You can smell a drop of perfume trapped in a small room. Your dog can smell that same drop across an entire football stadium. But that’s not even the part that matters. Your dog smells the past, present, and future of every patch of grass you walk over. You smell grass. At best.

You and your dog can stand in the same exact place and experience two completely different realities.

You do the same thing with your team. You’re judging talent against the only sensory system you have. Your own.

My client Tessa almost fired one of her best account managers. Shy, analytical, has a stutter, prefers email. Not a culture fit, she told me. Then I learned he had the highest client renewal rate on the team. She was about to fire her own superstar because he didn’t smell like her.

In this episode, I unpack the dog-smell analogy, Tessa’s near-firing, the Unconscious Operating System that quietly filters out difference, why “strong culture” can mean “team that thinks exactly like me,” and how to spot the superstars you’re missing.

🎧 Press play. Find the ones you can’t smell.

In this episode:

▶ The dog smell stat that will reframe how you think about perception
▶ Tessa’s story: the account manager she almost fired
▶ Why your brain is unconsciously protecting you (and limiting your team)
▶ The Unconscious Operating System and how it shapes who you trust
▶ When “strong culture” really means “system that filters out difference”
▶ The superstars you’re missing: detail-oriented thinkers, quiet relationship builders, chess-move strategists
▶ The discomfort test: the person you find hardest to understand may be your most important hire

If you have a team member who makes you slightly uncomfortable, this one’s for you.

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Isn’t It Time You Got To The Next Level?

The Free Leadership Diagnostic Workshop >> Uncover the hidden patterns keeping you stuck. www.TheBestLeadershipCompany.com/leadership-diagnostic-workshop

The Best Leadership Newsletter Ever >> www.TheBestLeadershipNewsletter.com

Everything Else Jeff >> linktr.ee/jeffmatlow

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Show Notes

[00:00] Introduction
[00:48] Your Sense of Smell
[02:25] The Standard You’re Using Is Wrong
[05:16] Your Brain Is Protecting You
[07:23] The Superstars You’re Missing
[08:20] The One Who Makes You Uncomfortable

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#Leadership #LeadershipCoaching #ExecutiveCoaching #JeffMatlow #TheBestLeadershipPodcastEver #JudgingTalent #EvaluatingEmployees #UnconsciousOperatingSystem #HiringBlindSpots #DiverseThinking