553 Jeff Eschliman - Blueprints for Success in Work and Life

Speaker A: Welcome to the Fast Leader podcast where we uncover the leadership life hacks that help you to experience breakout performance faster and rocket to success. And now here's your host, customer and employee engagement expert and certified emotional intelligence practitioner, Jim Rimbach.

Speaker B: Call center coach develops and unites the next generation of call center leaders. Through our elearning and community, individuals gain knowledge and skills in the six core competencies. That is the blueprint that that develops high performing call center leaders. Successful supervisors do not just happen. So go to callcentercoach.com to learn more about enrollment and download your copy of the Supervisor Success Path ebook now. Okay, Fast Leader Legion. I'm really excited about the conversation that you're getting ready to actually watch or listen to, uh, because we have Jeff Eshelman on the show. Jeff, welcome.

Speaker A: Absolutely. So delighted to be here, Jim.

Speaker B: Okay, so Jeff was born in Fortuna, California, uh, and Jeff began his journey through life in a tight knit family. His early years were marked by the idyllic surroundings and the values instilled in him by his parents and are values that would shape his character and career. At the age of seven, Jeff's life took a significant turn when his family relocated to the arid landscapes of Mesa, Arizona. This move would lay the foundation for a lifelong involvement in the construction industry, mirroring the path carved by his father who was a house painter. Little did Jeff know that his first steps in this field would occur at the tendered age of eight, immersing him in the construction world well beyond or well before, uh, it was deemed appropriate. Growing up in Mesa, Arizona, Jeff absorbed, absorbed not only the wisdom and values of his parents, but also the practical knowledge and work ethic acquired on construction sites. He proudly shared his life with a younger brother who a skilled contractor and a sister who works with the police department. While Jeff openly admits to being a mama's boy in his early years, a transformative moment occurred when he stepped onto the football field in junior high. This newfound love for physicality and teamwork marked the beginning of a personal evolution that uh, would eventually lead him into a life of service. Jeff enlisted in the military before graduating high school. His service in the military exposed him to diversity, expanding his horizons beyond the sheltered life he had known in the Southwest. The pivotal moment of just military service came when he found himself driving an armored personnel carrier in Iraq. Facing overwhelming fear and doubt. The experience honed his leadership skills and instilled a profound belief in the importance of preparation and teamwork. Upon returning from military service, Jeff seamlessly transitioned back to the construction industry. Quickly rising through the ranks, Jeff eventually transitioned into leadership roles and ultimately the VP of Operations. Over the course of 30 years with the same organization, he nurtured and mentored countless individuals, witnessing their growth and personal development. Jeff views his impact on people as the closest parallel to the joy of watching his own children grow into responsible adults. Today, Jeff continues his share, uh, of to share his wealth of knowledge and experiences through podcast interviews, one on one coaching and consulting. Offering invaluable insights into leadership, teamwork and the importance of personal development. His story serves as an inspiration to others, a shining example of how dedication, resilience and a commitment to core values can lead to fulfilling life. Jeff currently resides in Mesa, Arizona and has three adult children and a 12 year old grandchild.

Speaker A: No, that's a 12 year old son.

Speaker B: 12 year old son. Wow.

Speaker A: And then, and then grandkids. Woohoo.

Speaker B: Awesome. Are you ready to help us get over the hump?

Speaker A: Let's do it.

Speaker B: Okay, so we had had ah, a brief conversation provide uh, uh, talking to us, you know, before recording. And um, there was a couple things that stood out to me that I really wanted to dig into because I think you can have some great impact here. Uh, and I had shared with you a recent article. I hadn't, I hadn't posted yesterday at the time of this recording. So it's going to happen in the next day or two, um, where it was talking about, you know, purpose. Um, and for me, I think so many times in our shortcut world we try taking things out of context. You know, while Simon Sinek and the whole purpose and why and all those things, you know, have you know, created a, I guess you'd say, uh, an opportunity for us to, to look at things a little bit differently. I also see a lot of it being taken out of context. So you actually talk about a one page plan in order to help a leader achieve success. And I would love for us to talk about that one page plan because I would dare to say it kind of addresses the issue of us wanting to find quickness, you know, and, and not, you know, convolution, uh, in regards to our, our movement forward, but then also gives people the understanding that hey, you're not going to get it all done in one page. So tell us a little bit about what is the one page plan.

