Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and golachieving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellovledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to this seven minute leadership podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode three sixteen. In today's principle is simple but powerful.
Speaker 2: Look for the second story. And here's what I mean.
Speaker 2: Behind the missed deadline might be a sick kid. Behind
Speaker 2: the attitude might be exhaustion. Behind the silence might be anxiety,
Speaker 2: and behind the outburst might be grief. Look for the
Speaker 2: second story. So just let me be clear on this.
Speaker 2: This is not about making excuses. It's about seeking understanding.
Speaker 2: In leadership, we deal with performance, accountability, and standards every
Speaker 2: single day. But here's the thing. People aren't problems. Their stories,
Speaker 2: and those stories often go untold unless you ask. So
Speaker 2: let me give you a real world leadership moment. One
Speaker 2: of my team members years ago missed an important meeting,
Speaker 2: no call, no text. I was frustrated. I was ready
Speaker 2: to give a lecture about professionalism, but instead I asked,
Speaker 2: is everything okay? And it turns out his wife was
Speaker 2: in the er with complications from surgery. He wasn't thinking
Speaker 2: about work. He was thinking about her, and that changed everything.
Speaker 2: Now again, I didn't erase the accountability. We still talked
Speaker 2: about protocols, backup plans, and communication, but we had that
Speaker 2: conversation after I acknowledged his story. Great leaders pause before
Speaker 2: they judge, They ask, before they assume, they listen before
Speaker 2: they correct. It doesn't make you weak, It makes you human,
Speaker 2: and in return, your people will give you more than compliance.
Speaker 2: They'll give you trust. I think at the core of
Speaker 2: every employee they want to be understood. We all have
Speaker 2: different backgrounds, different upbringings, in different styles of communication. If
Speaker 2: you are completely in tune with your staff, you know
Speaker 2: when one of them is off, and if you're saying
Speaker 2: to yourself, this isn't like them, then there is a
Speaker 2: second story. They may be embarrassed by it, they may
Speaker 2: be in shock because of it. The right thing to
Speaker 2: do is let them know that they don't have to
Speaker 2: go through it alone, whatever that might be. So here's
Speaker 2: a quick challenge for you this week. When someone shows
Speaker 2: up off their game, just pause, don't imediately correct. Ask
Speaker 2: one simple question, is everything okay? Sometimes you'll get nothing,
Speaker 2: and other times you'll get that second story. And that's
Speaker 2: when you stop being just a boss and start being
Speaker 2: a real leader. And if you haven't done so, please
Speaker 2: five star review the show on your favorite podcasting platform.
Speaker 2: This has been the seven minute leadership podcast and I
Speaker 2: thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.