Leadership and Legacy

By Carol Aziz

I've been thinking A LOT about leadership and legacy lately.?What makes a good leader and what do you want to be remembered for ?

This preoccupation was spurred by the passing of Dr. Ted Pollock, a former boss, supportive mentor, and senior leader in the environmental consulting industry when I was called upon to eulogize him at his memorial recently.

Ted had had a remarkable career, holding at least six positions of VP or President at various consultancies over his 40 year career.?Any one of his posts would have been a capstone career accomplishment for most people.?

But what I remember... and what other former staff remember most is... *the way he treated people*.?

Ted took the time to get to know all of his staff (from the most junior to most senior), visiting with them 1:1 on a regular basis.?

He listened deeply, made decisions with integrity, fairness, compassion, and team input, and appreciated staff for their efforts.?

And, in doing so, our office was a very pleasant and productive place, where everyone was motivated to give their best.

Simple, but powerful, gestures.?

And unfortunately too rare.??

Given the state of the world these days,?we need Ted's kind of leadership more than ever.??