Speaker A: So the one page plan for me and um, what I'm referring to is my one page plan for life. And that's what I share with my clients. And this is really just a direct lift from a business planning philosophy that we used in business, a one page strategic plan for business. And it was an epiphany moment for me when it was probably, you know, the last day of March maybe 15 years ago, and I was up late in the evening like trying to knock things out. And the reason I know it was the end of March is because it was the end of a quarter and I worked for a public company and there I was well beyond bedtime, working on things, trying to make sure that I was, you know, we had a leadership meeting the next day and so I was trying to check those boxes and make sure that I had everything in line for my business duties. And it dawned on me. I'm like, why, why don't I do this in my own life? Why don't I have things that are related to my personal fitness or my role as a father or anything else? Like why am I not up late at the end of a quarter, like working really hard on my life in addition to my business, which is a big part of my life. And so I started using this planning philosophy and then the specifics that are on the one page plan, uh, and we'll talk about purpose, I'm sure for sure, because that's on the one page plan. But it also has things like your core values and your. So what's important to you? Like we talked, you, you mentioned all those foundational things for me from my upbringing. But then you also have core competency. So what are you good at? And when you can overlap those things, like what's important to you, what are you good at? And then you can create that into your purpose. And I'll tell you the, the purpose statement for me alone in my one page plan tells me as much about what I'm not going to do as what I'm going to do.

Speaker B: I think that's a really important point, especially when we start talking about, you know, emerging, um, female leaders.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker B: Um, you know, they, they may have other responsibilities, you know, outside of the workplace. And you know, for the longest time, you know, uh, it has been a situation where they've been, um, looked at lesser than. Because of that. Oh, well, you have limitations. So therefore I can't, you know, see you moving into this particular role response and all that shifting.

Speaker A: Thanks, Thankful.

Speaker B: But if you could and if you're willing to share a little bit about what you were talking about as far as the framework of that one page plan.

Speaker A: Sure. And so it, it again starts with the core values. And so I have the things on there, you know, uh, let's just use well being to start with. So I personally have a philosophy around my own well being. I don't know if you're familiar. So there's heroes, right? Think about like killer of bad guys, you know, like who's on the TV screen. But the true root of hero I love, which is Greek, which is heroes, which that definition literally means protector. And the signature strength of a hero, that is a protector, is you have strength for two, which is strength for you and something like strength for you and a child strength for you and a business strength for you and is a, uh, next level leadership strength for you and your significant other. So if you're going to have strength for you to start with, you have to start with the core foundational things about your own personal well being. Be it physical, be it emotional, be it spiritual, the whole person concept. And if you don't have strength for you, and that's when we get to the Zen for success formula. We'll talk about really being intentional about who you are and how you're showing up. Because it, you, you cannot be the, you cannot be a really good leader and sustain that over time if you're not taking care of your own personal well being. Again, physical, mental, spiritual, all these things coming together, you know, any.

Speaker B: And you sit there and say that and I start thinking about, um, how even look at that, you know, female situation, you know, I have to be stronger than I have to, you know, take care of all of these other things. If not, I won't. I mean, all of these types of things that oftentimes we put barriers upon ourselves which, which contribute to that whole well being piece. So sorry, you know, hey, I can only get four hours of sleep a night and that typically is not very good. Well, that well being, you just shot it. Um, right. Because sleep is so important to us.

Speaker A: Correct.

Speaker B: Uh, and so I started looking at, you know, all of these components and I start thinking about, okay, this is, this is foundational. This can't happen, you know, unless this happens before it. And so like, for example, you know, to me, I think sleep is so important and oftentimes it's so underrated.

Speaker A: Sure.

Speaker B: Um, you know, if I start looking at this rank of importance, does that come out to play or it's one of those situations where, you know, you have to do it all.

Speaker A: No, it absolutely comes into play. And just like you, you just use the statement that I use all the time, which is, sleep is the most important thing that at least in my mind looks like it is the most highly underrated attribute in anybody's, let's call it day to day, right? And so we didn't talk about my carpe diem and maybe we can go there or maybe later. But carpe diem is what we do every day matters, right? And it is things like sleep and it's whatever your spiritual practices, meditation, prayer, quiet time, gratitude, you fill in the blanks on what resonates with you. But if you don't do things like that on a day to day basis and build yourself a strong foundation and discipline, you will succumb, right? And just like you mentioned with that, you know, mother scenario, right? And if, if you're going to sacrifice your sleep, whether it be for your child and let's face it, like sometimes that happens, right? And it might be okay if that happens one day, but if it happens a week in a row, you're not going to be at, ah, your best, right? And then how do you go up and how do you go out and show up in the world? And the, the term that I use, Jim, is roles. So I have all these roles in my life like father and grandfather and coach and all these other things. And, and those things have to be taken in totality because life doesn't stop after you've gotten, gotten a bad night of sleep and life doesn't stop after you've gotten a week's worth of bad sleep. So understanding the ramifications of how any of these things, that's, that's why that whole, you know, we, we were kind of goofing on work life balance. That's, that's why it doesn't work because their, their life is always coming at you fast.

