The Top 5 Signs That You're Stuck

How many times in your life have you heard someone say “I’ve got to get my act together”? Or you may have heard it expressed as “I need to get my priorities straight”.

Be honest now… How many times have you said these statements to yourself? How many times has someone else said them to you? I would imagine that over the years, it’s been quite a few times.

These self professed acknowledgements are sure-fire indicators that something is potentially out of balance in your life or in your work. Perhaps both. While there are numerous potentialities for what may be occurring (or not) in your life, there is a high likelihood that you are stuck in one form or another. Worse yet, you may not even realize it.

Following below are the Top 5 Signs That You’re Stuck:

You’re Floundering. The most common sign of floundering is indecisiveness. This typically takes the form of waffling about making decisions and initiating the actions that you deep down know must be taken. One part of you says that you don’t know what to do or aren’t sure about what to do. Conversely, there is another part of you that instinctively knows what the right thing to do is, yet you can’t seem to pull the trigger.

You’re Disorganized. When your normal state of organization deteriorates into an inefficient state of chaos it’s a sure sign that you are not coping well and that something is affecting your life to a significant degree that is sufficient enough to disrupt your ability to remain organized.

You’re Procrastinating. Putting off your least favorite tasks or chores temporarily while you work your way down to the bottom of your list is reasonably normal. However, when you start putting things off for longer periods of time or even indefinitely this is not normal. The problem with true procrastination is that you disproportionately skew in your mind that which needs to be done. You build the task into a monumental event far beyond the scope of reality, i.e. cleaning out the garage is going to take me all weekend and will cause me to not be able to play golf with my buds on Saturday. Plus I’ll miss out on… (You get the picture).

You’re Avoiding. The act of avoidance differs from simple procrastination in that is not merely circumstantial, rather it’s 100% “intentional”. In variably what you are avoiding has a clear consequence associated with it. Consequences are generally painful, which may not always impact just you. Often times, what you’re avoiding will also cause pain or disappointment to someone else.

You’re Distracted. There are times in life when you will find yourself in a state of “overwhelm”. In such circumstances your state of overwhelm is going to cause you to be easily distracted. When your conscious brain becomes overloaded it enters into search mode looking for a way out of the pickle you find yourself in. Everything then becomes a distraction which only serves to further cloud the issue of what to do next.

In that you are a perpetual work in progress, the reality is that you will never truly “get your act together”. You will however find yourself stuck in a ditch along side the road of life from time to time. While it’s never a pleasant experience to endure, you will in the end get through it.

The correct mindset to adopt when you find yourself in one of these roadside events that will actually make more sense than the aforementioned adage… is “To get your life back on track”. Don’t allow your life to get put on hold for any appreciable length of time. Call a tow truck (get real help), get yourself out of the ditch and get yourself back on the road of life. Then put your foot on the accelerator and get back up to speed.

In the process, you would be wise to heed adage #2 from the intro above and seriously consider what is genuinely “important” and further enhance your recovery process by prioritizing the most important issues and tasks that will get you back on track, back up to speed and back in control of your life.

Copyright © 2013 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

Hurdling Toward The Crossroad

In light of the tragic events which have now occurred at the Boston Marathon, the United States would be wise to heed the resounding warning of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who in referring to her own nation, keenly observed that “Unless we change our ways and our direction, our greatness as a nation will soon be a footnote in the history books, a distant memory of an offshore island, lost in the mists of time like Camelot.”

Nearly six decades ago many Americans who were enamored with President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jackie Kennedy, Caroline and John-John -- Affectionately referred to their all too brief tenure in the Whitehouse in the context of “Camelot”.

In the post war era of the mid 50’s and 60’s the every day life of America’s people was safe, secure and prosperous. If something such as Camelot ever existed for the average family, this was the time and this was the place. Wally and Beaver along with the rest of the Baby-Boomer generation grew up experiencing the epitome of personal freedom that today’s young people couldn’t possibly begin to conceive of.

