What are some effective ways to communicate your strategic thinking legacy to others?

1 Why communicate your legacy?

Communicating your strategic thinking legacy is not just about bragging or leaving a mark, but about inspiring, influencing, and empowering others to carry on your vision and mission. By sharing your legacy, you can demonstrate your leadership impact and value, build trust and credibility with your audience, foster a culture of learning and innovation, create alignment and engagement around your strategy, and transfer your knowledge and skills to the next generation.

2 How to define your legacy?

Before you can communicate your legacy, you need to define it with clarity and brevity. To do so, consider questions such as what the purpose and vision of your strategy is, the core values and principles that guide it, the key achievements and challenges, the lessons learned and best practices, and the future opportunities and risks. These questions will help you articulate a statement that summarizes your strategic thinking legacy, like: "My strategic thinking legacy is to create a customer-centric and innovative culture that delivers value and satisfaction to our clients, while ensuring the sustainability and growth of our organization."

3 How to tailor your message?

Depending on your audience, you may need to tailor your message to suit their needs, interests, and expectations. To do this, you should identify their goals, motivations, and pain points. Additionally, use relevant examples, stories, and data to support your message. Make sure to use simple language that avoids jargon and acronyms and use an appropriate tone and style that matches your audience's preferences. Lastly, use feedback and questions to check for understanding and engagement. For example, when communicating your legacy to your successor, you could focus on the future opportunities and risks of your strategy and provide specific guidance and advice on how to execute it. Alternatively, when communicating your legacy to clients, you could highlight the value and satisfaction they have received from your strategy while expressing gratitude for their loyalty.

4 How to choose your medium?

The medium you select to communicate your legacy can have a big effect on its effectiveness and impact. You could opt for written documents such as memos, reports, or newsletters; oral presentations like speeches, webinars, or podcasts; visual aids like charts, graphs, or infographics; or digital platforms like blogs, social media accounts, or websites. When deciding which medium to use, consider your purpose, audience, and resources. Multiple mediums can be employed to reach a larger and more diverse crowd and to bolster your message. Different mediums can also be used for various stages of your communication - written documents to introduce and summarize your legacy; oral presentations to explain and elaborate on it; visual aids to illustrate and emphasize it; digital platforms to share and promote it.

5 How to measure your impact?

Finally, it's important to measure the impact of your communication on your audience, and evaluate its effectiveness and outcomes. You can use surveys, interviews, or feedback forms to collect feedback and opinions. Metrics, indicators, or benchmarks can be used to track performance and results. Additionally, observations, assessments, or testimonials can help you monitor behavior and attitudes. Awards, recognitions, or referrals are great ways to acknowledge success and influence. By using these methods, you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of your communication, as well as improve your future communication. Moreover, these methods are ideal for celebrating and appreciating your audience's achievements and contributions, as well as reinforcing your legacy.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?