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 Fellovaledo. Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute
Speaker 1: Leadership Podcast. It's episode three, p thirty one, and let's
Speaker 1: talk about a phrase that every leader needs to tattoo
Speaker 1: on their mindset, and that's ethics over optics. Every time
Speaker 1: in leadership, you'll constantly face decisions that put your integrity
Speaker 1: to the test. You'll be tempted, maybe even advised, to
Speaker 1: go with the option that looks good instead of the
Speaker 1: one that is right. That's what we mean by optics
Speaker 1: versus ethics. One is about a appearances, the other is
Speaker 1: about principles. One is about protecting your reputation, the other
Speaker 1: is about honoring your values. And if you ever find
Speaker 1: yourself in a situation where you have to choose between
Speaker 1: the two, choose ethics every time. Let me walk you
Speaker 1: through three situations where this decision comes up more than
Speaker 1: most leaders want to admit. The first one is the
Speaker 1: cover up trap. You made a mistake, a decision backfired,
Speaker 1: that data was wrong. Whatever the case, you're holding a
Speaker 1: mess in your hands, and you've got two options. Sweep
Speaker 1: it under the rug, spin the story, make it look
Speaker 1: clean and polished from the outside, or own it be transparent,
Speaker 1: admit the misstep and correct it publicly. The optic's choice
Speaker 1: feels easier. You might even convince yourself you're protecting the
Speaker 1: team or the brand. But here's the thing. True always
Speaker 1: finds a way to surface, and when it does, people
Speaker 1: will remember that you chose to hide. They'll remember the
Speaker 1: cover up more than the mistake. And the second one
Speaker 1: is called the favor play. A team member breaks a role,
Speaker 1: maybe it's someone you like, maybe it's someone that's high performing.
Speaker 1: You're tempted to bend the policy, let it slide, or
Speaker 1: quietly fix it behind the scenes so hr doesn't have
Speaker 1: to know. That's optics driven leadership. You want to keep
Speaker 1: the peace, maintain appearances, and avoid disruption. But ethics say,
Speaker 1: if the rules matter, it has to matter every time,
Speaker 1: even when it's inconvenient, even when it's someone you like,
Speaker 1: because fairness only exists when enforcement is consistent. And the
Speaker 1: third one is the resume booster. Have you ever seen
Speaker 1: a leader stretch the truth on a resume or take
Speaker 1: credit for work that will isn't really a team effort
Speaker 1: or overstate results during a board presentation. Optics say, impress
Speaker 1: the audience, build your brand, stand out. Ethics says say
Speaker 1: what's true, even if it's not flashy, because real leadership
Speaker 1: isn't about inflated numbers or viral quotes. It's about trust.
Speaker 1: And once trust is gone, it's gone. And here's the
Speaker 1: hard truth. Choosing ethics won't always get you around of applause,
Speaker 1: it won't always be appreciated in the moment, but it
Speaker 1: will get you long term respect. It will build a
Speaker 1: culture where people feel safe to speak up, take accountability,
Speaker 1: and trust leadership at every level. Optics might get you
Speaker 1: the promotion, the headline, or the social media praise, but
Speaker 1: ethics will get you the legacy, one that's clean, one
Speaker 1: that you're proud of, that doesn't require any backpedaling when
Speaker 1: the spotlight hits you in the wrong moment. As a leader,
Speaker 1: your job is not to perform. Your job is to
Speaker 1: lead with truth. Every policy you enforce, every decision you make,
Speaker 1: every tough call you have to answer for, those are
Speaker 1: all chances to say I don't care what it looks like,
Speaker 1: I care what it means and when your team sees
Speaker 1: you do the right thing, even when it's hard, they'll
Speaker 1: do it too. They'll follow your lead. That's what real
Speaker 1: leadership is, being the ethical backbone when no one's watching,
Speaker 1: in the moral compass when everyone is so. Here is
Speaker 1: your leadership challenge today. Think about the last leadership decision
Speaker 1: that you've made. Was it about optics or was it
Speaker 1: about ethics? If it leaned toward optics, ask yourself, well,
Speaker 1: how can you recalibrate for next time? Remember your integrity
Speaker 1: is your most valuable leadership asset, and don't ever trade
Speaker 1: it for temporary applause. This has been the seven minute
Speaker 1: Leadership podcast, and I thank you for listening. For more
Speaker 1: Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com