Whenever anything reaches it’s final stage it typically involves a period of reflection. When projects end you’ll look back at the positives and negatives - looking for areas of improvements. Each year around December, companies hold annual meetings with employees to give results of the various goals that were set. Managers meet with employees to go over yearly performance goals. You might even find yourself reflecting on personal goals you set for yourself. The examples are endless.

The same will be done some day when your career is reaching its final leg. You will reflect back and think about the effect you had on the various companies you worked for. The question that should resonate with you is:

What type of impact did you have on your company?

It’s safe to say that most of us want to leave a lasting, positive impression on those you work with and the companies that employ you. No one wants to be a forgettable name or face whose only contribution to work was taking home a paycheck. The goal should be to attain a legacy.



In “Your Leadership Legacy”, Robert Galford and Regina Maruca have designed a comprehensive plan for working on your legacy; they open the book with the following:

“Is it ever too early to think about the kind of long-term impact you’ll have on your organization? Is it ever too early to think about what people will think, say, or do, after your tenure was as a leader has ended, as a result of having worked for you?” - Your Leadership Legacy

The obvious answer (and the whole premise of why the book was written) is a resounding “NO”. They want you to think about your legacy. Does it exist? What would people say about it? How will you achieve it? First things first, you won’t achieve a legacy without first establishing what it will be. What do you want your legacy to be? A key portion of the book is creating your legacy statement. Your legacy statement will embody your behaviors, values, and approaches to leading and managing. “Your Leadership Legacy” shows you how to craft it.

“A leadership legacy is the impact you have (that is, the scope and scale of your influence on others) over the duration of your time in a given position or at a given company, all colored by the judgment, or guiding principles, that you apply most consistenly to your decisions.” - Robert M. Galford and Regina Fazio Maruca

When reading over the legacy statement section, I was reminded of Steven Covey’s process of building a personal ‘mission statement’. One of Covey’s primary practices is imagining your eulogy and what you would like to be said about yourself. While not as morbid as Covey’s example, Galford and Murca run you through a similar exercise. The ‘future you’ looking back is a great way to know what you want your end product, or legacy, to be.

Galford and Murca’s process doesn’t stop at building the legacy statement. Once you create your statement it’s time to ‘pressure test’ it against reality. While it may sound great on paper does your desired legacy have a chance? Are you the right person for this legacy? And if so, are you in the right position to develop it? Again, soliciting feedback is crucial in this process. It will help fight against any personal bias that you hold. The last step involves reflecting on your daily actions. What strengths can you build on that will help you achieve your legacy? What actions and traits are holding you back? By using the “Stop, start, continue, do, and avoid..” process you are able to discover the answer to these questions.

The authors also convey the importance of frequently returning to your statement to verify that you are on the right path to achieve your legacy. The authors call this dynamic process the “Legacy Audit”. Again, seeking feedback must never be complete and will remain the truth serum for your legacy. As with anything important in life, you will need to work on keeping this practice going.

While this book may be far reaching for those who don’t usually enjoy high level, fuzzy views on leadership, it will be useful to anyone interested in leadership. It contains many case studies, examples of their processes in use, and useful tools to help you look forward to your leadership legacy.

Check out the Your Leadership Legacy website for more information on the authors and the book.