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Leaving a leadership legacy...
By Dr. Randy Garner
How do you want your service as a leader to be remembered? When should you begin thinking about the legacy you are leaving as a leader? Unfortunately, many people do not reflect on their lasting contributions in the early part of their career-when it can matter most. In reality, it is never too early to think about what long-term impact you might have in your organization. The time to consider what others will think about and remember regarding your season of leadership service is now, not at the end of your career.
What is it about those leaders who tend to leave a positive, personal stamp on the lives of those they touch, while others fade into the background at the end of their career or are remembered negatively? Why are some remembered with affection-as individuals who displayed courage, character and fairness-while others leave a legacy of apathy, buck-passing, malaise, or worse?
Regardless of what you do as a leader, you will leave a legacy-the important thing is to consider how you would like to be remembered and to work toward those things that ensure the realization of that vision. When you think of your legacy now, it is much more likely that the legacy you actually leave will better match your goal. Legacy leadership is not accidental; it is intentional. It begins with self-reflection on how you see yourself, your role, and the way you want to influence others. Perhaps it might be more appropriate to talk about living your legacy rather than leaving a legacy, since the real challenge is to daily lead our lives in a way that positively influences those around us.
One of the biggest “secrets” in considering your lasting legacy long before the end of your career is the impact this can have on your ongoing personal and professional development. Acting with intentionality as a leader in your current leadership role specifically identifying the long-term impact you want to havecan focus your thinking in such a way as to help you better develop your leadership impact not only in the future, but also right now. Too often we are concerned only with the immediacy of the moment or the crisis of the day; however, when we take time to reflect on what is truly important, we can focus more on what it means to leave something lasting. This does not just happen. It takes thought, hard work, self-reflection, sacrifice and determination. History is filled with leaders whose contributions are little more than a footnote. Thinking about how you will be remembered requires you to think about your actions everyday. It allows you to be more fulfilled in your role as a leader-now.
Interestingly, many leaders will tell you that once they begin to think in this way – considering their lasting legacy – they begin to behave differently. Thinking about how we would like to be remembered prompts us to consider how we are interacting with others every day. As a result, many of us come to realize that the most important influence we can have is with the individuals with whom we work. Organizations are, of course, influenced by the actions of leaders; however, what is remembered most, what lives on in the tales that are told within the organization, are often the stories that involve personal interactions and influences.
A lasting legacy of leadership is more often found in the collegial rather than the corporate. Leaving a legacy of leadership is more about what you give than what you get; it is focused on what we do for others rather than the model of self-serving leadership that we see all too often in the media today. Those who truly begin to understand legacy leadership realize that people do not remember us for what we do for ourselves; they remember us for what we do for them. So, when will you begin to consider your legacy of leadership? Thinking about the legacy you are leaving for others now can make you a better leader now.
Dr. Randy Garner is a professor of behavioral sciences and former associate dean in the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University. Reprinted with permission from Texas Town & City.
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