Times have changed… The world has changed… Life as we once knew it has changed. Camelot is no more.

Margaret Thatcher will never pass this way again. She will be sorely missed, as her watch was one of true authentic leadership.

Of all the potential crises that we currently face, the single greatest crisis is the lack of authentic leadership in every arena of our modern society. Simply consider the events of “Leadership Gone Wrong” that have surfaced in just the past week:

Six prominent New York political leaders were arrested for election corruption.

In Cleveland a former Councilwoman and 4 other officials await sentencing on bribery charges.

The U.S. Department of Justice squandered 58 million dollars on extravagant conferences.

The IRS was rebuked for wasting taxpayer dollars on highly questionable video parodies of Gilligan’s Island and Star Trek.

And then… there was the Atlanta public school system "cheating scandal" which resulted in the indictments of 65 school system leaders.

Each one of these events is without question a result of broken leadership. Where there is faulty or inept leadership, companies fail and governments crumble. Simply stated, it’s referred to as “history”. When government officials find themselves incapable of appropriately solving the nation’s problems and in the process fail to adequately protect its citizens… then its leadership has unquestionably failed the people.

At such a juncture, neither an organization nor a country can stand united… it has become fragmented. People summarily fail to agree and consequently fail to act. The inappropriate events and actions listed above are but the tip of the proverbial iceberg. These are the capricious and selfish acts of elected government officials, business executives and civic leaders who abide by a single mantra… Look out for #1.

The United States was forged as a “republic” of the people… by the people… and for the people. The result of leaders who effectively abandon the interest of their citizenry and whose primary focus is the preservation and elevation of self -- Is that the people will ultimately be returned to the state of having to fend for themselves.

It is this writer’s opinion that we are all too fast hurdling toward this crossroad. I encourage you to join with me in praying for our country in accordance with II Chronicles 7:14. May God again bless the U.S.A.

Copyright © 2013 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved

How To Deal With Your Mistakes

In the game of golf they are called errant shots, while in business they are referred to as “mistakes”. Given that a considerable amount of business is conducted on the golf course, have you ever wondered why the game of business can’t be as forgiving as the game of golf?

While the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St. Andrews along with the PGA Tour may provide strict enforcement of the proper rules of golf, there is also the “gentlemanly” game of golf that so many business people and weekend hackers dearly love.

After all, who wouldn’t love a “do-over” at any level of life? For the typical golfer the “Mulligan” is an accepted way of life. Heck, in charitable golf outings they will even sell them to you for $5.00 a pop. The Mulligan is a beautiful thing!

Not only does it raise money for a worthy charity, it gives you the opportunity to screw up your golf shot and still get a free do-over. Now that’s a concept that I can get on board with. Seriously, think about it. What if you could call a Mulligan at work? What would that look like?

Whether your organization is on a calendar or fiscal year, at some point your revenue and sales cycle begin anew. From one perspective you are starting over with a clean slate, in essence a brand new start. Yet, you also have the benefit of all that you have learned and experienced over the course of the past year’s business operations. Gee, how fair is that?

If your organization actually learned something in the process, it might be highly valuable and fair for you and your staff. The valid question is… what have you learned from your successes and mistakes in the course of the past year?

The first thing that you should learn is that every member of your staff, including you, is human and will therefore make mistakes. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of “when”.

The second thing that you need to recognize about mistakes is that they have parameters:

Frequency: How often do you, your organization or people make mistakes?

Magnitude: How significant are these mistakes and how far reaching is their impact?

Recurrence: How repetitive are these mistakes?

As a leader it is your chief responsibility to remove the element of “fear” from your people’s psychic response profile. When people are focused on fear, they will ultimately under-perform due to their fear of making a mistake. Fear will also result in slower reaction times and impaired result outcomes.

Mistakes and the behavioral response to them is a critical factor in the organization’s development and its ability to drive out the fear of making impactful mistakes. The optimum time to address this element of fear is before potential mistakes even occur in the first place.

