Legacy: What Really Lasts Forever in Your Life and Business

Companies are just like people. They have two realities... an internal reality and an external reality.

Inside, as a human being, lie your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and, baked in are your behaviors, reactions and routines. Companies also possess the very same... we all on the inside have thoughts and feelings about the companies we work for and/or lead. We all collectively have regular, organizational behaviors and reactions.

However, externally... others may think of us differently that is not in alignment of who we really are - either as a person or a company.

This misalignment is unfortunately quite common and for some people and companies it is by design... they place a greater emphasis on how they are being seen rather than who they really are. They are all about image, brand, and building a false but positive narrative.

People and companies that live and operate this way are eventually exposed for who they really are and not who they try to make you believe who they are. Consciously deceptive misaligned realties are NOT sustainable. History has shown that there is always some sort of reckoning.

People and companies with lasting power however, those that stand the test of time, live more in alignment. Who they really are is how they wish to be perceived and are perceived.

Authentically embracing authenticity takes courage, vulnerability and for that, there is always a reward... and it is not just a feel-good reward. The evidence plainly tells us that that reward is not only more sustainable but also more profitable.

Greed however, is the unfortunate standard in our capitalistic society. Too many companies say they value authenticity but when its leaders live by duplicitous standard... only caring about how they and their company are being seen for simply profit sake, people on the inside develop contempt, frustration, and the behavior of the company culture becomes ruthless and toxic. Those who advance and succeed are the most duplicitous and greedy.

Who we are as leaders and the environments we create (and are responsible for) become the breeding grounds for the type of people we have in our lives, in our companies and the experiences and memories that we are creating.

Great cultures, conversely, require its leaders to be authentic, for the company to be authentic and for its external reality to be in alignment with their internal one.

This obviously requires leaders to live and be in alignment with themselves... for their thoughts and feelings to match their words, actions and behaviors. And this is not easy... this like anything truly worth it takes focus, commitment and being open to change.

Servant leaders do this work. Because they are focused on serving those around them, beneath them (not just above them), and because authenticity and alignment is a part of their regular conscious behavior, their resulting cultures are better... and some, depending on how authentic you and the company is... become remarkable! They become cultures with better, more engaged and productive people - higher performing people. People who become more innovative, efficient, problem solve better, communicate more openly and effectively. People who naturally, authentically act alone and together as a team, as one. Why does this happen you ask? Because people begin to trust themselves, their actions and the motives of others when they see and experience authenticity.

This powerful, authentic way of being, in operating, not only becomes the word (because it is the way!) on the inside but, it becomes the word on the street. People, not pr firms have more collective power and that power is exercised.

Authentic alignment is that which we should all strive for as human beings and as organizations. It is attainable. There are many companies and leaders living by this standard. Because you are not aware of them does not mean they do not exist. You just haven't looked for them nor perhaps aspired to be or build an organization like them. And while society hasn't YET found this to be conventional, the evidence is clear, servant leaders build the best, most authentic and aligned company cultures which turn out to be far more sustainable and profitable.

In the end, life is not about the accumulation of things it is about authentic, meaningful relationships and the experiences we together share. When we are on our deathbed, we are not thinking about the things we have accumulated or the big deal we closed, we are thinking about the people that mattered most in our lives and the memories and experiences we together shared. We also reflect on the transference of love and joy from those experiences.

Companies too, can live this reality. Companies can create the very same we can create for ourselves. We as servant leaders can build this and have an obligation to do so. We have the power to create cultures who sturdy foothold is based in authentic relationship building and alignment... relationships that enlighten, uplift and empower... relationships that create the memories and experiences we take with us forever.

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Andrew Kolikoff is a master of masters in creating profits for organizations by elevating people and company cultures to become the very best they can be... more productive, more engaged, more servant hearted.

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