Episode Transcript
Adam O'Leary (00:00.91)
If you're a business owner struggling to find the clarity, energy and impact that you once had, then our guest, Paul McFadden is about to give you a simple win you can implement today. Pauli McFadden, the founder and CEO of Evolve Human Potential and creator of the Human Alignment Code, a neuroscience driven system that helps leaders operate at the highest level of clarity and performance. Paul, a big welcome to the show. So excited to have you here.
Paul E. McFadden (00:29.811)
Adam, I'm excited to be here with you as well. Thank you so much for having me.
Adam O'Leary (00:33.102)
Absolutely. So Paul, I've heard you discuss how misalignment can drain a leader's influence. Why is alignment so critical in order to feel accomplished and effective?
Paul E. McFadden (00:44.267)
Yeah, that's a really good question and a good place to start for us. And often I say that success without alignment eventually leads to exhaustion, right? And it's really what the burnout experience is like. And a lot of high performers hit a point where everything looks great on paper.
We have the title, we have the income, we have the reputation, we have the teams behind this, but something feels off internally. And so what's really happening is something that I call fragmentation. Like the head is moving in one direction, but the heart, if you will, is moving in another. And the body is just trying to keep up. And so when we align around clarity and resonance and embodiment, we're able to then to reconnect the system.
clarity anchors us into what truly matters most to us as an individual, as a human being. The resonance ensures that we say, it ensures what we say and how we show up is congruent, right? Because the words have to match the behavior. I mean, that's all what integrity is about. And then embodiment means that we don't just talk about alignment, but we actually live in alignment.
And so when those three things are in sync, then influence, as we know it, becomes more natural. People don't follow because of your position. They follow because they feel your congruence, and they're congruent with that.
Adam O'Leary (02:11.532)
that and can you walk us through just for all the business owners who are listening here today so if they're looking to start gaining clarity on their vision and values to build trust with their team I guess what would be like the best process that they could start using right now in order to make that happen
Paul E. McFadden (02:30.132)
Yeah, that's a really good question too. Sometimes I start with a question when I think about these things. it's like, as a leader, if your team couldn't talk to you for 30 days, would they still know and understand what matters most?
And that's really something to think about because a lot of leaders can't step away for longer than a couple of days, right? Or they feel like if I step away for two weeks or three weeks, what's going to happen with the projects or whatever initiatives we're working on? And so clarity begins by identifying what are your core values as a leader? Not the ones that just sound good, but the ones that actually guide your best decisions. And then translate those values
into a clear vision statement that answers a couple questions. So where are we going? Question number one, why does that even matter?
And who do we become in the process, right? And if we can answer those questions and we can articulate that consistently, trust will build and it will build automatically. Because what people really crave, and I kind of bring this back to the neuroscience of it, people crave consistency, then they crave charisma. I've used some examples where someone could have a presentation or a talk completely polished.
Right? And it will completely miss the mark. But another person can have give a very similar talk, be unprepared, right? But because you connect with them emotionally and you can feel the energy.
Paul E. McFadden (04:08.338)
It completely lands and people were inspired and motivated to push initiatives forward. And so, here's the key. You have to communicate it very often. So often that your team can repeat it without you being there in the room. And that's when clarity can truly become influence.
Adam O'Leary (04:30.358)
taking a page of notes at this point. Just so you know. So one of the things that you just talked about here is that you said
Paul E. McFadden (04:31.83)
I love it. I love it. I love it.
Adam O'Leary (04:38.912)
So it's where are we going? Why does that matter? And who do we become in the process? I think that is a genius framework there. Can you give me an example? So if I wanted to go and steal this in my team, how can I communicate this properly to my team to make sure that it really does hit them? Like, are we just saying it over and over and over? Are we posting signs on the walls, making them say it 10 times before they start work? Like, what is the process?
Paul E. McFadden (05:04.278)
Yeah, Absolutely. You know, if I think about it, you know...
