Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building and GOLA GV.
Speaker 1: This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host
Speaker 1: Paul Fellovliedo. Hello everyone, and welcome to the Seven Minute
Speaker 1: Leadership Podcast. It's episode six point fifteen. Let me set
Speaker 1: the scene. Something breaks, a customer is angry, a deadline
Speaker 1: blows up, a key employee quits without warning. Everyone turns
Speaker 1: their head and looks in the same direction they look
Speaker 1: at you. This is where leadership gets real, not in
Speaker 1: the planning meeting, not in the training binder, in the
Speaker 1: moment when pressure shows up uninvited, in the clock starts
Speaker 1: ticking rapid response. Leadership is not about being low or dramatic.
Speaker 1: It's about being steady when everything else feels unstable. The
Speaker 1: leaders who are in trust are the ones who can
Speaker 1: act fast without creating chaos. Today, I want to walk
Speaker 1: you through five steps that work when pressure hits. These
Speaker 1: are not theories. These are moves that keep teams calm
Speaker 1: focused in moving forward. Step one, slow your body before
Speaker 1: you move your mouth. Pressure speeds everything up, your breathing,
Speaker 1: your tone, your reactions. If you do nothing else, control
Speaker 1: your physiology first, plant your feet. Take one slow breath
Speaker 1: in through your nose. Let it out longer than you
Speaker 1: took it in. This buys you clarity. Your team takes
Speaker 1: cues from your body language long before they process your words.
Speaker 1: If you look rushed, they panic. If you look grounded,
Speaker 1: they follow rapid response. Leadership starts with visible calm. Step two,
Speaker 1: name what is happening in plain language. When stress hits,
Speaker 1: people fill gaps with stories. Those stories are often wrong
Speaker 1: and always dramatic. Your job is to remove the mystery.
Speaker 1: Say something like here's what we know right now, or
Speaker 1: this is the problem we are solving. No speeches, no blame,
Speaker 1: no corporate jargon. Clear language creates psychological safety. It tells
Speaker 1: your team that the situation is being handled, not avoided.
Speaker 1: Silence under pressure feels like abandonment. Clarity feels like leadership.
Speaker 1: Step three, define the first controllable action. Under pressure, people
Speaker 1: want the entire solution. That's unrealistic and paralyzing. You only
Speaker 1: need the next right move. Ask one simple question, what
Speaker 1: is the first thing we can control in the next
Speaker 1: ten minutes? Not the perfect fix, not the final outcome.
Speaker 1: The first right move action restores momentum. Momentum restores confidence.
Speaker 1: Teams do not need certainty in crisis, they need direction.
Speaker 1: Step four assign ownership out loud. This step separates leaders
Speaker 1: from managers. Say names, say tasks, say timelines. When you
Speaker 1: say we, nobody moves. When you say you, things happen.
Speaker 1: Ownership creates order. It prevents duplication, confusion, and quiet resentment.
Speaker 1: People really when they know exactly what they are responsible for.
Speaker 1: Ambiguity under pressure is exhausting. Clear ownership turns stress into structure.
Speaker 1: Step five, stay present until the temperature drops. One of
Speaker 1: the biggest mistakes leaders make is issuing instructions and disappearing.
Speaker 1: Pressure moments are when your present is when your presence
Speaker 1: matters the most. Stay visible, check in, ask what is needed,
Speaker 1: adjust when new information shows up. You don't need to
Speaker 1: have all the answers you need to just be available.
Speaker 1: When the moment passes, your team will not remember every
Speaker 1: decision you made. They will remember whether you stayed with
Speaker 1: them or vanished. That memory becomes your leadership reputation. Now
Speaker 1: let me tell you why this matters. Every organization has
Speaker 1: pressure points. Some are loud in public, some are quiet
Speaker 1: and internal. The leaders who rise are the ones who
Speaker 1: can respond without making things worse. Rapid response leadership is
Speaker 1: a skill you can practice the next time something small
Speaker 1: goes wrong. Treat it like a drill. Control your body,
Speaker 1: name the issue, choose the first right action, assign ownership,
Speaker 1: and stay present. These habits stick. When the big moment arrives,
Speaker 1: you will not rise to the occasion. You will default
Speaker 1: to your training, and your team will trust you because
Speaker 1: you have shown them who you are when it counts.
Speaker 1: So leadership is not tested when things are small. It
Speaker 1: is tested when pressure shows up and time disappears. If
Speaker 1: you can lead well in those moments, everything else gets easier.
Speaker 1: Practice these five steps and you will become the leader
Speaker 1: people look for when the room gets quiet and all
Speaker 1: eyes turn your way. 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