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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 golajieving. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellavaledo.

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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 seven to seventy one. There is a moment

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<v Speaker 2>in every organization that should scare every leader. It's not

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<v Speaker 2>when an employee quits. It's not when someone files a complaint.

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<v Speaker 2>It's not when productivity drops. The most dangerous moment is

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<v Speaker 2>when employees stop telling you things. Think about that for

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<v Speaker 2>a second. Some leaders believe silence means everything is running smoothly.

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<v Speaker 2>They walk through the office and nobody is complaining. Meetings

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<v Speaker 2>are quick, nobody challenges decisions, Everyone nods their head. It

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<v Speaker 2>feels like peace. It isn't peace. It might be surrender.

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<v Speaker 2>Every organization has information flowing through it every minute of

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<v Speaker 2>the day. Employees know where policies don't make sense. They

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<v Speaker 2>know which customers are becoming frustrated. They know which supervisors

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<v Speaker 2>are burning people out. They know when equipment is failing

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<v Speaker 2>before maintenance does. And they know who's carrying the team

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<v Speaker 2>and who is hiding behind everyone else. The question is simple.

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<v Speaker 2>Do they believe it's worth telling you? If they don't,

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<v Speaker 2>leadership has a problem. Employees usually stop sharing information for

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<v Speaker 2>one of several reasons. Maybe they brought up an issue

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<v Speaker 2>before and nothing happened. Maybe they watched someone else get

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<v Speaker 2>embarrassed for speaking up. Maybe leadership became defense If every

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<v Speaker 2>time feedback was offered, people learn that silence is safer

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<v Speaker 2>than honesty, and over time they stop volunteering information. They

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<v Speaker 2>stop offering ideas, they stop warning you about problems, They

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<v Speaker 2>stop helping you avoid mistakes. They don't stop caring overnight,

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<v Speaker 2>they slowly disconnect. And I've seen this in emergency services.

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<v Speaker 2>The newest DMT notices something wrong with a process, but

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<v Speaker 2>keeps quiet because nobody wants to be the rookie who

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<v Speaker 2>questions tradition. A paramedic notices equipment isn't being restocked consistently.

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<v Speaker 2>They decide to fix it themselves because mentioning it has

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<v Speaker 2>never changed anything, and eventually everyone adapts to dysfunction instead

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<v Speaker 2>of solving it. Business isn't any different. Your customer service

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<v Speaker 2>representative knows why customers are leaving. Your technician knows why

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<v Speaker 2>repair take too long. Your warehouse employee knows where thousands

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<v Speaker 2>of dollars are being wasted. Your administrative assistant probably knows

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<v Speaker 2>more about your organizational culture than anyone sitting in the

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<v Speaker 2>executive office. The information exists, the question is whether it

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<v Speaker 2>reaches leadership. Great leaders create environments where information travels uphill.

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<v Speaker 2>Poor leaders create environments where information dies at the bottom.

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<v Speaker 2>So here's something worth remembering. Employees don't evaluate leaders by

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<v Speaker 2>what they say during staff meetings. They evaluate leaders by

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<v Speaker 2>what happens after someone tells them something difficult. That moment

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<v Speaker 2>defines psychological safety. Imagine an employee walks into your office

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<v Speaker 2>and says, I think we're making a mistake. Your first

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<v Speaker 2>reaction matters. Do you become defensive if do you explain

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<v Speaker 2>why they're wrong before they finish talking. Do you interrupt?

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<v Speaker 2>Or do you become curious? One response shuts down communication,

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<v Speaker 2>the other strengthens it. Curiosity is one of the most

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<v Speaker 2>overlooked leadership skills. Instead of saying that isn't happening, ask

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<v Speaker 2>tell me more. Instead of saying that's impossible, ask what

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<v Speaker 2>are you seeing that I'm not. Instead of saying we've

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<v Speaker 2>always done it this way, ask well, what would you change? Questions,

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<v Speaker 2>invite honesty. Defensiveness kills it. And here's another trap that

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<v Speaker 2>leaders fall into. They unintentionally punish bad news. Maybe they

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<v Speaker 2>don't yell, maybe they don't criticize. They simply become visibly

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<v Speaker 2>frustrated every time problems are reported. Employees notice that, and

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<v Speaker 2>soon they begin fill information. Small issues become medium issues,

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<v Speaker 2>medium issues become major problems, and then leadership says, why

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<v Speaker 2>didn't anyone tell me? Someone probably tried. And another question

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<v Speaker 2>every leader should ask themselves is this who feels comfortable

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<v Speaker 2>disagreeing with me? If the answer is nobody, your organization

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<v Speaker 2>is operating with blind spots. The strongest leadership teams I've

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<v Speaker 2>ever worked with weren't filled with people who agreed all

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<v Speaker 2>the time. They were filled with professionals who respected one

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<v Speaker 2>another enough to challenge assumptions before bad decisions became expensive decisions.

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<v Speaker 2>Disagreement handled professionally is healthy. Silence is expensive. So here's

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<v Speaker 2>a practical challenge for you this week. Walk up to

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<v Speaker 2>one employee and ask one simple question, what is one

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<v Speaker 2>thing we're doing that doesn't make sense anymore? And then

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<v Speaker 2>don't defend it, don't explain it, don't solve it immediately,

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<v Speaker 2>Just listen you may hear something you've never considered. You

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<v Speaker 2>may also discover whether your culture encourages honesty or rewards silence.

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<v Speaker 2>Because leadership isn't measured by how much information you give

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<v Speaker 2>your employees. Leadership is measured by how much information your

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<v Speaker 2>employees are willing to give you. When people stop talking,

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<v Speaker 2>leadership starts guessing, and organizations built on guesses rarely stay

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<v Speaker 2>successful for long. So as you head into today, I

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<v Speaker 2>want you to remember this. Every employee is carrying information

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<v Speaker 2>that could make your organization better. Your job isn't to

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<v Speaker 2>pull it out of them through authority. It's to create

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<v Speaker 2>an environment where they choose to share it. Build that

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<v Speaker 2>kind of trust, and you'll solve problems long before they

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<v Speaker 2>become a crisis. This has been the seven minute Leadership Podcast,

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<v Speaker 2>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