It is inevitable that mistakes will be made at all levels of your organization. The critical factor is how your organization chooses to handle and address mistakes when they do occur. Your response will directly contribute to your organization’s culture and should be readily considered as a part of your organization’s big picture.

When mistakes occur, discuss what happened with the people involved. Review the potential fallout from the mistake. Develop the appropriate actions to correct it. Then identify the root cause of the mistake and create a resolution to prevent future recurrences.

Lastly, realize that “rework” isn’t a Mulligan… It’s a costly accrual of materials and man hours to re-do the work and it will ultimately kill your profitability and bottom line.

Copyright © 2013 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

What Condition Is Your Condition In?

Have you ever had one of those times in life when something all of a sudden keeps popping up that you haven’t heard or thought of in years?

Of course, we all have at one time or another. Sometimes it’s a fond remembrance, while at other times it may be about one of the low lights in your life. Then, there are other times when something resurfaces that begs a question of us.

Such was the case in point this past week. The prerequisite thing that you should know is that I stopped listening to the “oldies” a long time ago for a number of reasons. Mostly because I firmly believe that my best days are still ahead of me… Not somewhere back there in yester-year. No “Old Time” lemonade for this dude.

Last Saturday evening due to a lack of televised boxing and not being quite ready to put my head on the pillow for the night, I found myself channel surfing of all things. I clicked on the movie The Big Lebowski and quickly found myself listening to the back ground lyrics of Kenny Rogers singing “I just checked in to see what condition my condition was in…” I instantly thought to myself, wow… that’s one I haven’t heard for a long time. Then I proceeded to surf on.

I next encountered a listing for a movie entitled “Fast” with Billie Bob Thornton and Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) which I had never watched before. When I clicked on the movie, I suddenly found myself again listening to Kenny Rogers singing “I just checked in to see what condition my condition was in…”

You should also know that I’m not one who is inclined to believe in coincidences, so when I heard Kenny Rogers for the second time it clearly got my attention… and it got me thinking about the state of condition that my life is in. From a general perspective I could say that “life is good” and I know that I have been very blessed. However, the longer that I contemplated what condition my condition was in, the more I became aware of things that needed to change in my life, as well as other things that needed to improve going forward.

At this juncture, my question for you my valued reader is… “What condition is your condition in?” What is the current state of your life? While I know that your life is hectic (and whose isn’t?) and that you probably stay quite busy being busy, when was the last time that you actually took the time to take a long hard look at yourself and at your life?

If you’ve ever been in a twelve step program of any kind or know someone that has, one of the primary steps centers around taking a fierce moral inventory of yourself. While it not a comfortable thing to do, it is the honest thing to do. So, I would ask you to be brutally honest with yourself… about yourself, by honestly answering the following questions:

What is it that you are procrastinating in doing? Why?

What is it that you are avoiding at all cost? Why?

What is the one thing that absolutely has to change in your life?

Why hasn’t it?

What are the consequences if it doesn’t?

Do you simply want to get through life any old which way that you can? Or do you really want to enjoy your life and the journey through life that you are already on?

If you want something more for your life, then you really do need to answer the question “What condition is your condition in”? And then you will also need to ask yourself one more question, which is… What condition to do you want your condition to be in?

Copyright © 2013 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

A Picture Of Happiness

As you travel about the streets of your town, would the average passer by’s first impression be that you are “A Picture of Happiness”?

I sincerely hope that they do, because how you carry and then present yourself to the world really amounts to nothing more that your own outward projection of how you actually feel about yourself on the inside. When was the last time that you took the opportunity to examine your attitude about “self”?

Are you happy with the person that you have become over time? Are you truly happy with your life? What about your career? Undoubtedly, your life is not perfect. Take heart… no one else’s is either. Everything doesn’t have to be picture perfect in your life in order for you to be happy.

Having and living a happy life is entirely about being comfortable in your own skin and allowing yourself to simply be “free to be me”. When you view yourself and your life from this perspective, it shouldn’t be hard at all to be happy.

