Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and goal achieving.
Speaker 1: This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host
Speaker 1: Paul fella Aledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode four forty. Think about this. You're sitting across
Speaker 2: from someone at work. They're nodding at you, they're taking notes,
Speaker 2: but in reality, only twenty percent of them is actually here.
Speaker 2: The rest of them is scattered across five different worries
Speaker 2: in their life as a leader. What do you do
Speaker 2: with that. I'm not talking about someone who's lazy or
Speaker 2: disengaged on purpose. I'm talking about the person who shows
Speaker 2: up physically to work but is mentally and emotionally divided
Speaker 2: in to pieces. And you've seen it. They're sitting in
Speaker 2: the meeting, they're at their desk, they're in the shop,
Speaker 2: but you can tell they're only partially here. Here's the reality.
Speaker 2: A person might be physically present, but twenty percent of
Speaker 2: their mind is with their kids at school. Another twenty
Speaker 2: is thinking about their spouse who's having a rough day
Speaker 2: at work. Another twenty is worrying about the bills piling up.
Speaker 2: Another twenty is focused on that strange noise the car
Speaker 2: made on the way in, and the last twenty is
Speaker 2: with a sick parent at home. On paper, they're at
Speaker 2: one hundred percent attendance, but in reality they've only got
Speaker 2: a fraction of themselves to give to the job. So
Speaker 2: the question becomes how effective is this person really? And
Speaker 2: more importantly, how do you lead them? And here's the
Speaker 2: mistake many leaders make. They see someone off and immediately
Speaker 2: think it's a performance problem. They start looking for errors,
Speaker 2: keeping score, or even piling on more pressure to snap
Speaker 2: them out of it. But when you do that, you're
Speaker 2: not leading. You're pushing someone who's already running on fumes. Instead,
Speaker 2: here's the leadership playbook. Number one, notice without judgment. Your
Speaker 2: first job is to actually see your people. Pay attention
Speaker 2: to body language, tone of voice, and patterns. If someone
Speaker 2: who's usually on top of things suddenly seems disconnected, it's
Speaker 2: a signal. Don't jump to conclusions. Number two, open the door,
Speaker 2: don't force it, Pull them aside privately and check in.
Speaker 2: It's as simple as hey, I've noticed you seem distracted
Speaker 2: the past couple of days. Is everything okay? You don't
Speaker 2: need all the details you just need them to know
Speaker 2: that you care. Number three, give space where you can
Speaker 2: if the work allows, adjust deadlines, lighten the load, or
Speaker 2: give them a breather. You can't solve their personal issues,
Speaker 2: but you can make it easier for them to navigate
Speaker 2: them without their work life becoming an added stressor Number four,
Speaker 2: keep them engaged with small wins. When someone's mind is scattered,
Speaker 2: big complex projects can overwhelm them. Assigned tasks that are
Speaker 2: achievable and meaningful. Let them leave work with at least
Speaker 2: one thing they feel good about completing. Number five. Protect
Speaker 2: the culture. Other employees will notice when someone's struggling. Your
Speaker 2: leadership here isn't just about helping the individual. It's about
Speaker 2: showing the whole team that in this workplace, people matter
Speaker 2: more than production speed. That builds long term loyalty. And
Speaker 2: here's the big leadership takeaway. You can't expect one hundred
Speaker 2: percent from someone who only has sixty percent to give
Speaker 2: that day, but you can get the best sixty percent
Speaker 2: possible if you meet them where they are instead of
Speaker 2: punishing them for not being where you wish they were.
Speaker 2: This doesn't mean lowering standards forever. It means recognizing that
Speaker 2: Leadership is about guiding people through life, not just through
Speaker 2: their job descriptions. Sometimes the best leadership move is to
Speaker 2: be the steady anchor in someone's storm. The truth is,
Speaker 2: those moments when you show understanding are the ones people remember,
Speaker 2: and when life settles down, those same people will often
Speaker 2: give back more than one hundred percent because they'll remember
Speaker 2: who led them with empathy and respect. So the next
Speaker 2: time you see someone physically present but mentally elsewhere, don't
Speaker 2: just think about the work that's getting done. Think about
Speaker 2: the person who's trying to hold five different pieces of
Speaker 2: life together while still showing up. That's where your leadership
Speaker 2: really counts. This has been the seven Minute Leadership Podcast,
Speaker 2: and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: Mo Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts. Visit paulfellowalito dot com