Leadership legacies
Legacy is a topic that comes up in our house a lot, but perhaps in a different way than most people think of a legacy at work. My legacy is leadership, more specifically it’s to leave a legacy of Empowerment of Women & Community.
This week I’ve been thinking a lot about this specific legacy. Perhaps it’s the energy behind women in leaderships roles right now. Perhaps it’s because of an amazing email I received last week from a former employee on my team. It reminded me that I’m more than just the work I produce. I’m a force to help other women believe in their talents and aspirations, to believe in themselves as they grow in their careers.
It also reminded me of some of the leaders who’ve influenced me over the years. In the spirit of thankfulness, these are a few of the people and lessons who have helped shape me as a leader.
Poise
I worked for a leader who has amazing poise. I was inspired as I watched Christina move from a director to a C-suite role in a male-dominated organization. She taught me the importance of giving your full attention when listening, doing your due diligence, and taking excellent notes, because you never knew when you’d need them.
The characteristic that left the largest impressions was her poise – she could deliver feedback, specifically critical feedback, in such a calm, positive voice that often the receiver wouldn’t understand they were being called out or challenged. There was always a bit of shock once they processed her message – then tried to figure out how to respond in kind. It was amazing and often resulted in a much less aggressive tone during the meeting. Anytime I have a challenging conversation coming up, I try to channel my inner “Christina” to help me stay calm and on point.
Fun = Team
I didn’t fully understand how important teamwork was until I joined a team where it just wasn’t working. There were roadblocks and arguments and lots of frustrations. Then the director, Mike, initiated the Fun Factory. We started out with Friday Trivia which quickly moved into potlucks, birthday celebrations, Christmas decorating and frozen Cornish Game Hen Bowling (we’re still all thankful we didn’t break that window!).
Looking back, the team transformation was remarkable. Laughter, silliness, and fun had bridged personality challenges and project frustrations, making us a stronger team and helping us forge resilient, long-lasting friendships. Fun and activities that allow team members to get to know one another became a key part of my leadership style because of Mike’s influence. I still find it amazing to watch laughter and fun break down barriers and naturally empower the people to become a team.
Finding Win-Wins
I characterize my leadership style as collaborative. I want input from the team, stakeholders, and leaders as I craft a plan. I assume we’re all moving in the same direction. That approached worked well until I got to a certain level in my leadership journey – one where I was facing a variety of objectives from senior leaders that conflicted with what I had to deliver. No one was budging or collaborating.
I remember sitting with Melissa at lunch one day sharing my frustrations. She looked at me and essentially said you have to figure out what in their strategy aligns with yours then negotiate to get what you need. Ah, it’s a puzzle! While not always easy to figure out, it helped me to reframe the interactions from adversarial win-lose to one based on negotiation – finding a win-win and being persistent until you do.
The Importance of Rest
Early in my career, I worked for a VP of software product development. Like any software shop, times leading up to big releases were crazy and stressful. Developers and QA were working overnight on bugs and fixes the two weeks before release. We achieved the release and everyone took a deep breath.
I had just sat down in Michael’s office to review some documentation when he said to me, “This is the hardest time for me, being patient with the lull after the release.” He went on to share that he knew he had to give his team a few weeks to decompress, come in late, leave early – REST – before the next frantic minor release cycle which wasn’t too far away.
I didn’t fully understand the concept of rest until much later when I had my own teams who had to deliver on aggressive objectives with tight schedules. Allowing them to rest – come in late, leave early, take comp days – is what enables me to run high-performing teams.
When you take care of your people, your people will always show up with their best.
What’s your legacy?
If you’ve not thought about your legacy, especially your influence on people, I’d encourage you take the time to consider. How do you want people to remember you, beyond delivering that project or objective? A person-focused legacy gives you a guiding north star at work, especially in those environments where there may be friction between how you want to lead and the expectations from the organization.
At the end of the day, people are most often cited as what makes a job good or terrible. Be deliberate in how you lead and what you leave behind – your legacy.
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