This
idea surfaced right around the time my wife and I started a family. I began to think about the type of Father I
wanted to be and what I wanted to leave behind for my family as I moved through
life. After this awakening, I began to
think deeper about the influence I may have on the people I worked with and the
organizations I was part of—all who I touched.
In my heart of hearts I knew I wanted what I did and who I was to remain
long after I was no longer with them. To
emphasize how important I feel this aspect of leadership is, let’s revisit a
thought initially discussed in April’s Care & Feeding article.
Seventh
Generation Leadership will always remain with me as very positive example of
what’s in the twilight of a leader’s role: legacy. The idea again is that a leader’s influence
affects the current generation, the generations to their great grandparents,
and their children’s generation to their great grandchildren: seven generations
in all. The Native American Iroquois
blessed us with this Legacy of thinking about how our decisions affect
more than ourselves. In fact, they felt
it was their moral duty to think in these terms considering their
actions influences generations of people, not just themselves.
A person I have mentioned here
before, John Gardner, in his book On Leadership, talks about The
Nature of Leadership and the fact that leadership should be institutionalized. This idea connects with our last topic Training
Those Who Would Replace You and our current topic. Where the connection exists, I believe,
is in his statement “Some leaders may be quite gifted in solving problems
personally, but if they fail to institutionalize the process, their departure
leaves the system crippled. They must
create or strengthen systems that survive them.” (p. 10)
It’s evident that John Gardner is interested in the mechanics of
leadership and how it survives and perpetuates itself, not so much the
“touchy-feely” topics I presented here; however, I believe his point fits into
this discussion and the lasting effects—longevity; legacy—of a leader’s role in
people’s lives.
One of the very best
discussions on Legacy comes from Max DePree. In Leading Without Power: Finding Hope In
Serving Community, Max discusses working in non-profit organizations
considering them as Places of Realized Potential. Here I am again, in-tune with and
idea-author I love. You know me, I’m all
about “potential”, creating successful environments, empowerment, etc.;
however, the important point in Places of Realized Potential—places we
are all part of—is that we must be “…committed to potential on the part
of so many people in our society.” (p.
10) To that end, Max believes, and I
agree with him, that “…realizing our potential requires us to think
purposefully about a legacy.” Therefore,
his defining thought: “What will I give you to remember me by?” To help understand, Max gives us a list of
five elements: 1) A true legacy establishes a direction. As we have discussed before, Vision is
an Essential Element of our Leadership Toolbox. Borrowing from May 2005, “…we must be able to
see in our mind’s eye where it is we are headed before we ever start out
going there”; we must be able to set the course for those who
follow. 2) A legacy sets standards, standards
that last more than a few years. He
believes civility in our societies should be composed of high standards such as
dignity, servanthood, good manners and taste, and decorum all of which last a long
time. 3) In building a legacy, we
choose to be personally accountable. Choices
have power and we can choose responsibility for our own actions; the
legacy we choose can be ours and not someone else’s. 4) And again, being mindful of the
thought-gift of the Iroquois, a legacy lives in the actions of many
people. Max believes that each one
of us is capable of “…being a mentor in one way or another” patterned after a
very famous employee of theirs, Charles Eames (Eames chair fame). Charles’ left behind a legacy of “unconscious
mentoring” in which you are always learning but the mentor was never really
teaching. This involves establishing
relationships, the importance of giving gifts and celebrations, establishing
(institutionalizing) mentoring for the growth of followers. (p. 173) And finally, 5) a legacy is the most
significant way of saying thank you to an organization and the people with whom
you work. Simply said, “ … work
becomes an expression of gratitude for the chance to contribute.” (p. 175.) (See Chapter 12 for a comprehensive
discussion of this list.)
Ponder these thoughts for a
moment then consider some personal examples—role models—of legacy. The one I can think of immediately is Rosa
Parks and her gift of courage to change the status quo in the face of
uncertainty and overwhelming social change.
And also of Martin Luther King as he picked up on her courage
with his powerful dream-gift of a society free of color, yet colorful enough to
change! And even the veterans of
WWII who left us with a legacy of just knowing what had to be done, and doing
it. All-powerful examples of what legacy
can leave for future generations.
Remember Captain Michael
Abrashoff, Commanding officer of the USS Benfold? As an example of what’s left behind, how it
counts and what it gives back to those who follow, let’s consider what was
given to the Commanding Officer that relieved him after his tour of duty. In his book It’s Your Ship, Captain
Abrashoff sums it up like this: Lead by example; listen aggressively;
communicate purpose and meaning; create a climate of trust; look for results,
not salutes; take calculated risks; go beyond standard procedure; build up your
people; generate unity; and improve your people’s quality of life. (p. 201)
The inheritance: a gem of the ocean; a tight, accomplished, effective
team receiving the highest grade in the history of the Pacific Fleet for
Combat Systems Readiness, six months after Captain Abrashoff left the
ship! Additionally, in the next year,
the ship was renominated for Spokane Trophy, coming in second. The relieving Commanding Officer developed
into a great leader ranking number one in his squadron, receiving the Legion of
Merit, and being chosen to serve as the executive assistant to the deputy
commander of the Atlantic Fleet, far ahead of a normal rotation date off the
ship. And as a lesser note, Captain
Abrashoff received the Meritorious Service Medal. “It’s what we leave behind that counts the
most.” (Max DePree, Leadership Jazz,
p. 73)
I recently participated in a
retirement ceremony for a role model of mine, Senior Chief Mark Raddatz. Even though this was a sad moment for both of
us, it was thrilling to be around four former Commanding Officers of our
Reserve unit. Present for the ceremony
were: Captains Bushnell, Clusen, Van Ness, and Winslow. What made it special for me was a moment that
came when standing and waiting for the ceremony to begin; we still,
after all the previous years having gone before this moment, talked
about leadership! What a legacy to
offer to a very junior Lieutenant Commander. And the thought that remains, spoken by Capt.
Peter Van Ness, “Officers do the right thing while Chiefs do things
right.” It was the crowing moment for me
in thinking about all of the previous articles I had written and the
discussions of leadership I have had!
Here they were, still discussing leadership, while
standing in line for a retirement ceremony!
Sweet music to my ears and a memory I will always treasure.
Legacy is what we leave
behind, and what we inherit; a mindful foundation of values given for
generations to come.
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