Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of performance through strong human relations, team building, and goal achieving. This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellovaledo.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast. It's episode four forty eight. Today's episode might sound a little heavy, but I promise to make it clear, real and relevant. We're talking about existentialism and how it applies to leadership, and don't let the word scare you off. This isn't a college philosophy lecture. This is about how your choice is, your identity and your responsibility to find who you are as a leader, and more importantly, how
that affects everyone around you. Let's break it down. What is existentialism. Existentialism is a philosophical concept that says this, you are responsible for creating meaning in your life through your actions. No one is coming to hand it to you. There's no pre written rule book, there's no magic title that makes you a leader. It's you and you are the author. In other words, existentialism is about choice, accountability, and authenticity. The idea is simple, you exist, You make choices,
and those choices define who you are. Period full stop. So how does this connect to leadership? Let's talk about that. You have to remember leadership is a daily choice. You weren't born a leader, nobody is. You choose to lead every day. You wake up and decide how you're going to show up. Are you going to step up or step back? Are you going to hide behind your title or are you going going to earn it? In existential terms, your leadership isn't something you have, it's something you do.
You lead by choosing to take responsibility, by choosing to serve, by choosing to show up with courage even when it's uncomfortable. And another thing to remember is the existential leader owns their impact. An existential leader never says, well that's just the way I am or that's not my fault. Those are phrases of avoidance. Existential leadership says, if I made a mistake, I own it. If something needs to change, I'll lead the way. If someone is struggling, I'll be
the first to check in. You don't get to blame the system, the policy, or the people. You are the system. You shape the culture. You create the space where people either thrive or suffer. This isn't pressure fact. And another existential idea is this. Authenticity is the core. You must be true to yourself, and that's huge in leadership. You've probably had bosses who were fake, who wore a mask at work. Maybe they acted one way in meetings and
another behind closed doors. That's not leadership, that's performance. Real leadership means bringing your whole, authentic self into the room. People follow people who are real, people who are grounded in their values, people who say what they mean and do what they say. Existential leadership forces you to ask who am I really? And am I leading in a way that matches that? And here's another one. Freedom and responsibility go hand in hand. Existentialists believe in freedom of choice,
but with freedom comes responsibility. As a leader, you have free them to act, but every choice has a ripple effect. If you slack off, the team feels it. If you gossip, it spreads. If you show up late or unprepared, it becomes the norm. But on the flip side, if you choose clarity, accountability, and empathy, the team levels up. They follow your example, not your words. In leadership, you don't get to control everything, but you do control how you respond.
That's the heartbeat of existential leadership. Let me give you three questions to take with you from this episode. Use these in your leadership journal, your morning routine, or your next self check in. Who am I choosing to be today as a leader? What actions will I take that reflect the leader I want to become? And what am I avoiding? And what would it mean to face it? These aren't corporate checklists questions. These are human questions. That's
what existential leadership is. It brings the human side of leadership to the surface. So I've said this dozens of times in past episodes. You don't need a corner office to be a leader. You don't need a fancy degree. You need one thing, the courage to lead yourself first. That's existentialism. It's not about reading the rule book. It's about writing it. Not someday, not when you get promoted.
Now.
So here's your challenge. Stop waiting to be told what to do, Choose who you are, then act like it. That's the kind of leadership the world remembers. This has been the seven minute Leadership podcast, and I thank you for listening.
For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.