This week’s BELL CURVE focuses on BEING TRUE TO YOURSELF
We are all human beings. Yet, we are all very different. But we all have three sides to who we are.
The Public facing side: The side we pridefully show the world. This public facing side is usually facing one way because, heaven forbid others see the rest of who we are. If and when they find out who we are, usually the Public will care as long as it takes for something else to come along and distract them.
The Personal facing side: This is the side we show those close to us. This personal side is usually what we show those we love or keep close. We do so without fear of it being used against us. Yet, there are those occasions where we are either mislead or others collect what we share only to use it as fodder when they
The third side of who we are is our PRIVATE facing side: This is the side what is within us. This side is who we are in our truest form. This private facing side is never revealed, sometimes not even to ourselves. This is called the PRIVATE side for a reason. We all have it. We all live with it. Here in the PRIVATE side resides all our deepest hopes, dreams, fantasies, resentments, and plots of revenge. For most people, that is where they stay.
Many live with all three sides out of balance and broken. They fear truths being revealed. They live in fear and are never happy. Individuals that do not fear being revealed live in balance. A balance that they have nothing to lose by letting in those that mean no harm. A balance by immediately dealing with those that mean them harm.
The balanced life comes from BEING TRUE TO YOURSELF, FIRST!
When it comes to leadership in all its varying forms and style nothing and I do mean NOTHING will beat the penultimate leadership style of LEADING FROM THE FRONT.
Up until recently, there were very few real world examples of LEADING FROM THE FRONT.
The current and most relevant example is Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Yes, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In the current situation with Russia invading Ukraine, the Zelenskyy is out there fighting to push back the invaders, he is also out there fighting on behalf of his country to more international support.
The Ukrainian President is out there, on the front lines, walking his talk. How many “leaders” do that on a daily basis. How many leaders, today, are willing to walk out there where the bullets are flying.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the definition of Leading From The Front. He is out there fighting for his country, his constituents, his family and for his life. He is the epitome of walking his talk. He could have opted to rule from behind a desk far from the fighting. Instead, he opts to walk out to where the bullets, mortars, missiles, and tank shells are flying.
Sure there are many politicians that “claim” they lead from the front. Without shame they claim that they are out there and “no one works harder for their constituents than they do”. Yet when the opportunity to go to the front comes, they go there in a chauffeured limo. Then the moment things look like they are going sideways these politicians duck back in, speed away. Soon they find comfort in their nice cozy, comfy office chairs as far away from the front-lines as they can get.
Then there are some political officials that will flat out ignore a direct order to go to the front-lines. When questioned about why they are not going to the front-lines, their only response is a dirty look and a “cackled” laugh. Next question, please.
So much for working hard or is it working hard at avoiding any hard work? I challenge anyone to prove me wrong or try to change my mind when it comes to those politicians.
But, this post is not only about politicians. It is also about business managers, military personnel and the countless others that want to be great leaders but do not want to put in the work. They may claim they are putting in the work but yet, they are continually found behind their desk managing by email or zoom or by text (this is the worst of all). Again, I ask how can you become great if you REFUSE to get your hands dirty.
Who does not want to be known as one of the great leaders of our time? I promise you this: The person is lying if they claim they do not want to be great.
Sure, some people may be satisfied with their life if they never are seen as great. Some may be perfectly fine if they can achieve some level of greatness. No matter if a little, some or none and sure as the sun rises, everyone wants to be great.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being great. As many have said (including myself) time and time again, to be great you have put in great work.
WORK! W-O-R-K!
There’s that nasty four-letter word. It will never go away especially when you want to do something and be something. You have to put in the work. THERE IS NO SHORTCUT TO BEING GREAT.
However, you can move the process along by getting out there and Leading from the Front and by leading from the front means you are out there ACTIVELY participating.
