What's Your Leadership Legacy?
Danielle L. Lucido, M.S.
Organizational Performance Improvement through Leadership, Culture & Strategic Execution
I'll never forget the response I got from my boss when I was sitting in my executive director chair in Portland, Maine. I was giving him somewhat of a resignation, with a long leash of time, my intention was to move back to my home town in Massachusetts within the year, with or without the company opening a position.
His response...."Who's your Successor?"
The question caught me by surprise. Both because my naive and newly executive level tenure hadn't ever been asked that before and because I hadn't had a clue in that moment who really was up for the task. Besides, why would it be my responsibility to find, recruit, train and on board a new executive director? Isn't that his?
After the dust settled a bit, I did have the answer and successor just about ready to go, but hadn't realized it. She was my assistant academic director. Thankfully I had invested a good part of my year coaching and mentoring her on my methodology of people management to which I was extremely proud of her development and while she was a bit on the young side, she harnessed the hard and soft skills, attitude and motivation of an aspiring leader.
I look back grateful for my time invested in developing her, often its best to develop others before the need arises. It prevents a crisis culture and rocky on boarding, which is never the best way.
(Maybe someday they'll invent a human USB. Wouldn't that be a hoot!)
The good news is, there is a way to 'accelerate' leadership growth and development.
Start investing in your leadership development & training today. No matter how little or small. The type of and amount of investment really depends on you asking the question, "Whats at stake if you don't plan or invest in a successor?" The greater the loss, the more you have to dedicate to it.
As for choosing the WHAT to invest in, I've found that if you are looking for the very best way, then commit to and attend an infused, immersion learning leadership experience.
Why?
Immersion learning has been proven the best way to truly learn and apply new behaviors because it incorporates the three learning modalities, (Heart, Mind, Body). Reading a book, attending a conference, or hiring a coach won't have quite the impact stand alone.
(Enter the shameless plug)
The program we represent at Linkage, GILD is a leadership 'game-changing' experience.
For 20+ years the Global Institute for Leadership Development Summit encompasses a million dollar faculty line up which have including Jim Collins, Dave Logan, Patrick Lencioni, Jeremy Gutsche and Marshall Goldsmith just to name a few.
What I like most is it isn't just the incredible faculty, -- GILD dials it all down to HOW it RELATES to you directly.
You will get your own, 360 leadership assessment on our Purposeful Leadership Model. Three hours of 1 on 1 Executive Coaching and 11 hours of facilitated peer learning to fully immerse the knowledge given.
No other program in the world can compare.
GILD isn't for the faint at heart, it is for the individual or company looking to provide emerging leaders with the tools to become GREAT. Period.
Sooo if you are wondering how this story ends, your probably asking, what happened to my former school?
In the end, my boss didn't take my advice on who to hire, and ended up hiring from the outside.
The result?
Within a year, unfortunately the successor failed..... miserably.
Perhaps my advice wasn't so bad after all...
Danielle Lucido is leadership advisor for Linkage, a leadership development organization helping leaders around the world since 1988. Danielle currently resides in Greater Boston area has her MS in Leadership from Northeastern University and has over 20 years experience in leadership in a variety of industries. She believes her life mission is to awaken, inspire and encourage others to live life to the fullest and as such she recruits emerging leaders and leadership teams serious about becoming successful.
Few think about their legacy..
boss, or more corect a leader :)
9 年"(Maybe someday they'll invent a human USB. Wouldn't that be a hoot!)" That can't function if the hardware can't handle it :) =The person need to have SKILL for it. (Wasn't it in Linkedin the research result was told average high bosses have LOW EQ skill? (=Emotional skill.) But I suppouse that depend of they are PICKED by WRONG people, earlier high bosses, who the majority of had low EQ too... :) MODERN good bosses need to have extra GOOD EQ. =Out with old BAD "Pyramid" leading style NOT listening to the knowledge workers have, and in with "Flat" leading style where ALL people in the organisation are involved in deciding and responsibility, the high bosses concentrate at the big questions and how to get there. (E g I told my programmers "I DON'T bother how much TIME you spend in the office, I bother how much you get DONE." And to make them understand I LIKE to get constructive critisism from them I said when they started: "It's ok if you call me "idiot" as long as you tell me why and tell a better idea haha".
Business Development Exec??Coach & Mentor??Category Development Specialist??Customer Centric Focused??Perpetual Student Of Life??Inspiring Others To Make A Difference??
9 年"manage to replace yourself." I like the concept a really good way of putting it Richard, may I ask your permission to adopt it into my toolbox ?
Project Manager currently working in NECS Digital Transform and Optimisation Service.
9 年Never think because you are a leader/manager, you are better than everyone else.
Chief Information Officer Northpointe Bank | Driving IT Innovation & Transformation I Delivering Business Value l Minimizing IT Risk l Developing Technology Talent
9 年To relate to others as people, not objects.