This resonance that I'm talking about really is about emotional truth. I think a lot of times people will say it's mindset. But if you just have the right mindset and you can instill the right mindset in individuals, then everything will align. And it's less about the mindset. And actually there's some great data on mindset. I mindset works about 4 % of the time. So we can focus a lot on mindset, trying to shift mindset to align it. And 4 % of the time it'll work, which means that 96 % of the time it won't stick.
we get stuck in our ways and we do the things that are comfortable for us. So if I were to talk about it practically just as a leader, I would say first, start by slowing things down. And so what I mean by that is before any major meeting or any conversation, take a few moments for yourself, 30 seconds, check in.
you know, who am I today? How do I want to show up for this meeting? How do I want to show up for this conversation? Am I speaking from alignment or am I speaking from anxiety? Is there fear involved? You know, what's really driving me in this moment? I just asked a lot of questions. And it's interesting because in the moment, we're not thinking about those things. We're thinking about what we need to do at that time.
But if we're able to slow things down, then we can focus on the story versus the statements we need to make, because we can guide and direct all day long. But people want to connect with, is this important to me? And so we remember as human beings, we remember stories because they connect emotionally. They're not just to do the thing to do just because I said, and we all grew up in homes where I'm sure at one point in time, our parents said, just do it because I told you to, because I said so.
Paul E. McFadden (07:01.182)
And sometimes we comply and sometimes we don't, but there are many kids that will say, they'll turn around and ask why, right? And that's what, and everybody's doing the same thing. I mean, we think because we're in the workplace that we don't have these brains that ask those questions, but we're all human beings, so we do. So if we're able to share a quick story about a challenge, you know, that we're facing, you know, and I do that with my leaders, I share stories about my challenges that I face.
how I realign and what I learned from that. And so when we're able to create stories so people can connect with the story and they see the transformation or see the walk or the journey through the story, that authenticity brings more, creates more resilience for the individual. mean, more resonance for the individual so that they're able to connect. And so...
I guess the moral of that story is really to remember that people don't just hear words. They feel your energy. And so the more congruent your energy is with your message, again, this is about integrity, the more it will land and the more they will then move those initiatives forward.
Adam O'Leary (08:16.577)
Just been writing notes there. That is great. I love that. People don't just hear your words. They hear your energy. That is so bang on. And when you were just talking about the concept of speaking from anxiety as well, that's happened to me so many times. You'll be jumping on something, especially with a team member, something you're stressed and you're trying to communicate to a team member and you accidentally are speaking from anxiety as opposed to alignment.
Paul E. McFadden (08:17.973)
Ha ha ha.
Paul E. McFadden (08:44.523)
Bye.
Adam O'Leary (08:45.643)
Man, I wish I spoke to you about 10 years ago. That would have been...
Paul E. McFadden (08:47.414)
Sometimes I wish I had all these insights 10 years ago. But you know, it's a lived experience.
I mean, we have our own experiences. mean, every experience you've gone through has led to right now. And the same for me. And we tend to categorize those experiences as being good or bad. And it's less about being good or bad. They just led us in this journey. And then it becomes our task to become aware of what those lessons are and then decide or choose what to do with that. And so sometimes you're at the right place, the right time right now.
Adam O'Leary (08:56.609)
for sure.
Paul E. McFadden (09:26.296)
I'm just like I am and and so the mess I you know, kind of joke around a lot But I also hold hardly to believe this nothing happens by accident And so when we're hearing something even if it's something that we've heard before
Sometimes I got to hear something 10 different times, 10 different ways before it lands. But whatever the experiences were that led you to that moment, when it clicks, it's like, this is the time to hear it. And even for me, this is the time to say it. Because a lot of times, it just comes with, what did I learn from that lesson? Oh, this is the thing that might be important to share right now.
Adam O'Leary (10:02.893)
Absolutely and how can you take what you're saying here? So what you're saying here is perfect for anybody who's listening in to be able to implement for themselves But how can they distill this inside of their own employees? for example if they want their employees to start speaking from alignment as opposed from anxiety and things like that because obviously employees can get stressed out all the times and it's hard to manage everybody and make sure everybody's aligned all the times but is there any tricks that you've picked up over the years to
Paul E. McFadden (10:25.973)
Hmm.
Adam O'Leary (10:32.907)
that possible?
