Create a Legacy You’re Proud of
Each individual leaves a legacy.
But leaders have a unique opportunity. We have the chance to leave a deep impact on the tight-knit group that we may spend years leading.
Regardless of whether it is intentional or not, you will leave a lasting impact on your team. And it’s up to you to decide the impact you want to make through your leadership role.
That’s both incredibly exciting and daunting!
Intentional Leadership: Developing Your Legacy
MY current Thriving Leaders Circle cohort is working this month on Intentional Leadership. This module requires more intensive reflection and deep thinking than any other topic we cover in the program.
Intentional leadership is difficult to approach, because before you can progress, you are challenged to answer two questions:
➡️ What are your clearly defined core values?
➡️ What specific impact do you want to make in your role?
Why do these two questions matter so much?
Well, you cannot lead with intention unless you first have a goal you are leading towards! These two questions are the difference between unintentional vs intentional leadership.
- Unintentional leadership: You show up, do your best, and simply hope for a good outcome.
- Intentional leadership: You name your intended impact, work towards that goal, and leave an intentional legacy.
Do you see the difference?
Together, your core values and desired impact become a leadership manifesto that defines who you want to be as a leader.
One of my Thrivers, Cat Gipe-Stewart, told me, “The Intentional Leadership module was one of my favorites. It was really impactful to think about who I want to become, and who I want to emulate as a leader. That started bringing everything together that was leading up to that point, and I still have my Leadership Manifesto that I wrote propped up on my desk so I can see it every day.”
Putting It Into Practice
One of the exercises I use with my Thrivers is called “Legacy Leadership Aspirations.” This is an exercise anyone can do at home!
First, recall your experiences with leaders all throughout your career, and name the impact that those individuals made. Reflect on your best and worst experiences with those leaders, and everything in between.
In fact, you don’t need to limit this reflection to corporate leaders. There are leaders everywhere—maybe in your church, family, friend groups, volunteer organizations, or other places.
For each leader reflection, ask yourself three simple questions:
- What did you notice this person doing or not doing that made them an effective (or an ineffective) leader?
- What attitudes or mindsets did they exhibit?
- What did you learn by observing their leadership style?
After this reflection, we move into the second part of the exercise: writing down your leadership aspirations.
After thinking about your experience with past leaders, consider what you want your own impact to be. How do you want your team members to reflect on your legacy in the future?
You have the opportunity to reflect and set intentions all on your own. Grab a notebook or open a document and start writing!
This powerful exercise quickly cuts through the fluff of what people think great leadership looks like, and helps you create a clear picture of what leadership means to you.
You can think of the entire process as three distinct steps:
- Capture the lessons you’ve learned from past leaders in your life.
- Use your reflections to shape your own future legacy.
- Then start leading with intention, and make that legacy a reality!
You get to define your own legacy. Make it count!