Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajieving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellavoldo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode three point thirty seven. Let's talk about shadows.
Speaker 2: Not the kind cast by the sun or a street light,
Speaker 2: but the kind you cast as a leader, the invisible
Speaker 2: footprint of your decisions, your reactions, and your behavior. That's
Speaker 2: why today's episode is called the shadow you cast. You
Speaker 2: may not see it, you may not even think about it,
Speaker 2: but make no mistake, every single word you say, every
Speaker 2: decision you make, in every emotional reaction you display, leaves
Speaker 2: an impression. It casts a shadow. The people around you,
Speaker 2: your team, your peers, your followers. They live in that shadow.
Speaker 2: They feel it, they react to it, and they remember it.
Speaker 2: And here's the hard truth. Most leaders focus on their intentions.
Speaker 2: Great leaders focus on their impact. Think about it. You
Speaker 2: cut someone off mid sentence in a meeting because you're
Speaker 2: in a rush. You ignore a staff suggestion because you've
Speaker 2: already made up your mind. You let your frustration show
Speaker 2: in your tone during a tough moment. You might think
Speaker 2: you're just moving fast, solving problems, leading decisively, but those
Speaker 2: actions are casting a shadow, one that may feel cold, sharp,
Speaker 2: or unapproachable. And I'll give you a real world example.
Speaker 2: Years ago, I worked under a leader who never raised
Speaker 2: his voice, but you always felt his disappointment. If he
Speaker 2: was upset, he wouldn't yell, he'd go silent, and the
Speaker 2: silence was worse than shouting. It made you second guess yourself.
Speaker 2: It made the room tense. Even when he walked in,
Speaker 2: the mood shifted. His shadow loomed large even when he
Speaker 2: wasn't saying a word. And here's the problem. That leader
Speaker 2: thought he was calm and collected, but his team experienced
Speaker 2: something totally different. His shadow said, I'm unpredictable and I'm
Speaker 2: always judging you. Now flip that. Think of someone who
Speaker 2: walks into the room and makes you feel seen. They
Speaker 2: greet everyone, they're consistent, you know where they stand. They
Speaker 2: handle pressure with calm, they celebrate wins, and they address
Speaker 2: problems directly, not emotionally. That leader casts a very different shadow,
Speaker 2: one you can stand in and feel respected, safe, and inspired.
Speaker 2: So here's the big question. Is the shadow you cast
Speaker 2: the one you want to be remembered for, because you
Speaker 2: will be remembered even when the project is over. Even
Speaker 2: when you're gone from that role, people won't just remember
Speaker 2: what you did, they'll remember how you made them feel
Speaker 2: while doing it. That's your leadership legacy. And let's take
Speaker 2: this even further. Your shadow doesn't just reach the people
Speaker 2: in the room. It stretches into future decisions. The person
Speaker 2: you snapped that today might hesitate to speak up tomorrow.
Speaker 2: The praise you gave someone last week might give them
Speaker 2: the confidence to go above and beyond next month. The
Speaker 2: fairness or unfairness of your decisions creates a ripple effect
Speaker 2: in how others handle conflict, performance, and teamwork. It's all connected.
Speaker 2: So how do you check your shadow? You ask yourself
Speaker 2: four hard questions every day. What did my team feel
Speaker 2: after they interacted with me today? Did I show up
Speaker 2: today with consistency and emotional discipline? Was I clear in
Speaker 2: my expectations or did I leave room for confusion? And
Speaker 2: if someone followed me around with a camera would I
Speaker 2: be proud of how I led? Those are brutal questions,
Speaker 2: but that's the price of leadership self awareness, because you
Speaker 2: don't get to decide how people interpret your behavior. You
Speaker 2: only get to decide whether you own your shadow or
Speaker 2: ignore it. So leadership is not about the spotlight. It's
Speaker 2: about the shadow. It's not about what you say when
Speaker 2: everyone's watching. It's about what happens when they remember you,
Speaker 2: when they tell stories about how you made them feel,
Speaker 2: how you led under pressure, how you showed up when
Speaker 2: it counted. So today, as you go about your work,
Speaker 2: ask yourself, this is this the shadow I want to
Speaker 2: leave behind? Is this the version of me I want
Speaker 2: remembered when I'm not in the room, Because every single
Speaker 2: moment is shaping the answer. This has been the seven
Speaker 2: minute Leadership Podcast, and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.