Sadly however, research indicates that 2 out of every 3 American’s are not happy with the very lives that they were free to create for themselves. When you stop and consider that the divorce rate is nearly 50% and is according to experts rising, clearly there are a lot of unhappy people across the breadth of the U.S as well as globally.

So, here are some thoughts and tips that can help you and those whom you meet along the road of life to live a bit happier:

Decide To Be Happy Again. Struggle, adversity and tragedy are a fact and a part of life. As Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral has said for many years “Bad things happen to good people.” Just because you’ve experienced some bad things in your life… It doesn’t make you a bad person. You deserve to be happy, so choose to be happy starting today.

Appreciate What You Do Have. So many people spend their lives focusing on what they don’t have and much like the old analogy, they trip over dollars to pick up pennies, instead of learning to appreciate what they already have. In the end life isn’t about having everything, rather it’s learning to make the best of everything.

Live Your Dream. There is many a story book or movie that begins “Once upon a time…” and ends with “And they lived happily ever after.” You have the capacity to imagine, to dream and then create the life that you want to live. The trick is to learn how to be happy in the here and now, in order to be able to live happy in the ever after.

Be Happy On Your Own. It’s not the responsibility of other people to make you happy, nor you them. Rather it’s your responsibility to make yourself happy. After all, you’re the only one that actually knows what you want. When you learn how to be happy on your own, you’ll be far more prepared to be happy when the opportunity finally comes to share your life with that special someone.

Have Respect For Yourself. As your mom told you time and again when you were growing up, you have to give respect in order to get respect. Part of living a happy life is based in the beliefs and values that you hold, along with your ability to set appropriate boundaries for yourself and the others who you choose to make part of your life. Have enough respect for yourself to turn and walk away from anything or anyone that isn’t serving you well, growing you forward or contributing to your wholeness, health and happiness.

Lastly, take a moment to think back to a time when an attractive woman or a handsome man entered the room where you happened to be. Now think about what it was that you noticed about them. While it may have been their outward attractiveness and attire that first got your attention, what you actually observed was the radiance of their outward projection of their inner beauty, self-confidence and happiness with self.

I read somewhere that people are prettiest when they’re “happy”… and I would agree. A perky happy attitude and a cheerful smile are far more beautiful than anything you can buy at the cosmetic counter.

Copyright © 2013 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

The Top 5 Responsibilities Of Authentic Leadership

Allow me the opportunity to ask you this frank question… Who do you honestly believe to be a great leader?

What exactly is it about this person that makes you feel that they are a great leader? Is it because of specific characteristics, attributes or qualities that they exhibit? The fact is that great leaders are not all the same. Consider the likes of General George Patton, Coach Vince Lombardi or business innovator Steve Jobs.

Clearly, these three individuals were all great leaders in their own right and each of them in their own theater of life. Three remarkably different personalities with three remarkably different leadership styles… yet each of them highly accomplished and respected leaders. So, the question remains… “Why” were they such great leaders?

It is my personal belief that what made them such great leaders was their “authenticity” and their forthright commitment to take the responsibilities of leadership seriously. Following are the Top 5 Responsibilities of Authentic Leadership which are:

Be A Great Communicator. Clear and concise communication lies at the heart of every undertaking and is essential to the ultimate achievement of the organization’s goals and objectives. According to a Wall Street Journal survey of several years ago… The most important thing that employees wanted was “open communication”.

Be Authentic. True authenticity all comes down to own thing… You have to be the “real deal”. It starts with being who you already are complete with your strengths, weaknesses and yes, even your flaws. No one is perfect and your potential followers will not expect you to be. What they do expect is that you will be genuine in nature and conduct yourself congruently with your core values and beliefs. People want to know what it is that you truly stand for and should they share the same values and beliefs… Then they will choose to stand beside and with you.

Be Accessible. As human beings, everyone has times when they are unsure of themselves or are uncertain as to exactly what or how to do what they are supposed to be doing. People have questions, need direction, require encouragement, motivation, praise and more. There will be countless times when your people will need available access to you for your varied leadership abilities, inspiration and wise counsel.

