I just finished reading The Littlest Green Beret on Self-Reliant Leadership, by Jan R. Rutherford, Jr.* recently published by Pylon Publishing, LLC www.pylonpublishing.com. I have had the pleasure of working with Jan, and know him as a great self-starter and a natural leader in any realm he graces. By experience, I can assure you he is well qualified to offer us his wisdom and methodology in self-reliant leadership development.
One of Jan’s opening remarks focused on how he has been challenged to “put more thought into defining his own legacy while striving to be a better man.” As if being a better man is not legacy enough for most people, his leadership legacy is something he intentionally works on and we are all the beneficiaries of his resolve. As a leader, I appreciate his reminder.
I was first challenged by the idea of my own legacy about 25 years ago. Another leader asked me how my life would be defined and what legacy would I leave? A young man at the time, I was awestruck and a little overwhelmed that I could actually influence my legacy because I had never thought about it and so I decided then what my legacy would look like as it related to my career, my character and my family.
Webster defines legacy as something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past. Example: His legacy of quality and service lives on through his employees. Your leadership legacy is your opportunity to leave something of tremendous value to those you work with, live with, and serve. Your legacy can be shaped by fate or by you.
Corporate leaders leave legacies that benefit their employees and ripple beyond their immediate sphere of influence. I think of Jack Welch, Lee Iacocca, and Warren Buffet to name a few. Their legacies reach far beyond the board room. I worked for Ross Perot, the founder of EDS, who resolved he would not fall pray to Henry Thoreau’s insightful proverb “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Perot’s leadership philosophy inspired me because he determined early on to live his life purposefully as a business leader. The legacy he created among EDSers, I believe, inspires and will transcend many future generations.
So as a leader, how much do you think about your legacy? No matter where you are in your leadership development, you have created and are creating some sort of legacy. (For those in doubt whether they are a leader, if you have one follower, you are a leader.) You may be intentionally defining and constructing your legacy or, you may be leaving it up to an epitaph someone else will write. So what is it? Do you think about it, plan it, create it, refine it? Will you leave something valuable behind when you are through?
I challenge all leaders with a few suggestions: Own your legacy. Ask yourself what you want your legacy to be, what will it look like, who and how will it impact? Think of it as a gift. It is valuable and you are creating your legacy to bequeath to others. Keep it in the present tense because your legacy is being defined today. “I am” not “I will.” Defining what you “will become” is procrastination. Start today. Write it out and keep it in front of you. Your legacy is “your way of being” today. It is how you show up every day. It will shape your decisions and your self image will change, and your leadership will take on new meaning for you and those you serve. Anything that encroaches upon your vision, your way of being and ultimately, your legacy will not be tolerated.
Dream to make a difference to lead others and your dream will become your legacy, and your legacy will continue to bless those who follow you.
Special Note: Jan Rutherford is donating 50% of his book sale proceeds to the Green Beret Foundation and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. He’s dedicated the book to the West Point Class of 2012, which includes his son.
John Williams, SPHR, is a Human Resource Consultant to RCR Wireless News, www.rcrwireless.com, a leading wireless industry news service, and TelecomCareers, www.telecomcareers.net, a leading telecommunications industry job board. Williams recently served as VP HR for ITC Deltacom and previously held executive and HR leadership positions with Clearwire Technologies, MCI Systemhouse and EDS. Williams is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources and an active member of the Society of Human Resource Management.
