Your leadership Legacy, what it is and what it could be

If you left your organisation, what would you want your leadership legacy to be?

What would people say about you? For example, would you be known as a subject matter expert, a firefighter, or one who coaches, motivates, leads, and inspires?

“What is your leadership legacy?” is a question we often ask during our leadership programmes. In almost every case, someone will ask whether they should think about what their people would say if they left today or what they would want people to say.

This is a very quick insight that they aren’t leading in the way that they want to yet.

Whether this is because old habits die hard or because they don’t have the tools to be the leader that they aspire to be, it is a swift, uncomfortable glance in the mirror at what is and what could be.

I think the legacy question can broadly be answered in three ways:

1. I don’t care what people think of me or what my leadership legacy will be

2. I know what my legacy would be right now, but it isn’t what I would want it to be

3. I am doing everything that I can to be seen as an honest, authentic, inspiring, competent and forward-facing leader

If I asked you what your leadership legacy would be, which of these answers would be most relevant to you?

My new book, “The Alignment Advantage”, will be published on 3rd June (25th June in the US). You can pre-order your copy now from Amazon, Kogan Page or other good book retailers.