Leadership legacy

A leader can certainly be judged by his legacy. I usually ask people in my seminars to describe how they would prefer to be remembered as leaders. I do that as part of something broader that I call ‘The Pub Test’ (living in England, I simply must refer to this pillar of social intercourse.) Ten years from now there is a reunion of this leadership team. Most of them left the organisation a while ago. What would be the language, the theme of conver-sation and the description of what was left behind? Here is a typical output example of this exercise:

The 2016 Reunion – Pub Test

The company itself There were ‘opportunities’… Learning experience Innovation, chance to influence Progressive environment	Our divisions, our own teams Winning attitudes High expectations, high rewards Opportunities for people’s development Influencing corporate Risk taking Source of knowledge to our customers Cross-functionality as way of life
We as management Action and decisions Influencing beyond our own R&D function Flexible, driving on change Diversity paid off Acknowledged stretch Great opportunities for personal and professional development	Me/You Trying Achiever Flexible ‘changed something’ Created a work environment

It doesn’t have to be a very sophisticated output, but when you start asking people about legacy and questions about ‘ten years from now’, what starts as a light exercise usually ends up giving a solid view of the current values and beliefs. It definitely says a lot about (the visions of leadership in) a particular group. Indeed, the ‘proof’ of the values is the legacy. The legacy becomes the inexcusable window to what leadership was about.

You can lead an organisation and leave behind an increase in market share of 4.5% and a P/E ratio the joy of stock analysts. You can lead an organisation and leave behind a great behavioural fabric that attracts talent. You can lead an organisation and leave behind significant collective eldership capabilities. You can also lead an organisation and leave behind the shadow of your ego as big as a cathedral. You can leave nothing. You can lead misery. You can lead joy. Or combinations thereof!