leadership Podcast. It's episode five twenty six. Today we're taking
Speaker 1: a trip back to the wisdom of Aristotle, who said
Speaker 1: excellence is not an act, but a habit. It's one
Speaker 1: of the most important quoted lines in leadership and personal development,
Speaker 1: but too often people hear it not in agreement and
Speaker 1: then never apply it. So for today's episode, let's break
Speaker 1: it down and make it real. Excellence isn't about one
Speaker 1: shining moment. It's not the big present you nailed, the
Speaker 1: huge deal you closed, or the one time you went
Speaker 1: above and beyond for your team. Those are snapshots. But excellence,
Speaker 1: the kind that defines a leader, the kind that earns trust,
Speaker 1: respect and followership, comes from what you do every single day,
Speaker 1: especially when nobody's watching. Think about the athlete who doesn't
Speaker 1: just train on game day, but trains every morning at
Speaker 1: five am when the stands are empty, or the paramedic
Speaker 1: who doesn't only care about patient care when supervisors are present.
Speaker 1: But checks their equipment thoroughly on every shift, or the
Speaker 1: pilot who never skips a checklist even when they've flown
Speaker 1: the same route a thousand times. Those aren't one time acts.
Speaker 1: Those are habits. Now Here's the hard truth. Average is
Speaker 1: a habit too. Cutting corners, showing up late, not preparing
Speaker 1: for meetings, letting little details slide. Those are habits, and
Speaker 1: if you let them build up, your people will notice.
Speaker 1: Teams don't remember the one big speech you gave. They
Speaker 1: remember if you're consistently dependable, consistently fair, and consistently clear.
Speaker 1: So how do you turn Aristotle's wisdom into something actionable?
Speaker 1: Let me give you three takeaways. Number one, audit your
Speaker 1: daily habits. Ask yourself, are your small daily actions moving
Speaker 1: you toward excellence or away from it? Excellence doesn't hide
Speaker 1: in the big things. It's in the emails you send,
Speaker 1: the tone of your voice in tough conversations, in the
Speaker 1: way you respond to stress. Number two, define your non negotiables.
Speaker 1: These are the habits you commit to no matter what.
Speaker 1: For me, it's preparation, whether it's a podcast, a meeting,
Speaker 1: or a training session. I don't just wing it. That's
Speaker 1: my habit. What are yours. Maybe it's being present for
Speaker 1: your people. Maybe it's never walking past a problem without
Speaker 1: addressing it. And number three, make it visible. Excellence should
Speaker 1: show up in your calendar, your schedule, and your systems.
Speaker 1: If you believe feedback is critical, then set a weekly
Speaker 1: reminder to give it. If you believe learning is key,
Speaker 1: then block twenty minutes every day to read, study, or
Speaker 1: listen to something that sharpens you. Habits need structure in
Speaker 1: order to survive. So let me give you a challenge.
Speaker 1: Pick one habit of excellence and start it today. Just one.
Speaker 1: Don't overcomplicate it. Maybe it's greeting every team member by
Speaker 1: name when you walk in. Maybe it's writing a five
Speaker 1: sentence reflection at the end of every day about how
Speaker 1: you showed up as a leader. Do it every day
Speaker 1: for the next thirty days. You'll see results that you
Speaker 1: can't ignore, and so will your people. Remember, habits build
Speaker 1: a culture. If your habits say average, your team will
Speaker 1: respond with average. If your habits say excellence, your team
Speaker 1: will rise to meet you. Excellence is never about one act.
Speaker 1: It's who you are repeatedly every single day. That's Aristotle's message,
Speaker 1: and in leadership it's not optional. This has been the
Speaker 1: seven Minute Leadership podcast, and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot
Speaker 1: com