Meet Steven Shackelford

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Steven Shackelford a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Steven, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

Overcoming adversity, through resilience is something I have had to contend with all of my life. Growing up in Louisville Kentucky and living with my grandparents in a 1200 square foot home, while my parents finished their education was a challenge. You see there were 9 people in the household and money was very tight. Our community was lower middle-class that did not afford a lot of opportunities. As I sought opportunities to help earn money for the family, I learned early on that I had to overcome certain stereotypes versus being judged based on character. Therefore, at the age of 12 years old, it was evident that a work ethic no matter the circumstances would go a long way in helping others to understand there is something much deeper that would define my path in the community. My mother and father instilled in me that I control my own destiny based on two factors, a work ethic, and how I treat others, and that builds character people will see and appreciate. Given that, I began to find opportunities, no matter the season to help generate income to reduce the financial impacts to the family. I mowed lawns in the summer, raked leaves in the fall, and shoveled snow in the winter. I built a reputation of dependability and a methodical process of doing a good job on behalf of clients. My mother and father ultimately finished school and moved the family to an upper middle-class community in Irvine California as a result of a significant engineering promotion. Although there was a positive change in lifestyle for our family, the lessons learned living in Louisville, watching the sacrifices my parents made in the short term, for a longer-term benefit never faltered. So much in fact that though there were no opportunities to work based on the lack of seasons, I found another way to earn money through a local newspaper route. Being resilient is simply a way of life for me and no matter the challenges set forth, I have persevered, and I thank my parents every day for the work ethic, discipline, and sense of community instilled in me at a very early age. We all have a choice in our destiny no matter the circumstances we are born into.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My entire life has been built around the roots of giving back to my community through whatever endeavor I may be focused. My parents raised us to never be recognized for what we have, but rather the impact we have on others. I observed my mother and father give back to others consistently when growing up. That is precisely why I have chosen a career path that helps others live the life they want.

An impact on my life was centered around my grandfather. I watched my him work as a foreman for International Harvester in Louisville Ky. for years throughout my childhood. Although he retired with a good pension, he only lived a few years after retirement, so he never really had the opportunity to enjoy life after all of those years of hard work. I did not realize nearly how pivotal that moment was, coupled with the values of giving back to others, and how that shaped my career path over the past 40 years.

Throughout my career, I have made it my personal mission to understand the needs of business owners and their employees by offering education, guidance, and counseling built around their personal “why” for retirement. As VP, of Qualified Retirement Plans at Invst Financial, I have the enormous responsibility of changing lives for the better every single day through understanding what is important to them and their families, and creating a strategy based on their specific goals and objectives by leveraging the retirement plan. I have had the sincere pleasure of growing up in this business working with organizations that have the best interests of their clients as top of mind. Every decision made is based on improving the lives of participants and their families, not judging them by the size of their bank account but focused more on whether they have a mindset of abundance or scarcity. This allows us to focus on the needs of each client, their aspirations, and establishing a gameplan for them to live their dream.

At Invst, this same philosophy has carried over into my personal life as well; finding ways to give back and enrich the lives of others through my passion which is coaching. For example, I coach and develop young men all over the state of Indiana through the game of football. This allows me to touch many lives, and it is not just about the game, it is about mentoring young men to become good stewards of their communities, and teaching life lessons. These relationships have had a tremendous impact on my life, as I have seen a number of these kids grow to become leaders within their community, great fathers, and husbands. I also sit on the board of The Carmel Youth Assistance Program, giving back to families in need of additional support to make their lives a little better in the support of their families. As you can see, this is my purpose, my passion, and my gift both professionally and personally. The values instilled in me by my parents and the impact of my grandfather’s passing has left an immeasurable impact on my calling to enrich the lives of others while on this earth.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The three skills that were most impactful in my journey are as follows:
A) Humility – Understanding other perspectives and their journey has really given me an appreciation and respect for different cultures and upbringings without passing judgement. Often as a society we tend to pass judgement too quickly without having walked in the shoes of another person which can be detrimental to establishing a good baseline for the relationships we encounter. As a result, I go out of my way to really get to know the individual on both a personal and professional level so that I understand what’s important to them as a means to enhance the level of engagement that goes beyond that of superficial. The way I see it, you cannot add value to someone’s life without understanding what’s important to them first.

B) Active listening: This is an area I struggled with early in my life. I was so eager to share my thoughts when engaging relationships, that I did not pay close attention to what was being communicated and often missed critical points which led to outcomes that were not perceived as positive. I really worked hard at being present during the conversation through reflecting back what I heard to check for understanding. This led to a much deeper level of engagement with friends and business relationships, I would suggest taking a step back, pause, make good eye contact, and reflect back important points the other party may have made. The other party will have a higher level of respect for you, and that could lend to a healthier discussion for both parties.

C) Positive Body Language: How others interpret my body language had a tremendous impact on communication with others. It was hard for me to make good eye contact, engage without folding arms, and allowed outside influences to distract me from the conversations at hand. As a result, I was given direct feedback from peers and leaders to whom I respected when presenting, I was proactive in soliciting input from others which provided a completely different perspective from how I thought I was communicating. I then began to practice in front of a video camera so I could see first-hand what others were observing. The first step to improving this skill was recognition. Once I realized how I was being perceived, I became far more aware and focused on exhibiting positive body language which led to a much more consultative approach to engaging others and provided a more relaxed atmosphere and free flowing of thought. This process also provided an appreciation for how others perceived me as a communicator, and I would recommend anyone in a role of public speaking to do the same.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

The most impactful individual in my professional career was a gentleman by the name of Steve Malbasa. There was a time in my career where I considered leaving the financial industry given what I perceived to be a lack of recognition for the contributions I was making towards the organization. I felt my skillsets were such that I had more to give than that of simply providing operational support internally. Steve had observed me conduct several meetings early on in my career, and recognized that with additional coaching, development, and training, I could make a bigger impact on the organization in a sales capacity. Therefore, he began to mentor me, providing training opportunities, thus enhancing my presentation skills, industry knowledge of finance, and sales training to engage with clients outside of the organization. The skills I developed during this stage of my career propelled me to have opportunities that far exceeded my own personal expectations and allowed me to flourish in the retirement plan industry.

Steve saw the potential and took me under his wing to afford me the opportunities to enhance my skillsets from some of the best trainers in the industry. He taught me how to leverage my talents and gifts through applied training initiatives to drive results. The number of African Americans when I began in this industry were far and few in between as compared to other ethnicities. Steve looked beyond that and saw the nature of my character and willing to learn and apply the skillsets to become a contributor in our industry. I owe Steve so much as he really taught me how to be a professional in this industry and gave me the tools and resources to do so.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Invst.com
• Instagram: Stevenshackelford1
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-shackelford/

Image Credits

Invst Financial, Dillion Thieneman, Scott Jarred, Westfield High School,