Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and goalagiving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellavaliedo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to this seven minute leadership podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode four eleven and let me start this episode
Speaker 2: with a single word.
Speaker 1: Why.
Speaker 2: It's a small word, just three letters, but it might
Speaker 2: be the most important one in leadership. If you're leading
Speaker 2: a team of business, a department, or even just yourself,
Speaker 2: and you don't have a clear answer to the question why,
Speaker 2: then everything else, your decisions, your strategies, your communications will
Speaker 2: feel disconnected, forced or random. You might be moving fast,
Speaker 2: but you won't know where you're going or why it matters.
Speaker 2: So let's break this down. Why sets the direction. The
Speaker 2: best leaders aren't just focused on what needs to get
Speaker 2: done or how it should be done. They start with why.
Speaker 2: And that's not just Simon Sinek's Ted talk. It's real
Speaker 2: leadership strategy. Let me give you an example. Imagine telling
Speaker 2: your team we need to cut over time hours. That's
Speaker 2: the what. Now tell them we're cutting over time because
Speaker 2: we're tightening the budget. That's the how. But now say
Speaker 2: this we're cutting over time because it's affecting our long
Speaker 2: term sustainability, and if we don't get a handle on it,
Speaker 2: we risk downsizing in six months. This helps protect our jobs.
Speaker 2: That's the why. Now the conversation changes. Now people understand.
Speaker 2: They might not love the outcome, but they get the reason,
Speaker 2: and that builds trust. Why unlocks commitment, not just compliance.
Speaker 2: Leaders who only give orders get obedience. Leaders who explain
Speaker 2: the why get commitment. If you're wondering why your team
Speaker 2: is only doing the bare minimum, or why nobody seems invested,
Speaker 2: ask yourself. Have you given them a reason to care?
Speaker 2: Have you connected the dots between their work and the
Speaker 2: bigger picture. People will work harder for a purpose than
Speaker 2: they will for a paycheck. That's a fact. When they
Speaker 2: know why they're showing up every day, they show up differently.
Speaker 2: Why creates a feedback loop. The most dangerous thing a
Speaker 2: leader can say is because I said so. That might
Speaker 2: work in parenting, but in leadership it kills engagement. Encourage
Speaker 2: your team to ask why back at you when someone
Speaker 2: questions a process, an assignment, a goal, don't get defensive.
Speaker 2: Use it as a temperature check. If people are confused
Speaker 2: about the purpose behind your decision. It means your why
Speaker 2: isn't clear. And on the flip side, ask your team
Speaker 2: why they do what they do. Why do we keep
Speaker 2: doing this step? Why are we solving the problem this way?
Speaker 2: Why do you think that's the best approach? Those kinds
Speaker 2: of questions make people think, and when they think, they grow.
Speaker 2: Why is the anchor during chaos? When everything is falling apart?
Speaker 2: Deadlines are missed, budgets are tight, emotions are high. Your
Speaker 2: team needs a center point, and that center point is
Speaker 2: the why. If the team's why is strong enough, they
Speaker 2: can survive. Anyhow, When people lose sight of the mission,
Speaker 2: it's like a boat with no rudder. They drift fast.
Speaker 2: So if your team is burned out, divided, or confused,
Speaker 2: go back to the why and why starts with you
Speaker 2: Before you lead anyone else, answer your own why. Why
Speaker 2: do you want to lead? Why are you in this role?
Speaker 2: Why does this organization matter to you? Why do you
Speaker 2: still care even on the hard days. If you don't
Speaker 2: have that nailed down, your leadership will always feel shaky
Speaker 2: because when your people are watching you, and they always are,
Speaker 2: they want to know you believe in something deeper than
Speaker 2: just hitting numbers. Your daily leadership audit start with why.
Speaker 2: Let me give you a simple trick. Every day, before
Speaker 2: you start your shift, your meeting, or your to do list,
Speaker 2: ask yourself one question, why does this matter today? Do
Speaker 2: this with your priorities, your conversations, your emails, your calendar.
Speaker 2: If you don't have a reason, maybe you shouldn't be
Speaker 2: doing it. So the word why is the thread that
Speaker 2: runs through every great leader's playbook. It creates perpose, it
Speaker 2: builds buy in, it aligns your people, and it keeps
Speaker 2: you grounded. So the next time you're about to tell
Speaker 2: someone what to do, take one extra breath, connect their dots,
Speaker 2: and then tell them why it matters. That's leadership. This
Speaker 2: has been the seven minute Leadership Podcast, and I thank
Speaker 2: you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more, Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot
Speaker 1: com