Leadership Tip: The Legacy of a Successful Leader
October 16, 2017
Legacies that matter are connected with people. A hundred years from now all that will matter is the people that you connected with in such a way that you added value and meaning to their lives. Ultimately, if your people can’t do it without you, you haven’t been successful in raising up other leaders.
We have all heard that “when the student is ready, the teacher appears.” However, the following is also true: when the teacher is ready, the student appears. There are people in your world who would be thrilled to learn from you—not just the person who will succeed you in your leadership position, but people in every area of your life.
The greatest legacy a leader can leave is having developed other leaders. Develop them as widely and as deeply as you can. If you want to leave a legacy, invest in people, and encourage those you develop to pass on everything they learn from you to others who will do the same. People are what matter in this world—not money or fame or buildings or organizations or institutions. Only people.
Achievement comes to people who are able to do great things for themselves. Success comes when they lead followers to do great things for them. But a legacy is created only when leaders put their people into a position to do great things without them. The legacy of successful leaders lives on through the people they touch along the way. The only things you can change permanently are the hearts of the people you lead.
