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<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

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<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building, and goal achieving.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host

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<v Speaker 1>Paul fella Aledo.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>It's episode seven twelve. Today we're talking about something that

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<v Speaker 2>will change the way you lead starting today, when every

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<v Speaker 2>battle before it starts. This is one of those leadership

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<v Speaker 2>truths that separates average leaders from the ones people trust

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<v Speaker 2>when things get real, and it lines up perfectly with

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<v Speaker 2>what I've been teaching for years. Leadership is built in moments,

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<v Speaker 2>not long drawn out theory sessions. So let me take

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<v Speaker 2>you into a real scenario. You walk into a meeting

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<v Speaker 2>to employees are already frustrated. You can feel it. The

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<v Speaker 2>tone is off, the energy is tight, and now you're

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<v Speaker 2>stepping into something that has already been building for days,

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<v Speaker 2>maybe weeks. At that point, you're not leading the situation.

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<v Speaker 2>You are reacting to it, and reaction is where leaders lose.

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<v Speaker 2>Winning before the battle starts means you never allow things

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<v Speaker 2>to get to that point. So how do you actually

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<v Speaker 2>do this? Let me break it down in a way

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<v Speaker 2>that you can use immediately. First, you control the environment

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<v Speaker 2>before anyone else walks into it. Think about this like

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<v Speaker 2>a pilot before a plane ever leaves the ground. There

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<v Speaker 2>are checklists, systems, and procedures. You don't figure things out

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<v Speaker 2>at thirty thousand feet. Leadership is no different. Before a meeting,

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<v Speaker 2>ask yourself, what is the tone I want in this room?

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<v Speaker 2>What outcome do I need? And what could go wrong?

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<v Speaker 2>If you don't answer those questions, the room will answer

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<v Speaker 2>them for you, and you probably won't like the answer. Second,

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<v Speaker 2>you eliminate surprises. Surprises feel exciting in movies. They destroy

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<v Speaker 2>trust in leadership. If you're about to have a tough

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<v Speaker 2>conversation and the other person is hearing it for the

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<v Speaker 2>first time in front of others, you've already lost. Winning

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<v Speaker 2>early means pulling people aside before the moment. Hey, I

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<v Speaker 2>want to give you a heads up. Here is what

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<v Speaker 2>is coming up. Here's where we need to be aligned now.

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<v Speaker 2>When the meeting happens, it's not a confrontation, it's confirmation.

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<v Speaker 2>That is how you stay in control. Third, you set

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<v Speaker 2>expectations before performance is tested. Most leaders wait until something

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<v Speaker 2>goes wrong to correct behavior, and that's backwards. If your

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<v Speaker 2>team does not know the standard they are going to

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<v Speaker 2>create their own and their version of the standard might

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<v Speaker 2>be way lower than yours. Winning before the battle means

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<v Speaker 2>saying things like, here is how we show up. Here

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<v Speaker 2>is what good looks like. Here is what will not

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<v Speaker 2>be tolerated. That's not being strict, that's being clear, and

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<v Speaker 2>clarity is one of the most powerful leadership tools you have. Fourth,

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<v Speaker 2>you manage energy, not just tasks. A lot of leaders

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<v Speaker 2>focus on what needs to get done. Great leaders focus

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<v Speaker 2>on how people feel while doing it. If your team

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<v Speaker 2>has burned out, frustrated, or checked out, it does not

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<v Speaker 2>matter how good your plan is, it will fall apart.

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<v Speaker 2>Winning early means walking into your environment and reading it

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<v Speaker 2>like a room temperature gauge. Who is off today, who's quiet,

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<v Speaker 2>who's carrying something heavy? Address it early because if you

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<v Speaker 2>ignore it, it shows up later in the worst possible way. Fifth,

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<v Speaker 2>you fix small problems before they become big ones. This

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<v Speaker 2>is where most leaders struggle. They see something small and

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<v Speaker 2>they think it's not a big deal until it is

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<v Speaker 2>the person leaving early without telling anyone, the small comment

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<v Speaker 2>that crosses the line, the mistresponsibility that gets brushed off.

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<v Speaker 2>Every one of those is a future battle, and every

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<v Speaker 2>time you ignore it, you are scheduling a bigger fight later.

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<v Speaker 2>Winning before it starts means stepping in early and saying

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<v Speaker 2>we're not doing that here, Calm, direct, and consistent. Sixth,

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<v Speaker 2>you decide who you are before pressure hits. This is

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<v Speaker 2>where red key leadership comes into play. You don't rise

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<v Speaker 2>to the moment you fall back on your preparation. If

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<v Speaker 2>you haven't already decided how you handle pressure, conflict, or chaos,

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<v Speaker 2>then you're going to make emotional decisions in real time,

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<v Speaker 2>and emotional decisions are expensive. Winning early means knowing how

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<v Speaker 2>do I respond when someone challenges me? How do I

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<v Speaker 2>handle bad news? How do I lead when things go sideways?

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<v Speaker 2>If you answer those questions now, you don't have to

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<v Speaker 2>guess later, and that is where confidence comes from. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>let me bring this home. The best leaders you have

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<v Speaker 2>ever worked with probably made things look easy. They were calm,

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<v Speaker 2>they were steady, They didn't seem surprised by anything. That

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<v Speaker 2>wasn't luck, that was preparation. They were winning before anything

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<v Speaker 2>ever happened. So here's your challenge today. Take one situation

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<v Speaker 2>you know is coming, a meeting, a conversation, a decision,

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<v Speaker 2>and instead of walking into it, and hoping it goes well.

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<v Speaker 2>Prepare like it matters because it does. Think through it,

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<v Speaker 2>talk to people ahead of time, set expectations, anticipate the friction,

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<v Speaker 2>do the work early, and when the moment arrives, you

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<v Speaker 2>won't be reacting, you'll be leading. That is how you win,

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<v Speaker 2>not louder, not harder, earlier. Winning every battle before it

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<v Speaker 2>starts is not about control. It is about preparation, clarity,

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<v Speaker 2>and awareness. If you want to become the leader people

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<v Speaker 2>trust when things get tough, stop waiting for the moment

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<v Speaker 2>to happen. Build the moment before it arrives. That is

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<v Speaker 2>where real leadership lives. And if you want more free

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<v Speaker 2>leadership resources, head over to paulflovalito dot com and click

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<v Speaker 2>on free Stuff. I have over twenty five free leadership

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<v Speaker 2>documents you can download and start using today. This has

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<v Speaker 2>been the seven minute leadership podcast and I thank you

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<v Speaker 2>for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>For more Paul fell of Alito podcasts, visit Paulfeloalito dot

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<v Speaker 1>com