Speaker B: Well, and I think that gets into what you were referring to, how it's just as important to say no and knowing where you stand, uh, so that you don't get pushed over on your. No, go into that a little bit deeper please.

Speaker A: Sure. And, and so let's use that, let's use that mother analogy, right? And so in today's society, we want to be it all, we want to be the best leader, the best mother, the best. You know, I'm out there doing work in my charities. I'm trying to, you know, learn myself. I'm trying to be a good spouse, all of these things. And it is possible to keep those things out in front of you if you're working a system. But then we all realize that it doesn't take very long to get any of those things out of shape and just, just take the Classic example, you know, the richest man in the graveyard, right? So you see these really busy executives that have created all kinds of quote unquote success in their life, which would be monetary success or a business that's thriving and things of that nature, but they don't have their physical health. And uh, I, uh, tell you just quite honestly, they, that's who a lot of my clients end up becoming is folks that are quote unquote successful financially, but they've got other parts of their life that aren't going so well. And it's crazy to be in your late 40s or early 50s or whatever and have great money and a great business and all that, but you couldn't even take a week to travel or you can't even take time to go to the golf course and play or whatever your thing is. It, it, it's crazy that you've built so much success in one area and then you have other areas that are, that are failing. And that's kind of my specialty is helping people get that all sorted out.

Speaker B: I'll share with you a good story. Uh, I know somebody who took on a new role with a particular organization and is working with the um, essentially an owner group. Um, and there's about 500 different people because they're a very large organization, um, working with this owner group and had started meeting with a lot of them because of the type of work that was involved with the job. Uh, and then started learning how old they were, you know, and then seeing them and it's like, oh my gosh, you know, I cannot believe you're only in your 50s because you look like you're in your 70s.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: And kept seeing that over and again and it was, it was just kind of shocking it and it took him a back to say, oh my, you know, and these people, part of their badge of honor is, you know, I work you know, 18 hour days.

Speaker A: That's, that's not. Everybody knows that's not sustainable. So, so why do people do it? It's just because that's what, you know, if you, if you want to fall prey to, you know, what, what the social media and you know, will tell you is popular or the way that you have to do it. Like that's why the one page plan is so important because it, it grounds me in the reality of my own values. Again, go back to the core, which is values and competencies and the things. And the, the overarching word that I use, Jim, is just intentionality. So if we're intentional about what we want to show up in our life and how we want to show up for our life. That's the, that's why the one page plan for me is the North Star. It, it guides me on where I'm

Speaker B: going and I'd love to get your perspective. We kind of, uh, I opened this up a little bit before you, before we started recording is, is, um, you know, we, we talk about this whole why piece. Uh, and you know, the one page plan has a lot of the why in it, but we also have to have a certain reality component that's involved with it. Uh, otherwise, you know, again, I think it takes us, you know, off, off base, we lose our foundation. Uh, and to explain that a little bit more is, you know, we've been conditioned and have been told, you know, since we were little kids, you can be and do anything you want. The fact is, when you start breaking it down, that's not true. We have certain skills that we've been given and certain things that we have not been given that, yes, we can maybe get better at them, but if we put more effort into those things, we're going to diminish our ability to get stronger at what we are already good at. Uh, everybody has different starting points. So finding our why, if we're talking about it being values based, that's one thing. But if we start saying, you can be anything you want to be, and I want to be, you know, President of the United States, well, when you're a kid, hey, that's great, go for it, right? You know, but when we start getting older and we start learning things about ourselves and our, our personalities and our skills and abilities and things like that, we have to really start talking about, okay, now what's reality here? Reality is. Well, yeah, uh, you know, being, being the President of the United States would be fantastic, but I don't think that's, that's where I'm going, you know, I don't want to go there. So at some time reality has to set in because it also helps us to build some resilience to say, okay, so let's be realistic. You know, let's, let's do some of that, you know, self, uh, you know, analysis and actualization to start, you know, really. And we don't do a good job of teaching our young people that. And then they get into the workforce and the same thing just, you know, it just starts happening over and over again. And so that's why you oftentimes and senior people will complain about these new people who Come in the job, they want to be in the executive suite in two weeks. Well, it's because we haven't given them, you know, some real, you know, realistic, understand, you know, expectations and understandings of, you know, what is needed in order to find that success. Right. Um, and you know what, if you still want that as a goal, it still may not happen here, you know, but. Okay, so we'll help you to develop those skills and abilities, you know, so that you can continue to your journey wherever it may be. And that's a, also, that's the insecurity point for a lot of organizations. But, you know, it also creates a lot of positive goodwill that they don't see oftentimes. So where we're going is so critical. It's not just the why, but where we're headed. Because if not, how many people have you seen like you were talking about, okay, you know, I have a, I have a retirement age. I'm hitting retire. Well, what am I going to do next? I don't know. Or they're in it and they're like, I don't know where I'm, um, going. Right. And so, ah, help us understand the destination and the waypoints, you know, and how that all fits into the one page plan.