Paul E. McFadden (10:34.388)
Yeah, absolutely. as I think about how to embody this, that's where alignment becomes visible. The simplest ways to practice embodiment.
through micro-aligned moments. So a lot of times we think it's gotta be the big, it's the big idea, it's the big shift, it's the big practice. I hate to spoil it, but it's really about the small everyday decisions. They either strengthen or weaken our integrity. And as a leader, we have to embody that ourselves, because again, as I said before, our teams are looking at us to see how we handle situations, and they will tend
to handle the situation the same way. So for example, if you're really clear about your values and one of your values is presence.
then maybe we need to do some things to be intentionally present when we're with other people. So if we're in a meeting, we put the phone down. If you are meeting someone one-on-one, maybe come from behind your computer and stop looking at the email, right? It's the things that, you know, because if we say again, if I'm being present, I'm wanting to be a present leader, then you have to start doing the small thing to show your presence. If one of your values is growth,
then the question is what are you doing on a daily basis to grow yourself? Maybe invest 10 minutes a day doing some reading, doing some learning, picking up something that may not be related to your work. I these are things we've all heard in the past, right? Things that aren't related to our work, but that we were learning something new. If something is important to us like wellbeing, for example.
Paul E. McFadden (12:21.693)
Honor your reset. I set my schedule up in my calendar up such that I have time to actually do a reset after every interaction that I have with another person. And I block off the time on purpose. And that was something that was taught to me maybe 10 years ago. And at the time, I didn't know how important that was until I started hearing everybody talking about, I had these back to back, this, that, and the other. It's like, but if you owned your schedule,
you would never have that back to back because you have it already baked in. And so I get into the practice now of planning out the next three months. These are the times that I'm setting aside for myself, whether it's a meditation, whether it's just a reflection, whether it might be exercise. Maybe I'm going for a walk. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I set off blocks of time, 30 minutes here, 30 minutes there, so that I'm able to do the things to honor myself. And so
Leadership in itself is not sustained by grand gestures. It's built through consistent embodiment of values. And so when we do that, the culture starts to mirror you as the leader. Again, people don't rise to your words, they rise to your example. And that was something that I learned a long time ago by a man named General Colin Powell.
Adam O'Leary (13:43.821)
that people don't rise to your words, they rise by your example. That's fantastic. That is really cool. And for people, so I know that you've gone ahead and coached quite a few people on this. What sort of results have you seen from others implementing this and where should people go to learn more about you?
Paul E. McFadden (13:58.698)
Yep. So, wow, I've seen so much. I've seen leaders go from burned out to rediscovering their purpose. I've seen business owners doubling their team performance by just applying some simple re-alignment skills on how to lead.
I've seen individuals turn around and start jumping tiers of promotion because they started getting clear about what their values were and just aligning to the values of who they are as human beings. mean, just a couple months ago, I had a client say to me, I didn't just get my leadership back, I got my life back. And the reason why that's important is because, again, we compartmentalize.
Leadership is leadership. run these teams. run these organizations. I run a multimillion dollar organization. Yeah, but you're still a human being. And we can tend to allow those, our jobs, our titles, our...
responsibilities in the professional world rule our personal world. And then we look back on it 10, 15 years later, like what happened? I missed so much time. And so there's that reclamation of time as well. it's time, it's health, it's relationships. Those are the things that we get back. And that's the power in alignment. It ripples through every area. It's always connected. And so I would say for me, for those
who want to explore that concept deeper.
Paul E. McFadden (15:32.22)
They can start really simply. I've created something called the Executive Alignment Scorecard. And that helps individuals identify where they're strong and where they might be misaligned from a leadership perspective. It's free. And they can go to www.evolvingpotential.co slash exec hyphen scorecard. And they can take the assessment. takes about three, four minutes. And it includes the opportunity for
or a personal decoding session with me personally. So opportunities to learn and grow in the process, but you really have to start from the beginning, like where am I aligned and where am I misaligned? And then let's have a conversation about what we could do about it.
Adam O'Leary (16:17.846)
This has been amazing. Paul, thank you so much for joining me today.
Paul E. McFadden (16:21.449)
This has been amazing as well. hope everyone took some good notes from that and got some value out of it as well. I love it, Adam. I love it.
Adam O'Leary (16:28.599)
For sure we did. Too funny. Well guys, thank you so much for joining us today. Have a wonderful rest of your day and I look forward to seeing you in the next episode of Simple Wins.
