Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajiving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul
Speaker 1: fella Aledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode six h nine. Today we're talking about decision
Speaker 2: making when the clock is loud, the pressure is real,
Speaker 2: and everyone is looking at you for the answer. And
Speaker 2: the title says it all decisions at thirty thousand feet
Speaker 2: speed without panic. So let me paint the picture your
Speaker 2: cruising at altitude. Things are calm, the ride is smooth,
Speaker 2: and then something changes, a warning light, a system anomaly,
Speaker 2: weather moving faster than forecasts, nothing catastrophic yet, but enough
Speaker 2: to demand action. This is where bad leaders rush, This
Speaker 2: is where good leaders pause, and this is where great
Speaker 2: leaders move fast without losing their head. In aviation, panic kills,
Speaker 2: freezing kills, Rushing blindly kills. The goal is speed with control,
Speaker 2: urgency with clarity. In leadership is no different. Most leadership
Speaker 2: mistakes don't happen because leaders move too slow. They happen
Speaker 2: because leaders move fast in the wrong direction, with the
Speaker 2: wrong information for the wrong reason. At thirty thousand feet
Speaker 2: Pilots do not guess, They do not shout, They do
Speaker 2: not react emotionally. They follow a discipline. Aviate, navigate, communicate,
Speaker 2: keep the aircraft flying, Understand where you are, then talk.
Speaker 2: That order matters in leadership, the equivalent sounds like this,
Speaker 2: stabilize the situation, understand the problem, then speak. But most
Speaker 2: leaders reverse it. They talk first, react emotionally, then try
Speaker 2: to clean up the mess they created. I've watched this
Speaker 2: play out in conference rooms, command posts, board meetings, and breakrooms.
Speaker 2: A leader hears partial information and fires off an email,
Speaker 2: makes a public statement as signs blame, locks in a
Speaker 2: decision before the picture is clear. That's panic dressed up
Speaker 2: as decisiveness. Speed without panic starts with one hard truth.
Speaker 2: You are allowed to pause, not a delay, a pause,
Speaker 2: a deliberate breath to separate urgency from emotion. In aviation,
Speaker 2: that pause might be two seconds. In leadership, it might
Speaker 2: be a single question. What is actually happening right now?
Speaker 2: Not what you fear is happening, not what someone told
Speaker 2: you in a rush, not what your ego thinks, is
Speaker 2: it really what is actually happening. Here's the next piece
Speaker 2: most leaders miss. At altitude. Pilots rely on instruments, not feelings.
Speaker 2: Your body can lie to you, your senses can betray you.
Speaker 2: Instruments don't care about your stress level. Leadership has instruments too,
Speaker 2: data patterns, trusted advisors, past experience. If you're making decisions
Speaker 2: based on vibes, volume, or who is yelling the loudest,
Speaker 2: your flying blind speed without panic requires disciplined inputs. That
Speaker 2: means you decide in advance, what information matters, who you
Speaker 2: listen to, what metrics you trust, what signals trigger action.
Speaker 2: When leaders skip this, every situation feels like an emergency.
Speaker 2: Everything becomes a red alert, and teams burn out because
Speaker 2: chaos becomes the norm. And here's where this gets practical.
Speaker 2: When pressure hits, ask yourself three questions. First, what must
Speaker 2: not fail in the next five minutes. This keeps you
Speaker 2: focused on stability, not perfection. Second, what do I know
Speaker 2: for sure? And what am I assuming? Assumptions masquerading as
Speaker 2: facts create bad decisions fast. Third, who needs to be calm?
Speaker 2: Because I am calm? Your emotional state sets the temperature
Speaker 2: of the room. If you're frantic, your team will be Two.
Speaker 2: I've seen leaders save situations simply by lowering their voice
Speaker 2: and slowing their words. Calm communicates confidence, Confidence buys time,
Speaker 2: time improves decisions. In another lesson from thirty thousand feet,
Speaker 2: you don't fix everything at once. You manage priorities, some problems, wait,
Speaker 2: some problem don't. Panic treats everything is equal. Discipline does
Speaker 2: not Speed without panic means acting on the most important
Speaker 2: variable first and then reassessing. It's iterative, it's controlled, it's intentional,
Speaker 2: and this is where red key leadership lives high. Consequent
Speaker 2: moments demand ownership, clarity, and restraint. Not theatrics, not hero speeches,
Speaker 2: not reactionary moves. Your team is not judging you on
Speaker 2: how fast you speak or how forcefully you sound. They're
Speaker 2: watching whether your decision make things better or worse. And
Speaker 2: here's the uncomfortable part. Leaders who panic often believe they're
Speaker 2: being strong. In reality, they're broadcasting fear, and teams can
Speaker 2: feel it instantly. Strong leadership under pressure feels boring, measured, predictable,
Speaker 2: almost quiet. That's the point. If every decision feels dramatic,
Speaker 2: something is wrong. So here's your challenge. The next time
Speaker 2: pressure hits, before you respond, pause long enough to do
Speaker 2: one thing. Name the problem out loud, in plain language,
Speaker 2: not polish language, not corporate jargon, real language. This is
Speaker 2: what's happening, This is what matters right now, this is
Speaker 2: what we're doing. First. That simple act cuts through noise,
Speaker 2: steadies the room, and puts you back in control. Speed matters,
Speaker 2: decisiveness matters, but panic has never saved a team, a company,
Speaker 2: or a leader. At thirty thousand feet, the goal is
Speaker 2: to land safely, not to look impressive in the cockpit.
Speaker 2: Leadership works the same way. Your job is not to
Speaker 2: perform under pressure. Your job is to guide people through
Speaker 2: it with clarity, calm and control. Move fast when you
Speaker 2: need to, slow your mind when it counts, and remember
Speaker 2: that the best leaders sounds steady when the situation is
Speaker 2: anything but. This has been the seven minute Leadership Podcast,
Speaker 2: and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more, Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot
Speaker 1: com