You are out there NOT getting in the way. You are out there not for a photo-op but to actually do something that is helping. The following is what you can do to become a great leader: • Stand Up • Step Up • Go To The Front-lines • Dig Foxholes, Fill Sandbags, Chop Wood, Carry Water • Stay Out of The Way
That is it. It does not get any clearer and better than that. Get To Work!
Thank you for your time and consideration, David G. Guerra, MBA
In the previous blog entry, I talked about how it was important to find the time. How everyone has the same twenty-fours and such. Now, I want to share with you about how to make that time. How to extract the time you need to expand on what is important while minimizing downtime. The next set of questions is where to extract the time from? What to do with that time? Then how install the coming change that implementing the new found time will most bring.
Making time and how to make that time is not an easy task. It is by no means anywhere close to being easy. Well, I exaggerate (a little). It is easy to make time if all you do day in; day out is waste time. If all you have in your life is time to goof around, play on the PS4, or go party with your friends, then yes making the time is easy. However, it becomes a difficult task when we are already doing the important work. The kind of work we do when we are in school, putting in the hours from 9 to 5, and those awesome side hustles. All that and then we feel like we are still spinning our wheels? Well, no need for the anxiety to set in. Taking a few common-sense approaches will help identify the time, adjusting the time, and implementing the time changes. Let’s get started:
AUDIT YOUR DAY, WEEK, MONTH, YEAR
Auditing your day may take some time to complete. As some days look the same as the previous day, I guarantee you every day is not the same but you know this. While you are auditing your day remember to note everything you from when you start working, what is the first thing you work on, when you take a break, what time you take lunch and so on.
Once you collect your data, next comes determining what works, what does not work, and what you want to start working on, among other things specific to you. Additionally, the audit data collected will also show you things you may not want to see or believe. Good or Bad, it is all a learning experience. A learning experience in that taking a step back will show us who we really are because in a day-to-day setting we are knee deep in the muck that we don’t see all that we really do because it is just the norm.
IDENTIFY WHAT CAN BE CHANGED THEN CHANGE IT
After collecting, sorting and dissecting the data there is a bit more work to do. Now the raw data is going to reveal the truth. The whole, good and bad, truth. The honest truth of what you have and have not been doing will be revealed. It is now the time to get to work.
Now is the time to identify what can be change. To do this, you will have to (honestly) determine what are you spending too much time on and not getting return on that time investment. Next, extract from the collected data what are you spending not enough time on but need to give more time to increase the return on the expanded time investment.
The final step in the identification process is to identify and create the CHANGE you feel (from your gut) you need to make. Having determined the time to be moved, shuffled, re-organized, re-prioritized, and re-distributed you are ready. Next, comes implementation and putting to work the impending change(s).
WORK THE PLAN
When it comes to implementing change in your life there are three trains of thought when it comes to implementing and working on the change(s): all at once, one thing at a time, or clustering the changes. The latter two are more apt to take root in that anything that does not appear right or appropriate can be worked on, modified, adjusted. Unfortunately, this is a luxury that does not accompany the “all at once” option.
Take that knowledge for what it is worth, acting on the change “one thing at a time” is my preferred method to deliver and act on change. It will certainly increase the level of buy-in and acceptance. Sometimes, the want to change is not enough. Whereas, through slow and deliberate actions in the way the plan is implemented and worked will increase success.
Once the first change is implemented then another can safely be brought in and implemented. By taking those slow, deliberate steps you are on the path to integrating the next change. The plan is to make the change an easy implementation of the changes to you, your life, your mission, and goals.
Throughout the entire process or working the plan you have another set of tasks to do. Those tasks are being constant and consistent when working on the fit that working the plan will make. Be careful for once you stop being constantly consistent is when you revert back to your old ways. You will be negating everything you have done up to this point.
The goal was to make the time to work on those things that will make a return on the time investment you make. The goal is also to minimize the continued action of those things that are not generating the kind of return you seek. Thus, it falls on you to stay the course, always. Staying the course of progress and change will most certainly ensure you are making the time. Isn’t that what success is all about?
