Anne's Column - The Legacy of 2009

Anne McLaughlin, NZCJ, Dip. Ed.

As the end of 2009 rushes towards us, we will soon be inundated through the news media with various reviews of the year. There is no denying that 2009 has been a tough year for many - so there's no prize for successfully predicting most of those reports will focus on 2009 leaving a legacy of doom, gloom and disasters.

But what about a personal review of 2009? What will be the personal legacy you have left behind as the New Year clicks over? How will people remember your leadership and all it stood for? I believe it’s time for some legacy thinking.

Unlike the approach of our news media, legacy thinking is not about “beating yourself up” or focusing negatively on the “could haves” or “should haves”. Thinking about our legacies requires us to move beyond short-term definitions of success. It’s broader than that. Legacy thinking encompasses reflecting on the past, the present and the future. When pondering our legacies we are forced to consider where we’ve been, where we are now and where we are going.

In the Nexus Partners’ The Leadership Challenge workshops we work with participants to help them define their values and vision and encourage them to put these into a legacy document. A couple of key questions follow:

“If this document was found by the people you lead and did not have your name on it, would people immediately know it was written by you?”
“If this document was found by the people you lead and it did have your name on it, would people fall about the floor laughing?”

In other words,” how well do your actions match your words?” And that’s a good starting point when reflecting back on 2009!

The New Year is a time for reflection. In his book “The Offsite”, leadership researcher and author Robert Thompson shares what he calls the Four Commitment Questions:

What can I do more of?
What can I do less of?
What can I start doing?
What can I stop doing?

Leadership legacies are not the result of wishful thinking. They are the result of determined doing.

As 2010 rapidly approaches, it is worth reflecting on the words of leadership leader John Maxwell: “What you do with the future means a difference between leaving a track record and leaving a legacy”.

I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2010.

Do you want to ensure that you leave a good legacy? For more information about Nexus Partners' leadership programmes, email us or call on 0800 4 LEADERS. More information is also available here.