The world is constantly speeding
up. We spend our working days
jumping from conference calls to
annual reviews, to checking our
ever-buzzing cell phones, to syncing our
work calendar with our home calendar
and it’s time that we stop and ask: what is
left of us, as leaders, to give by the end of
the day?
What great leaders must give – regardless
of what else is on your to-do list – is
time to your team.
TIME WITH YOUR TEAM
According to a survey by research firm
Leadership IQ, the optimal time for a
manager to spend with those she leads is
six hours per week. Employees who enjoy
six hours of their manager’s time are 29
per cent more inspired, 30 per cent more
engaged and 16 per cent more innovative
than those who only spend one hour with
their manager in a working week.
Now, you can choose to see that one of
two ways. You could feel under immense
pressure to offer six hours of your time to
each of your team members, and crumble
under the weight of the extra responsibility.
Or you can choose to see it as a massive
(and welcome) opportunity to become the
kind of manager who leaves a meaningful,
lasting legacy.
WHAT IS A LEADERSHIP
LEGACY?
Effective leaders leave a subtle legacy every
time they walk out of a room. Every time
you exit your office or a meeting room, you
leave behind an imprint, and whether that
is positive or negative is wholly up to you.
Only you can choose exactly what that legacy
looks like; maybe you’d like to build an
atmosphere of positivity, a culture of innovation,
a high performing team of subject
matter experts or a climate of ambition
and growth?
BEING MINDFUL
Being aware of your leadership legacy is a
question of mindfulness. First, you need
to recognize that your legacy is not some
abstract notion, far off in the future and
somewhat out of your control. Instead
you should accept that you have direct
control of your legacy on a daily basis; by
understanding this acutely, you’ll have no
option but to move relationship building
with your team to the top of your list of
priorities.
If you put that six hours in with your
team, if you get to truly know them, their
ambitions, their fears, what puts them under
pressure and what motivates them,
then you’re building a lasting legacy, person
by person, in increments and on a
rock-solid foundation. And in doing that,
you’ll go from good leader to great. n
Jo Eismont is social media and web editor
with Insights Learning and Development.
Jirsak/Shutterstock.com
the last word
What’s Your Leadership Legacy?
By Jo Eismont
WHAT GREAT LEADERS MUST
GIVE – REGARDLESS OF WHAT
ELSE IS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST
– IS TIME TO YOUR TEAM.
48 ❚ JANUARY 2016 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