Speaker A: Sure. So that gets into a term that I love to use, which is speculation. So I always the, the one page, the last two pieces, in addition to the purpose and core values and all that on the one page plan are a set of yearly goals and then a set of monthly goals that I, uh, update monthly in my personal version. The business version would be one year goals and then quarterly goals. So living outside the one page plan, but in a place that I call speculation. And I'm a big fan of five years. So I have goals right now on my list. I think I have three things on my list that go beyond five years. I'm in my early 50s. Right. So that list of things that went beyond five years used to be a lot longer when I was younger, like before I purchased my first home or, you know, things of that nature. So. Tom. But let's talk about speculation. So that's going out into the future and deciding what you want it, uh, to look like. And I'm always a big fan again of starting with these foundational, fundamental things. Like I have a statement written down for myself that says, I am an elite athlete. Now, I don't compete in sports. Well, I compete in some, but I, but my vision for myself is to be an elite athlete and I'm in my early 50s. But this vision goes out far beyond where I'm at right now because that's when, uh, that's what's going to have me healthy and fit and active when I'm into my 60s and my 70s is when even in my early 50s, I feel like I want to be an elite athlete. And so specifically, when you go out and speculate, you can speculate, let's use career. That's where a lot of probably the audience is focused. But I wanted to start with a, uh, foundational, fundamental like health and fitness. Because if you want to be a great emerging leader, you want to be a great, you know, high level leader in the future, have your body, have your mind, have all of that. Right? Because that's what's really going to set you up for success. And then if you can create that vision for yourself. And I, I think it was Tony Robbins, Jim, that said people way over, uh, they way overestimate what they can get done in any average year, but they way underestimate what they could get done in a decade. And so if you're in your 20s, just out of college and just starting your career, you're in your 30s or your 40s, and you can think 10 and 20 years out there in advance and paint a picture about what your life can look like being successful for yourself and your family, being successful for a business that you work in or a business that you create. When you go out there and create that vision, to me, that's the thing that gives you the, you know, the kind of Simon Sinek, you know, candy version of what your big why looks like. But I'm more into operationalizing it when you can put yourself in that position and in the future and you can decide, uh, because I want everybody to decide what their own version of success looks like and then given the tools to help them create that, that's what I find so special.

Speaker B: And I think that level of clarity, which is also a skill that we need to develop.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: Um, and having this framework that you're talking about will allow us to do the most important part. How do we take some of these visionary things and then tactically apply it for, you know, every single day all along the way of this journey. Uh, okay, so you talk about this Zen for success model and so help me understand how the one page, you know, actual, um, plan and this Zen for success model kind of fit with one another.

