Episode 360 - Your Team is Keeping Score

when things go sideways, and who you leave hanging. They may not say anything out loud, but they're keeping score. So let me ask you. Have you worked for someone and thought, wow, they really play favorites or maybe how come that guy always gets a free pass? That feeling? That's the internal scoreboard lighting up. And now imagine your team is doing the same thing every single day. Now let's flip the mirror. As a leader, are you consistent

with your feedback? Do you hold people equally accountable? Do you recognize everyone's effort or just the loudest, flashiest wins. This isn't about being perfect. Leadership never is. But it is about being aware. Because if you think your team isn't watching, you're dead wrong. They're watching everything, and it's not the big speeches that shape how they see you. It's the day to day micro decisions, the quiet ones,

the ones you don't think anyone notices. Let me give you a few examples of the kind of scorecard your team might be mentally keeping. Recognition Who gets its acknowledged in meetings? Is it always the same two people? And what about accountability? Who gets held to the rules and who seems to skate by and to access? Who gets FaceTime with you? Who gets included in decision making? And what about grace? Who do you give the benefit of the doubt to? And who do you come down on immediately?

These are all categories on the scoreboard. And here's the catch. The scoreboard is cumulative. It builds over time, and when it fills up with unfairness, favoritism, and inconsistencies, it starts to erode trust performance in morale. So now let's bring this closer to home. You ever wonder why a high performer suddenly disengages, or why someone stops going the extra mile. It might be because the scoreboard finally tipped too far

in the wrong direction. So what can you do. Here's a few little tactical plays to help reset the scoreboard. Number one, audit your own patterns over the next week. Write down who you're praising, correcting, involving, and promoting. You might spot some blind spots that you didn't know were there. And number two ask your team. It takes courage, but ask for feedback. Do you feel like recognition and accountability are consistent on this team? Just let them talk, don't defend,

just listen. And number three close the loops. If someone feels slighted or overlooked, address it, don't bury it. Transparency scores points, Silence costs you. And the next one be deliberate with equity. That doesn't mean treating everyone exactly the same. It means treating everyone fairly. There is a difference. And the last one praise privately and publicly. Not everyone wants a spotlight, but no one wants to feel invisible. Balance

both forms of recognition. Remember, leadership isn't about always having the right answers. It's about showing up with the right intent over and over again. It's about building trust, one decision at a time, and that trust gets built or broken on the scoreboard that your team is quietly keeping. So here's your leadership challenge for this week. Ask yourself, if I sat down with my team and asked to see the scoreboard they've been keeping, would I be proud

of what I saw? If not, don't panic, but don't ignore it either. Reset the score, play the next quarter better. Your team's already watching, they always have been. This has been the seven minute Leadership Podcast, and I thank you for listening.