Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and goala giving.
Speaker 1: This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host
Speaker 1: Paul Felloledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to this seven minute leadership podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode three eighty two. And if you're leading a team,
Speaker 2: managing a business, or running an organization, then you already
Speaker 2: know that leadership is not a solo sport. We've talked
Speaker 2: about that dozens of times on this show, but the
Speaker 2: truth is most managers don't intentionally build their own inner circle.
Speaker 2: They assume support will just naturally form around them, and
Speaker 2: there's the mistake. The strongest leaders are surrounded by specific
Speaker 2: people who serve very different roles. So today we're going
Speaker 2: to talk about the three people that every leader needs
Speaker 2: in their corner. That's the confidant, the truth teller, and
Speaker 2: the challenger. Think of these as your leadership pit crew,
Speaker 2: each one playing a unique role to keep you sharp, steady,
Speaker 2: and moving forward. So let's break them down one by one. First,
Speaker 2: is the confidant, the one who hears the real you.
Speaker 2: Every leader needs one safe space to be vulnerable. That's
Speaker 2: your confidant. This is not your employee. This is someone
Speaker 2: you can speak freely with, uncensored, unfiltered. You can say
Speaker 2: I don't know what I'm doing, or I'm frustrated with
Speaker 2: my team, or even I think I've made a mistake.
Speaker 2: Your confidante listens without judgment. They know the weight you
Speaker 2: carry and aren't surprised by your honesty. They don't see
Speaker 2: your ing as weakness. They see it as a release. Now,
Speaker 2: this person might be a spouse, a mentor appear in
Speaker 2: another organization, or even a therapist. But the key is
Speaker 2: they're not involved in your org chart. They don't have
Speaker 2: a dog in the fight. They're just there to help
Speaker 2: you process and stay. Human. Managers and leaders without a
Speaker 2: confidant eventually burn out. They bottle everything up, pretend they're fine,
Speaker 2: and lead from behind a mask. You can't do that
Speaker 2: for very long. The pressure will crack you. Having someone
Speaker 2: who knows the real you that's not a luxury, that's
Speaker 2: a requirement. And the second one is the truth teller,
Speaker 2: the one who won't sugarcoat it. This is the person
Speaker 2: who tells you what you need to hear, not what
Speaker 2: you want to hear. They're usually inside your organization, maybe
Speaker 2: one level below you. They're dialed into the culture, aware
Speaker 2: of your line spots, and bold enough to speak up.
Speaker 2: They'll say things like, you miss the mark in that meeting,
Speaker 2: or the team's losing faith in this initiative, or that
Speaker 2: joke didn't land. It made people uncomfortable. Most managers and
Speaker 2: leaders don't have this person, or worse, they punish them
Speaker 2: when they show up. If your team only tells you
Speaker 2: good news, then you've created a fear based culture. And
Speaker 2: if you shoot the messenger, the messages stop coming. The
Speaker 2: truth teller is your early warning system. They help you
Speaker 2: course correct before things spiral out of control. They're not
Speaker 2: trying to bring you down. They're trying to keep you grounded.
Speaker 2: So find that person, protect that person, and when they speak,
Speaker 2: make sure you listen to that person. And the third
Speaker 2: one is the challenger, the one who pushes your limits.
Speaker 2: This is the person who won't let you settle. You
Speaker 2: hit a goal, they ask what's next. You get comfortable,
Speaker 2: they remind you why you started. You feel like coasting,
Speaker 2: They say, not on my watch. They believe in your
Speaker 2: potential more than your position. They're not impressed by your title.
Speaker 2: They're impressed when you grow. Sometimes the challenger is a coach.
Speaker 2: Sometimes it's a peer you respect, and sometimes it's someone
Speaker 2: younger than you, someone who reminds you of the fire
Speaker 2: you used to have. They keep your edge sharp. And
Speaker 2: here's the thing. They make you uncomfortable. That's the point.
Speaker 2: They'll challenge your thinking, your routines, and your excuses. You
Speaker 2: need that. Comfort never builds great leaders pressure does, and
Speaker 2: the challenger applies that pressure with precision. So after hearing
Speaker 2: all that, let me ask you this question. Who's your
Speaker 2: confident on, who's your truth teller? And who is your challenger?
Speaker 2: If you can't name them, it's time that you have
Speaker 2: to go out and find them. Leadership isn't about being
Speaker 2: the strongest person in the room. It's about knowing who
Speaker 2: to lean on, who to listen to, and who won't
Speaker 2: let you get lazy. So build your inner circle intentionally.
Speaker 2: You don't need a crowd, You just need the right
Speaker 2: three people. And if you're already someone's confidant, truthteller or challenger,
Speaker 2: then lean into that role. You might be the one
Speaker 2: keeping that leader afloat. This has been the seven Minute
Speaker 2: Leadership Podcast, and I thank you for listening. For more.
Speaker 1: Paul fell of Alito Podcasts visit Paulfellowalito dot com,