Episode 8. Legacy.

So, what truly defines a great leader?

My seven previous episodes covered what I believe distinguish a great leader from a good leader. But there’s a golden thread that runs through all of these blogs that brings each of these capabilities, these inherent powers, together.

And that’s legacy.

Imagine for one minute that you're a car (stick with me here folks). Your career is a journey, and you're the vehicle travelling it.

In my previous blogs, I gave each of these capabilities a descriptor. Something that articulates these individual capabilities in relation to your car:

Passion: The Fuel. The thing that gets your engine revving in the morning and keeps it from stalling.

Authenticity: The Shaper. The original model. The base from which everything else is built.

Superpowers: The Enabler. The upgrades. The bells and whistles that you add to your original model.

Character: The Compass. Your inbuilt sat nav. The guiding principles that instinctively tell you which direction to take.

EQ: The Humanity. Your driver. The thing that senses the roads and adjusts your driving style accordingly.

Curiosity: The Teacher. Your expanding knowledge, like a London cabbie. The experience and learning that helps you choose a more informed route.

Drive: The Engine. Without an engine, you’re going nowhere. The more driven you are, the more pistons you’re pumping when the fuel is added.

But what about Legacy? If every part of the car serves the journey, then legacy is the journey itself. More importantly, it’s who you take with you on that journey, rather than just driving for driving’s sake.

I received a message recently from someone I'd been lucky enough to lead a few years back. She's now in a senior position herself, navigating the same complexities that I did at that time. She told me that when she faces a difficult decision, she asks herself:

"What would Al do?"

That’s pretty humbling.

Not because of what it says about me and my leadership. Because of what it says about her. Somewhere along her own journey, she met a set of values and an approach to leadership that chimed with her own. And she's chosen to carry that forward.

I'm proud of what she's achieved. But I'm even prouder of who she's become and can’t wait to see where she goes next on her own terms.

Legacy isn’t a title, and it’s definitely not a given in leadership. It’s the values and lessons someone carries forward long after you've left the room.

Legacy is earned.

Those leaders who leave the best legacies have something in common. They all use their capabilities to achieve what they set out to achieve, whilst helping others achieve what they're capable of.

Great leaders want to make a difference. But making a difference isn’t just about turning around a business or setting a new strategy.

Great leaders make a difference in life.

To their own.

To others.

And it’s the difference they make to others, that creates true legacy.