Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of performance through strong human relations, team building, and Goala giving. This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellowaledo.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast. It's episode six seventy one. Let me ask you something right out of the gate. When was the last time you checked in with yourself as a leader, Not your team, not your metrics, not your inbox, you, Because here's what I see happening every day. Leaders are constantly checking everything around them emails, schedules, budgets, performance dashboards, but they never stop long enough to run a check on the one
variable that drives all of it, their own leadership. And that's problem because leadership drift is real. You don't wake up one day and decide to become a disconnected, frustrated, ineffective leader. It happens slowly, quietly, one missed moment at a time. So today I'm going to give you a set of daily self check questions. Not theory, not corporate bs. These are real, field tested questions that force you to stay sharp, grounded, and accountable. This is your seven minute
leadership discipline. First question, did I show up the way my team needed me today or the way I felt like showing up. There's a difference, a big difference. Some days you're tired, some days you're frustrated. Some days you're dealing with things outside of work. Your team doesn't get to opt out of their responsibilities because of how they feel. Neither do you. Leadership is not about mood. It is is about presence. The second question, what did I ignore
today that I know I shouldn't have? Every leader has these moments. You see something off, a behavior, a comment, a shortcut, and you tell yourself I'll deal with it later, and later turns into never And what you ignore, you approve that small thing becomes culture faster than you think. The third question, did I make anything clearer for my team today? Confusion kills momentum, It creates hesitation, it creates mistakes. Your job is to remove friction, not add to it.
If your team leaves a conversation more confused than when they walked in, that's on you. Clarity is leadership currency. The fourth question, who did I recognize or acknowledge today? Not everyone needs a trophy, but everyone needs to know they matter. And here's the reality If the only time people hear from you is when something is wrong, you are building a culture of silence and resentment. Recognition doesn't
have to be big, it has to be real. The fifth question, did I listen or did I wait for my turn to talk? Be honest with yourself here. Leaders love to talk. It comes with the territory. But listening is where the real information lives. If you're not listening, you're guessing, and guessing is a dangerous leadership strategy. The sixth question did I protect this standard today? Standards are not posters on a wall. They are lived out in
real time. Every time you let something slide that violates your standard, you lower it and your team is watching closely. They are always watching. The seventh question, did I make it decision? I've been avoiding. Delayed decisions create bottlenecks. Bottlenecks create frustration. Frustration kills performance. You already know the decision, you're just uncomfortable making it. That's not leadership. That's hesitation dressed up as caution. The eighth question was I consistent today?
In your tone, in your expectations, in your reactions. Inconsistency creates anxiety in teams. People start guessing which version of you they're going to get. And when people are guessing, they're not performing. The ninth question, did I invest even a few minutes in becoming a better leader today? This is the foundation of everything I teach? Seven minutes? That's it. Read something, reflect on something, think through a decision differently.
If you're not growing daily, you are falling behind quietly. The tenth question, if my team led exactly like me today, what kind of organization would we have? This one hits different because whether you like it or not, your behavior is the blueprint. Your habits become their habits, Your discipline becomes their discipline, and your shortcuts become their shortcuts. You are the standard. Now here's the key. Don't try to answer all of these perfectly. That's not the goal. The
goal is awareness. The goal is to stop leadership drift before it becomes leadership failure. Because the best leaders I've ever seen don't wait for performance reviews to evaluate themselves. They don't wait for complaints, they don't wait for things to break. They run daily checks, quick, honest and direct, and they adjust in real time. That's how you stay sharp, that's how you stay trusted. That's how you stay effective. And here's the part nobody talks about. If you can't
answer these questions, honestly, you've got work to do. And that's okay, because leadership is not about being perfect. It's about being aware and accountable enough to make adjustments every single day. So here's your move. Pick three of these questions, write them down, put them somewhere where you'll see them, and at the end of your day, run the check. No excuses, no shortcuts. That's your seven minutes, that's your edge, that's your leadership. So if you want to stay ahead
as a leader, it's not about doing more. It's about checking yourself more often. Small daily corrections beat massive late overhauls every time. Keep your standards high, keep your awareness sharp, and never let yourself drift without noticing it. And if you want more free leadership resources, head over to paulfallovaledo dot com and click on free Stuff. I have over twenty five free leadership documents you can download and start
using today. This has been the seven Minute Leadership Podcast, and I thank you for listening.
For more Paul fell of Aledo Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.