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<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

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<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building and golajieving. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the seven minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul

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<v Speaker 1>fella Aledo.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to this seven minute leadership podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>It's episode six twenty three. The Winter Olympics are almost

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<v Speaker 2>over and the world was gripped to their televisions and

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<v Speaker 2>social media for the past two weeks. But did you

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<v Speaker 2>ever wonder what the leadership lessons are behind the scenes.

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<v Speaker 2>The twenty twenty six Winter Olympics in Milano, Cortina look

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<v Speaker 2>effortless on television, perfect venues, flawless ceremonies, athletes arriving on

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<v Speaker 2>que transportation working, security invisible, and weather managed as best

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<v Speaker 2>as humans can manage. What you do not see is

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<v Speaker 2>the leadership machine underneath all of it. Hosting in Olympic

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<v Speaker 2>Games is one of the largest leadership stress tests on

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<v Speaker 2>the planet. This is not a project, This is not

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<v Speaker 2>an event. This is a multi year leadership endurance race

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<v Speaker 2>where failure has a global audience and it starts at

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<v Speaker 2>the very top. Years before the first athlete arrives. Senior

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<v Speaker 2>leaders are making red key leadership decisions without applause, site selection,

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<v Speaker 2>infrastructure investment, political negotiations, international coordination, labor agreements, environmental impact,

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<v Speaker 2>security planning. These decisions are made long before anyone is watching,

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<v Speaker 2>and once they're made, there is no rewind button. One

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<v Speaker 2>of the first leadership lessons is this big moments are

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<v Speaker 2>one or lost years in advance. If you wait until

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<v Speaker 2>the spotlight is on you to get serious, you are

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<v Speaker 2>already behind. So now zoom out for a minute. The

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<v Speaker 2>Olympics are not run by one leader. They are run

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<v Speaker 2>by layers of leadership, international committees, national governing bodies, local

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<v Speaker 2>organizing committees, city leaders, transportation authorities, security agencies, medical teams,

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<v Speaker 2>venue managers, and volunteers. This is where many organizations fall apart,

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<v Speaker 2>too many layers, too many opinions, and too much noise.

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<v Speaker 2>The Olympics survive because of one thing, absolute clarity of mission.

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<v Speaker 2>Every single person involved knows the goal, safe games, fair competition,

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<v Speaker 2>on time execution, no surprises. That clarity allows leaders at

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<v Speaker 2>every level to make decisions without waighing for permission. When

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<v Speaker 2>a snowstorm hits a mountain venue, when a bus route fails,

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<v Speaker 2>when an athlete village issue pops up at two in

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<v Speaker 2>the morning people act. They do not ask who is

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<v Speaker 2>in charge, they already know leadership lesson number two. If

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<v Speaker 2>your people freeze when you're not in the room, you

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<v Speaker 2>do not have a leadership structure. You have a dependency problem.

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<v Speaker 2>Now let's talk about the middle. Mid level leaders during

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<v Speaker 2>the Olympics are under relentless pressure. They are translating strategy

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<v Speaker 2>into action. Every single day. Schedules change, weather changes, security

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<v Speaker 2>conditions change, athlete needs change, media demands change. These leaders

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<v Speaker 2>are not making speeches. They are solving problems quietly and repeatedly.

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<v Speaker 2>This is where real leadership lives, in the margins, in

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<v Speaker 2>the handoffs, in the detail that no one tweets about.

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<v Speaker 2>A venue manager who re routes foot traffic to avoid

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<v Speaker 2>a bottleneck, a transportation supervisor who adjusts timing to keep

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<v Speaker 2>athletes calm and focused. A logistics lead who notices a

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<v Speaker 2>supply issue before it becomes a headline leadership Lesson number three.

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<v Speaker 2>Great leaders obsess over friction points, not optics. Now go

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<v Speaker 2>all the way down to the front line. Volunteers checking credentials,

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<v Speaker 2>drivers moving teams at four in the morning, technicians maintaining

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<v Speaker 2>ice conditions, medical staff standing by for the worst day

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<v Speaker 2>they hope never comes. Most of these people will never

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<v Speaker 2>meet the top leaders, yet their behavior determines whether the

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<v Speaker 2>games succeed or fail. And this is where culture shows up.

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<v Speaker 2>If the culture says speed matters more than safety, shortcuts appear.

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<v Speaker 2>If the culture says accountability is optional, small mistakes multiply.

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<v Speaker 2>If the culture says speak up early, problems shrink instead

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<v Speaker 2>of explode. Leadership lesson number four. Culture is not what

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<v Speaker 2>you say in a press conference. Culture is how the

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<v Speaker 2>lowest level employee acts when no one important is watching.

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<v Speaker 2>And here's another overlooked lesson. The Olympics are built on rehearsals.

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<v Speaker 2>Opening ceremonies are practiced again and again. Security drills are

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<v Speaker 2>run until they're boring. Emergency responses are simulated repeatedly. Technology

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<v Speaker 2>systems are stress tested until they break, then rebuilt. Stronger

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<v Speaker 2>leaders who skip rehearsal pay for it in public leadership

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<v Speaker 2>lesson number five. Practice is not a sign of weakness.

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<v Speaker 2>It is a signal of respect for the mission. There's

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<v Speaker 2>also a powerful humility lesson here. No leader hosting the

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<v Speaker 2>Olympics believes they can control everything. Whether cannot be controlled,

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<v Speaker 2>Human behavior cannot be controlled. Global politics cannot be controlled.

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<v Speaker 2>So leaders plan for adaption, backup venues, redundant systems, contingency teams,

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<v Speaker 2>decision authority pushed downwards so action can happen fast. Leadership

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<v Speaker 2>lesson number six, Control is an illusion, Preparedness is not

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<v Speaker 2>and finally, the most important lesson. When the torch is

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<v Speaker 2>lit in the camera's role, the leaders disappear, the athletes shine,

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<v Speaker 2>the host city shines, the moment belongs to the world.

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<v Speaker 2>Great leaders know when to step forward and when to

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<v Speaker 2>step back. They do not chase credit, They protect outcomes.

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<v Speaker 2>If your leadership only works when your name is attached

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<v Speaker 2>to it, it will not scale. The Olympics scale because

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<v Speaker 2>leadership is distributed, disciplined, and aligned. So as you watch

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<v Speaker 2>the twenty twenty six Winter Olympics come to an end,

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<v Speaker 2>remember this you were not just watching a sporting event.

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<v Speaker 2>You were watching one of the most complex leadership systems

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<v Speaker 2>ever built, operating in real time under global pressure, with

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<v Speaker 2>zero tolerance for failure. And the same principles apply to

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<v Speaker 2>your organization, your team, and your role. Clear mission, trusted people,

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<v Speaker 2>rehearsed responses, quiet competence, and accountability at every level. So

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<v Speaker 2>leadership is not the metal. So ceremony. Leadership is everything

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<v Speaker 2>that made the ceremony possible. If you want to lead

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<v Speaker 2>at a higher level, stop chasing the spotlight and start

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<v Speaker 2>building this system behind it. And if you want more

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<v Speaker 2>free leadership resources, head over to paulfoloalito dot com click

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<v Speaker 2>on free Stuff. I have over twenty five free leadership

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<v Speaker 2>documents you can download today. This has been the seven

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<v Speaker 2>minute leadership podcast and I thank you for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>For more Paul fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot

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<v Speaker 1>com