Speaker A: Sure. So again, the one page plan is the North Star. That's the one that's kind of guiding me to where I want to go. And then my tagline for the Zen for success is checking out so you can check in. So what are you checking out on? You're checking out on everything that is your day to day life. So I, and I don't recommend this. I mean, I recommend the process to my clients, but nobody does exactly what I do chapter and versed. I just share the tools they implemented in their life very idiosyncratically. But I take an entire day off. And I've been doing this now for over 15 years. So I take an. And it only worked for me when I did a workday. I took a vacation day and took it off. And I spend the entire. And everybody in my, My spouse knew, my kids knew, my business knew on my day. As in, you're not getting me, you're not getting my attention. And like, does that sound selfish? Well, certainly. And I make absolutely no apology. It is selfish and it is critical. And so I have so much going on in my life with my business and all of these. Remember, I used the term before roles. I'm a father, a grandfather, a coach, a spouse, a mentor, a friend, a son. I'm, um, all of these things. And we know how, you know, we were just using that example before. Life is coming at us really quick and it doesn't stop. So unless you have an intentional process of where you can stop that system. The term that I like to use, Jim, is white space. And so what the day of Zen allows for me is white space. And it allows me white space to do two different things. My scripted plan. The first half of the day, all I do is review the previous month. So Friday, I don't, uh, I don't, I can't remember. Anyway, the last typical, like Friday of the month is when I do my day of Zen. And I'm looking at this, you know, this month of September that we're in right now. And I'm going to go through all my written goals. And I have more written goals than anybody I've ever met in my life. I actually have about two or three times more written. Now, I don't know everybody, but I know a lot of people and I have three times more written goals than they do. So here's the other thing. Like, about 70 to 75% of the time, I achieve my goals faster than I write them down, like in smart fashion. And now that's only 15 years of data and one person doing it. But I think, I don't know that I've perfected The system, but I've gotten really, really good at it. And then the second half of the day after you've reviewed all that, and I'm talking about all the vital metrics, so like how much Money's in my 401k and what's my body fat percentage and all that and all those written goals. Like I said that I was going to connect with my son Brian more intentionally in September. He's an adult son, has grandkids, that kind of thing. So life changes, right? And again, that's a part of this process. And so the second half of the day I build a plan to crush the next month. And uh, we're only halfway through September as we record this and I'm pedaling my butt off right now to get all of those things done. And then the last piece of white space. So that's the white space to do the work on a month to month basis. But the other white space that affords you is like, when do we get the time in our lives to even think about like things that pop up in our world? Let's say you've got a child and all of a sudden they start, you know, struggling in a subject in school and you need to figure out like, how you're going to come alongside them to get that done. Is it going to be you? Is it going to be hire a tutorial, how's that going to work? Or in my particular case, I've got parents that are aging. Like they're getting to the point where there's going to be something happen where their lifestyle is going to change and we're going to need to make decisions as, as kids about, you know, how we're going to support them. When do you have time? I, uh, mean, everybody thinks I'm going to do this on Saturday. I'm going to carve out like 45 minutes between the soccer game and the, you know, and then, you know, and it doesn't happen because by the time you get to Saturday and you put your feet up, you're like, oh my gosh, I haven't taken five minutes with my feet up for me in two weeks. And like, oh, I was gonna all of a sudden start working on my, you know, ah, aging parents program. It's like you, you gotta kind of be real with yourself. So creating white space and a space where busy people and, you know, it's seemingly everybody in our, in our world today are busy people. So again, if you don't have intentional processes and systems that you can lean on to get your own, you know, mental capacity figured out. That's why there's so much value for me in this, in the Zen formula.

Speaker B: Well, even as you're sitting there and you're kind of rolling through this, I'm like, a lot of people, what they would do is if they take the day off, because they finally have to, so they spend the day actually doing things that they haven't been able to accomplish and it's just a task ridden, you know. Okay, finally did this. Finally did this type of day. Sure. That's not what you're saying.

Speaker A: No.

Speaker B: Uh, also, um, I think it's really important for us to, to fully understand the power of our minds and, and the power of the brain. Talking about that sleep. Why sleep so important? It actually, they've proven it. Your brain continues to help to solve problems that you have during your waking hours.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: Uh, it helps with the whole, you know, renourishment and replenishment from a physical. I mean, there's just so many things that occur. The science doesn't lie.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: Um, and then when you start also referring to this whole, okay, let's review the back now, let's go forward. Uh, if we, if we don't do that, our brain isn't focused in on accomplishing things and then we get to the end of the month, it's like, well, I don't even know what I did. It just flew right by cruise control.

Speaker A: Right. How many people do you, uh, you know, do you ever hear where they say, like, oh my, like, where did September go? Right? And it's like, well, if, if you tear it off the calendar and throw it in the trash can, like, it's gone. Right. So if you don't have a process to look out to the future and decide who you're going to be and what you're going to be and when you're going to be it, guess what? Like, life's just going to happen.

Speaker B: I don't know where I'm going and I don't know how I'm going to get there. Right. Okay. I think, I think it's critically important. What people don't realize is, especially if you're in a leader role, uh, and leader, you know, it's personal and professional. Like you're talking about. Maybe I'm, you know, a leader in the volunteer work that I do. You know, all there's all. I mean, we lead in a lot of different ways, is that if we don't do this type of work, we could be impacting the life and livelihood of several hundreds, if not thousands of other people. It's a full, it's a, it's a force multiplier scenario.

Speaker A: Absolutely.

Speaker B: The things I even say from a, from a, um, you know, overall creative thinking and innovative perspective, as well as trying to help to develop others, is that if you're not filling your own well, how do you expect anybody to draw from it?

