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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 goal achieving.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host

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<v Speaker 1>Paul Fellavledo.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>It's episode six sixty. Let's get right into it. Every

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<v Speaker 2>leader I talk to once the same thing. A unified team,

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<v Speaker 2>a team that works together, backs each other up, communicates clearly,

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<v Speaker 2>and actually moves in the same direction. But most teams

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<v Speaker 2>don't look like that. They look fractured, they look political.

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<v Speaker 2>They look like small groups competing under the same roof

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<v Speaker 2>instead of one team pushing forward. And here's why leaders

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<v Speaker 2>over complicate unity. They think it takes retreats, slogans, mission statements,

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<v Speaker 2>and a bunch of corporate buzzwords to fix it, and

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<v Speaker 2>it doesn't. There's one rule, one rule that will unify

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<v Speaker 2>your team faster than anything else you can do. And

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<v Speaker 2>here it is. The standard applies to everyone. That's it.

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<v Speaker 2>That's the rule. If you want to unify team, there

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<v Speaker 2>cannot be two sets of rules. There cannot be favorites.

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<v Speaker 2>There cannot be exceptions based on rank, tenure, or personality.

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<v Speaker 2>The moment your team sees that the standard is flexible

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<v Speaker 2>for some people and rigid for others. Unity is gone,

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<v Speaker 2>and once it's gone, it's almost impossible to get back.

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<v Speaker 2>Let me paint the picture for you. You've got one employee

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<v Speaker 2>who shows up late and nothing happens. You've got another

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<v Speaker 2>employee who shows up late and gets written up. What

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<v Speaker 2>just happened. You didn't create accountability, You created division. Now

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<v Speaker 2>your team isn't focused on the mission. They're focused on fairness.

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<v Speaker 2>And when people start watching how others are treated more

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<v Speaker 2>than they're watching the work, your culture is already slipping.

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<v Speaker 2>Unity does not come from everyone liking each other. That's

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<v Speaker 2>a myth. Unity comes from everyone knowing the rules, trusting

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<v Speaker 2>the rules, and seeing the rules applied the same way

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<v Speaker 2>every single time. Let's go deeper. When the standard applies

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<v Speaker 2>to everyone, a few things happen immediately. First, trust goes up.

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<v Speaker 2>People may not love every decision you make, but they

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<v Speaker 2>respect consistency. They know where they stand, they know what's expected,

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<v Speaker 2>they know what happens if they cross the line. That

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<v Speaker 2>clarity builds trust. Second, accountability becomes normal. You don't have

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<v Speaker 2>to chase people down or have long emotional conversations. The

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<v Speaker 2>standard does the work for you, You simply point back

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<v Speaker 2>to it. This is what we agreed to. This is

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<v Speaker 2>where you missed it. No drama, no confusion. Third, pure

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<v Speaker 2>accountability starts to take over. This is where it gets powerful.

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<v Speaker 2>When the team sees that the rules are real and consistent,

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<v Speaker 2>they start holding each other to that level. Now it's

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<v Speaker 2>not only coming from you, it's coming from within the team,

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<v Speaker 2>and that's when you know you're building something strong. But

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<v Speaker 2>let's talk about where leaders mess this up, because this

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<v Speaker 2>is where most teams fall apart. Leaders bend the rules

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<v Speaker 2>to avoid discomfort. They don't want to deal with the

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<v Speaker 2>veteran employee who pushes back. They don't want to upset

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<v Speaker 2>the high performer who breaks the rules. They don't want

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<v Speaker 2>to have the hard conversation, so they look the other way.

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<v Speaker 2>And every time they do that, they send a message

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<v Speaker 2>to the rest of the team the rules don't really matter.

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<v Speaker 2>Once that message is out there, it spreads fast. Now

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<v Speaker 2>your team starts testing boundaries. Now people start asking why

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<v Speaker 2>do I have to follow this if they don't. And

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<v Speaker 2>now you're not leading a unified team. You're managing a

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<v Speaker 2>group of individuals who are all playing by their own

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<v Speaker 2>version of the rules, and that's exhausting and it's completely preventable.

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<v Speaker 2>Let me give you a simple way to fix this,

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<v Speaker 2>starting today, write down your top five standards, not twenty,

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<v Speaker 2>not fifty, just five things like showing up on time,

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<v Speaker 2>respecting each other, doing your job, completely, owning your mistakes,

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<v Speaker 2>communicating clearly. Then ask yourself one question, am I applying

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<v Speaker 2>these the same way to everyone? If the answer is no,

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<v Speaker 2>that's your starting point. Because unity is not built in meetings,

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<v Speaker 2>it's built in moments. It's built in how you respond

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<v Speaker 2>when someone tests the standard. Do you enforce it or

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<v Speaker 2>do you excuse it? That one decision is shaping your

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<v Speaker 2>entire culture. Now let's take it one step further. If

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<v Speaker 2>you really want a unified team, you have to live

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<v Speaker 2>the standard too. You don't get a pass because you're

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<v Speaker 2>the leader. In fact, the standard applies to you more

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<v Speaker 2>than anyone else. Your team is watching everything you do.

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<v Speaker 2>If you're late, if you cut corners, if you ignore

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<v Speaker 2>the rules you set, you've already lost credibility. And without credibility,

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<v Speaker 2>there is no unity. There's only compliance, and compliance is temporary.

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<v Speaker 2>Unity is earned through consistency, day after day, decision after decision,

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<v Speaker 2>no shortcuts. So here's your takeaway. If your team feels divided,

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<v Speaker 2>stop looking for complicated solutions. Go back to the one rule.

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<v Speaker 2>The standard applies to everyone, no exceptions, no favorites, no shortcuts.

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<v Speaker 2>You hold the line. And when you do that long enough,

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<v Speaker 2>something shifts. The noise quiets down, the politics fade, the

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<v Speaker 2>team starts to move together, not because you force them to,

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<v Speaker 2>but because they trust the system you built. And that's

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<v Speaker 2>what real leadership looks like. So as you move through

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<v Speaker 2>your day, I want you to pay attention to one thing.

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<v Speaker 2>The next time someone tests the standard. Don't hesitate, don't

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<v Speaker 2>negotiate with it, don't make excuses for it. Hold the

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<v Speaker 2>line because every time you do, you're not only enforcing

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<v Speaker 2>a role, you're building a unified team and that is

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<v Speaker 2>worth everything. And if you want more free leadership resources,

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<v Speaker 2>head over to paulfalloalito dot com and click on free Stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>I have over twenty five free leadership resources that you

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<v Speaker 2>can download and start using today. This has been the

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<v Speaker 2>seven 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