Be An Example. The really great leaders are invariably those who make the conscious decision to lead by example. When it comes to authentic leadership, the picture truly is worth a thousand words. People take notice of the leader that walks his or her talk and who is willing to roll up their sleeves and help out when the going gets tough. So, choose to be the example that people will take notice of and then follow.

Be A Mentor and Coach. The truly great leaders are also great mentors and coaches because they take advantage of every available situation by turning it into a learning opportunity for their people and organization. In business, these are the leaders who build loyal employee bases who will then in turn not only love what they do and who they do it for… They will in turn build loyal relationships with the organization’s customers.

While there are literally hundreds of characteristics, attributes and qualities that can be observed in leaders from all walks of life, highly effective leaders key on the leadership attributes that best mesh with their personal strengths and their personal leadership style.

Your quest to grow your business and thereby create a high performance organization begins and ends with your ability to create high performance people through authentic leadership.

Copyright © 2012 Developing Forward  | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

America: Leadership In Crisis

You hear about it every day on television, on radio, in print and online. Failed leadership… faltering leadership… incompetent leadership… ineffective leadership and various other references for leadership that is simply no longer working or effective.

The leadership crisis is not just an issue in Washington, DC, it’s a global epidemic. From a national perspective the crisis is a lot bigger than the GSA or ICE. These agencies simply represent the tip of the iceberg at the federal government level. There are also a vast number of leadership crises in state government all across the country.

And the same holds true for county governments, city governments and local townships. For example, here at home you need only to think of the revolving door of the Town Manager position in Surfside Beach or the never ending story of the Mayor and Town Council in Atlantic Beach.

The leadership crisis is not isolated solely to government, it is just as rampant in business, industry and even civic organizations. So, the looming question is “why” is there such a glaring lack of qualified leadership?

Clearly this is a highly complex issue for which volumes could be written, so for now let’s keep it simple. Here are several straight forward perspectives for your consideration:

The first factor to consider with regard to the leadership crisis is that it’s very much a perception problem. When you see, hear of or encounter an individual who has for what ever reason been placed in a highly visible or high profile position -- You and the general public automatically view, consider and leap to the conclusion that this individual is in fact a leader. As well, you have been conditioned over time to also perceive that said individual is also a “qualified” leader.

In most cases… nothing could be further from the truth. The second factor to consider is that the vast majority of people who are perceived to be in a leadership role have never in fact had any formal leadership training.

The other critical factor which represents your third consideration is that there is very little leadership development training that is actually available. Virtually all of the leadership training that is available is in the form of 3 day seminars and 5 day conferences. Clearly these training vehicles do not provide enough depth or time to create viable leaders. Even renowned trainings such as Dale Carnegie and Disney are typically only 1 day to 5 day events. And if you happened to read my last article about seminars and conferences… then you are well aware that only about 2% of the training information presented is ever retained by the participants.

When you consider these three factors alone, it is easy to comprehend how our country has ensnared itself in a leadership crisis. Many of our viable and proven leaders are part of the Baby Boomer generation that has already retired or like Steve Jobs and others, have passed from this life. They are readily absent at a time when they are critically needed.

There was a time when leadership was about doing the right things, regardless of how difficult, for the right reasons. Leadership was about being willing to take on trying circumstances, execute the hard decisions and then accept full responsibility for them. These are the kind of leaders that we need now more than ever to heal our country, invigorate our economy, fuel business expansion and motivate our future generations.

Yet in the here and now, leadership seems to be doing everything but the right things. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us all as citizens and business professionals to start taking the role of leadership in our society more seriously than ever before. Begin now by taking a fresh look at what is going on around you and your family, your work and your hometown. Start the search for authentic people that have the potential to become authentic leaders and then truly do the right things for the right reasons.

And while you’re at it… start being a better example that others can take notice of and then follow.

Copyright © 2012 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.