Speaker A: Right. The, the analogy I like to use for where you're going here, Jim, is like, when you are the leader, and this is what I'm coaching other leaders on, is if you're having a bad day and that spills over into one of your next level leaders, how many times do they get your attention in any given day? Like when you're having a bad day and you show up as that less than your best person and maybe, uh, you don't even have to take it out on them, but if you just show up out of sorts, you're demonstrating something to your next level leader, and that might be the one interaction that they have with you in that day, might be the one interaction they have with you that week. And, and that is a powerful negative thing. But you can also use it, again use my word, intentional. You can also use it as a powerful positive. Like whenever you're taking anybody's time, especially your next level leaders, if you can show up as your best self and inspire them, guess what? You're gonna. When they walk out the door, they're taken with them a positive image of inspiration.

Speaker B: Well, okay, so. And, uh, I think it's also important to. Because you and I had a discussion and I talked about. One of the things that I see we take out of context a lot of times is when we refer to having or holding our people accountable and when our day is off, uh, typically what happens when we start talking about holding people accountable, it ends up, you know, in some type of discussion that is just riddled with frustration and some type of, you know, demeaning and eroding type of behavior because we're upset, you know, and then therefore I'm going to hold them accountable. Uh, and if we think about it from a mental picture perspective, for a lot of organizations, uh, and for many people, uh, that are in a leader role who either have their day off or haven't done many of these other things, um, holding people accountable is very punitive and very degrading and it can become extremely toxic. Um, so I want to see what your perspective is on when you say holding people accountable, what that means. And I'd like you, to start with, because I think we've already kind of been talking about it. Um, it's starting with holding ourselves accountable, certainly.

Speaker A: Right. And, and I, I'm a, I'm a, I'm novice practicing stoic, but I'm, I'm really keen on that value set of knowing what you can and knowing what you can't influence, and then really taking charge of the things that you can, which really start with your own mindset. That's what leads to the actions you take. That's what leads to the habits you have. And if you, if you reap the habits, then you'll reap a life that looks like your habits. And so having your own mindset right in the beginning and, and you always looking in the mirror. One of the tools that I give emerging leaders and I give myself as a little handheld mirror, and I say all of your problems and all of your solutions are in this mirror. All you have to do is look into it deeply and decide what you're going to do next. That is where all of your problems lie, and that's where all your solutions will lie, is in this mirror. Now, that's tough for some people to take, and that is a literal muscle that you have to build, but believe me, it can be built. And so holding people accountable can be all that negative stuff that you just mentioned. And for a lot of business today, uh, you know, I'm not naive. That's how it works. Now, that's not my version of holding people accountable. My version of holding people accountable is when you make, and I called my leadership style, expectations, leadership. Tell people what I want. Tell them. Tell them. Tell them. Um, remind them. Remind them. Now, you might notice that I said tell them three times and I only said remind them twice. Because when I say tell them, I mean setting crystal clear expectations with your team about what the objectives are and getting their buy in. When you start the mission, that's critical. And then you go through the process and, and you have a remind them opportunity. Right? And I said a lot through my whole career, I'll hold somebody's hand if they need it, or I'll put my foot square in there, you know where. Right? And I'm capable of doing both, and I will do both. But where I really found it playing out more often was the support piece. Right? And then of course, there's dynamics that happen outside the role. I mean, the last two or three years of my career were the worst that I ever had with the global pandemic and supply chain. Things they, they put more stress on an industry, they put more stress on our globe than anything that I had faced in my career. And so there were oftentimes that were things that were again, very stoic and outside of our literal control. But we still have to pull every lever and every switch that we can within our control. And I think that's a pretty big place where when you think about like, uh, well, let's stop using the word control. Let's use the word influence. When you pull the liver levers and switches of things that are in your influence, and I like to use the term the world, you have the world, which is all this stuff that's playing out in front of us. And then we have our world. Right, like our kids are in our world. My leadership team is in my world. You don't often have to go. Matter of fact, it works a lot better if you don't worry so much about the world and what your impact can be there if you're focusing more on your world and what you can do actionable to influence, influence yourself, your own mind, your own thinking, your own actions, and then influence your team again, leading by example.

Speaker B: Uh, thanks for that clarity in that. Because I mean, for me, I, I think oftentimes again we like shortcuts and we like to just get to certain, you know, things that, that, that we want to get to. And one of the things that I think drives all of this from a security perspective is control. And most of the time if we don't get all of these other things straight, we don't have a one page plan. We are absolutely out of control and don't even realize the reasons.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: So I would dare to say you have some common things that you come across when we're, you're working with different, you know, different leaders. Um, and looking at your military background, one of the things that I've kind of clinged on to in the past, you know, couple years is, is actually a military leadership strategy that was made popular, uh, back in the 1980s and it was picked up again by some of the larger consulting firms talking about, you know, the marketplace environment. And they refer to this Ackerman acronym called VUCA V U C A which is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Um, and I jokingly say, well, you know what, that was yesterday, and you know what, it's today and it'll be tomorrow. Um, and the reality is it's accelerating, um, with no end in sight. And it comes back to what you're, you're referring to in regards to then I need to make sure that my world um, you know doesn't have a scenario in a situation where the whole vuca things takes over and I spiral. Right. Um, that's what I can control. I can control my responses, I can control you know, my action, my overall action. I um, can, I can um, affect and impact my intent. Ultimately though the outcome, it ain't mine. So if you start talking about the control element, especially in single, single uh, you know senior, senior level leaders, what would you tell emerging leaders in regards to uh, their thinking in regards to control.

