Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and GOLA giving.
Speaker 1: This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host
Speaker 1: Paul Fellovaledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode three point fifty four. Today's episode is built
Speaker 2: around one powerful belief that guides every leadership decision that
Speaker 2: I make Human first, employee second. This isn't just a
Speaker 2: feel good philosophy. It's a lens, it's a filter. It's
Speaker 2: the standard I use to view my team, guide conversations
Speaker 2: and make decisions, even the hard ones. When you lead
Speaker 2: with the mindset that your people are human beings before
Speaker 2: they are employees, you unlock a level of trust, loyalty,
Speaker 2: and connection that job titles and paychecks alone can never buy.
Speaker 2: So let's break this down into something practical. Number one,
Speaker 2: Human first means seeing the whole person. When someone walks
Speaker 2: through your company's doors, they don't leave their personal life behind.
Speaker 2: They bring it all with them. The bills, the stress,
Speaker 2: the sick parent, the car trouble, the anxiety, the excitement,
Speaker 2: the ambition. If you only see the uniform or the
Speaker 2: job title, you're missing the majority of who that person is.
Speaker 2: But if you take the time to know your people,
Speaker 2: really know them, you begin to lead through a different filter,
Speaker 2: one that balances accountability with empathy. You stop saying things
Speaker 2: like that's not my problem, and instead say what do
Speaker 2: you need from me right now? You shift from being
Speaker 2: a boss to being a leader that they'll never forget.
Speaker 2: Number two, the employee lens is often too narrow. The
Speaker 2: employee lens only looks at performance, productivity, timesheets, and deadlines,
Speaker 2: and sure that stuff matters. We're running a business, not
Speaker 2: a therapy group. But the dangers of the employee first
Speaker 2: lens is that it can turn people into numbers. You
Speaker 2: start tolerating good performers with toxic attitudes. You overlook the
Speaker 2: quiet rock stars because they don't raise their hand. You
Speaker 2: miss red flags because you're only watching output. The human
Speaker 2: first lens widens the frame. It lets you see when
Speaker 2: someone is burnt out before they collapse. It allows you
Speaker 2: to recognize potential in someone who hasn't fully found their
Speaker 2: confidence yet. It gives you permission to care, and yes,
Speaker 2: caring is still allowed in leadership. Number three. Using the
Speaker 2: human filter in decision making. Every decision I make as
Speaker 2: a leader, whether it's about schedule, discipline, benefits, or communication,
Speaker 2: gets passed through this question how will this affect the
Speaker 2: human side of this person. Let me give you some
Speaker 2: real world examples. When someone needs time off at the
Speaker 2: last minute, I don't go straight to that's going to
Speaker 2: hurt the schedule. I think what's going on that made
Speaker 2: this urgent? What does this person need for me right now?
Speaker 2: When someone's performance drops, I don't immediately think discipline. I
Speaker 2: think is there something going on that I need to
Speaker 2: know about? And when someone's been crushing it at work,
Speaker 2: I don't just say nice job. I take the time
Speaker 2: to ask them how they're doing outside of work too.
Speaker 2: That's the human lens in action. And yes it takes
Speaker 2: more time, it takes emotional bandwidth, but the return on
Speaker 2: investment is massive. Number four, It doesn't mean you're soft.
Speaker 2: So let's be clear. Leading with a human first mindset
Speaker 2: doesn't mean you're a pushover. It doesn't mean you lower
Speaker 2: the bar. It doesn't mean that you ignore poor performance
Speaker 2: or make decisions based on feelings alone. It means you
Speaker 2: hold people accountable and understand that they're not robots. You
Speaker 2: can write someone up and ask them if everything is Okay,
Speaker 2: you can fire someone and still treat them with dignity.
Speaker 2: You can expect greatness and offer grace. Being a human
Speaker 2: first leader doesn't weaken your leadership. It makes it real,
Speaker 2: It makes it relatable, and it's exactly the kind of
Speaker 2: leadership people remember ten years later. Number five, it's the
Speaker 2: leadership legacy you leave behind. One day, someone is going
Speaker 2: to talk about you as a leader. They're going to
Speaker 2: remember how you made them feel when they were struggling,
Speaker 2: when they succeeded, and when they messed up. Do you
Speaker 2: want them to say, you really knew the Paulice manual?
Speaker 2: Or do you want them to say, he saw me
Speaker 2: as a person? First, you already know my answer. When
Speaker 2: you lead with human first employee. Second, you create a
Speaker 2: culture where people feel safe to be themselves, empowered to grow,
Speaker 2: and loyal to the mission because they know the mission
Speaker 2: cares about them, not just their output. Your leadership filter matters.
Speaker 2: If your default lenses policy and productivity, you'll manage people.
Speaker 2: But if your default lens is humanity, you'll inspire them.
Speaker 2: Lead with heart, lead with presence, Lead with the mindset
Speaker 2: that people are more than their job title, Because at
Speaker 2: the end of the day, titles will change, jobs will end,
Speaker 2: but people will always remember the leaders who treated them
Speaker 2: like human beings first. This has been the seven Minute
Speaker 2: Leadership Podcast and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot
Speaker 1: com