Speaker A: So again very self directed. So if you as a leader I uh think if you always start with yourself and how am I showing up and what's my skill set and if you start there from a personal development standpoint. We talked a little bit about this back when you were talking about the Simon Sinek and the why and the word that I wanted to use there was awareness. And that's the biggest thing that I try to encourage next level leaders to. And uh, again that's a part of that hole. Zen for success is you're very reflective in that time and understanding in your own self awareness of where your skill set has you on very fundamental things. Take communication for example. That is one of the most fundamental elements of a leader is how well you communicate. And I always say communicating starts with listening. So that is the keystone habit of a good communicator is your ability to listen. And what I mean by listen is hear what somebody is saying rather than just seeing the words come out of their mouth. So being a good active listener. And then communicator means the other direction. So when you're communicating, how do you do it in text, how do you do it in email, how do you do it in a one on one conversation with your direct report? How do you do it when you're standing in front of the company and you're giving news, good news, bad news, you're probably whenever you're standing in front of a group and you're giving a report out, there's probably going to be some of each, right? And how you deliver that message is critical. So for something like communication, just understanding what your own abilities are and wanting to improve those. So if you start with the awareness that says hey, I can craft a pretty good email but when I go and my boss wants me to stand up and do the report out for my division or my department, I'm uncomfortable getting in front of a group of, you know, more than five or six people. So so are you going to put it on your list to go find yourself, your local Toastmasters group and find a way to stand up in front of a group of 20 people and be able to think on your feet and deliver an effective message. You either will or you won't. You either know about that. How many people know about Toastmasters and don't use that as an opportunity to bolster their own skill set? So again, it's awareness, it's understanding where you are. And then I believe Leadership 101 is demonstrate what you want more of. It's Gandhi 101. Right. So be the change that you want to see. If you want more communication in your organization and I mean even if you're the line level leader and your supervisors don't communicate so well, why don't you be the one that stands out for the group and model the way for where it can go?

Speaker B: Yeah, modeling is extremely powerful. And a lot of times we choose to tell because you know what, I'm in a hurry. Um, you may be able to accomplish something in the short term, but it might come around and boomerang you. Um, but you're definitely not making any impact for the long term.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Um, and that whole, like you said, I though you could get there to that five year, uh, you know, objective that you were talking about. But it's. Unfortunately it's not. We don't do that in our default way. We don't do that by looking at what other people are doing. Because what we've really been talking about is, you know, how, how do I become exceptional? Exceptional for me and exceptional for everyone else. It's doing these things right. Fat. And so we, when I was always a little bit of a twist on the fast leader, um, is that when you start talking about being a fast and successful leader, it isn't by taking the shortcut, no by doing it the right way. And things just magnify and compound and accelerating and velocity increases and all of a sudden like, um, you know, um, I can't speak to her day to day, you know, but my niece just, uh, got double promoted in two phone calls. One phone, we promoted you. 30 minutes later they called her, said, actually we moved you up yet again and became a senior level analyst. Um, and so it's like, how does, how do those things happen? It's by what she's doing every single day all along the way. Um, and she's disciplined in that. She was also a college athlete, soccer, um, player at the D1, D2 level.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: But it's you know, it's like, okay, she, she has a plan, she executes it, uh, and she continues to, you know, have people be able to witness how she's modeling it. They're like, you know what? I want you to be leading other

Speaker A: people because you model things well, where preparedness meets opportunity.

Speaker B: Absolutely. Okay. So when I started looking at, you know, the work that you've done, the backgrounds and experiences being with one organization, working, you know, with the people who you're working with now, I start thinking about, you know, also the kids and the grandkids and, and I'm like, what is possibly one of Jeff Eschelman's goals?

Speaker A: Yeah, right now I'm, I'm on a intermittent, uh, fasting kick. I, I, so I'm, I'm again in this self awareness mode. So I've hit kind of a plateau in my nutrition where I've been following essentially the same, it was called Body for Life that came out like in the 90s. And I've been following this, you know, like six small meals per day philosophy and kind of, you know, under not understanding, but, you know, hearing about intermittent fasting, um, but actually implementing them. I, I implemented it in May, and here I am in September and I'm, I'm off the plateau. I'm now climbing the mountain. So that's a great example of like a fitness example or health example that I'm doing right now. And I'll, I'll tell you just real quickly how I got there. I was going to my regular doctor, my regular, you know, getting my yearly checkups. And what I found myself is like, they're going through like, all the check boxes of things of like, I don't need and like, okay, your body weight's fine and you're, you don't take any medications and this kind of thing in my early 50s. And they're like, okay, Jeff, you're healthier than almost everybody that comes in here that's in their early 50s. And for me, it was like a wake up call. I'm like, you know what I need? I need to go see a different doctor, a different kind of doctor. And so I went and searched out like a naturopathic doctor who, you know, sat down with me for 45 minutes and asked me questions about my whole lifestyle and how I feel and all these things, because I think if you want something different, you need to do something different. And so just that also speaks to not just getting complacent. Like, it did feel good for me to have that doctor say, like, hey, you're in your early 50s, and you're healthier than almost everybody I see in here that's a male in their early 50s.

Speaker B: And.

Speaker A: And I felt good about that, but that doesn't feel good enough because, again, you know, there's this. Not again, but there's a gap between who we are and who we're being and who we're really capable of being. And that is my kind of holy grail, is trying to figure out what that gap is in my own life and trying to minimize that through my own skills and my own actions. And so far here today at 53, like, I, uh, haven't been able. I haven't literally. Jim, of all those goals that I write down, I have never, with a capital N written something down coming off of my hand in a pen that I haven't been able to make happen. And that is, like, fun and scary all at the same time, like, in a cool way. So.

Speaker B: And the fast leader Legion, wishes you the very best. All right, here we go. Fast leader Legion. It's time for the Home and Hump Day hoedown. Okay, Jeff. Jeff, the Hump Day hoedown is a part of our show where you give us good insights fast. So I'm going to ask you several questions, and your job is to give us brief but robust questions that are going to help us move onward and upward faster. Jeff Esterman, are you ready to hoe down?

Speaker A: Let's do it.

Speaker B: All right. So what is holding you back from being an even better leader today?

Speaker A: Holding me back from being a better leader? My own voice. And so breaking through the kind of diatribe of what's on social today and being a more effective speaker on social.

Speaker B: What is the best leadership advice you have ever received?

Speaker A: The best leadership advice I've ever received is the one that I mentioned before, which is demonstrate what you want more of.

Speaker B: And what do you feel is one of your best tools that helps you lead in business or life?

Speaker A: The best leadership tool that I've ever gotten is around expectations, like setting higher expectations for yourself and then for your team, because if you've built a great team, they will be more apt to strive for that higher expectation.

Speaker B: And what would be one book you'd recommend to our legion, and it could be from any genre, the book that

Speaker A: I would recommend for sure on leadership is the John Maxwell Five Levels of Leadership. I think it's a great outline, and it has very pragmatic steps on what you can do as a, uh, an emerging leader to be successful.

Speaker B: Okay. Fastly Legion. You can find links to that and other bonus information from today's show by going to fastleader.net Jeff Eisleman. Okay. Eschleman. Uh, okay. And how you spell that, uh, is quite unique, so let's make sure that we get it right. It is E, S, C, H, L, I, M M A, N. Okay, Jeff, this is my last hump day. Hold on. Question. Imagine you've been getting the opportunity to go back to the age of 25 and you can take the knowledge and skills that you have now back with you, but you can't take it all. You only take one. So what skill or piece of knowledge would you take back with you and why?

Speaker A: It's to reflect like I do now on my day of Zen, um, but then utilize personal development. Your own personal development is the gateway key to your future success.

Speaker B: Jeff, I've had a great time chatting with you today. Can you please share with the Fast Leader Legion how they can connect with you?

Speaker A: Absolutely. The best way to find me is on my website. So that's Jeff Eschelman. E S C-H-L-I-M M-A-N.com and if you go on my website, you can take a harmony assessment and find out how much harmony you have in your life. And there's other tools that I share on there about the one page plan and the day of Zen and all these other processes. So I'd love to have you connect with me.

Speaker B: Jeff Eschelman, thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom and helping us all get over the hump. Thank you for joining me on the Fast Leader show today. For recaps, links from every show, special offers, and access to download and subscribe. If you haven't already, head on over to fastleader.net so we can help you move onward and upward faster.