INTRODUCTION
Show your employees how they can meaningfully impact something that matters to them and you will unleash their deeper potential. You, your company and your team will make more than a profit. You will leave a mark long after your work has ended.
Defining your company or team’s legacy makes work more meaningful. You and the actions of your employees become guided by a vision of their role in something meaningful to their own sense of self and identity. Legacy helps people identify with something bigger than themselves. As such, their participation becomes self-actualizing.
Different than Purpose, a legacy defines what specific impact you want to have on others. This impact should be stated in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Quantitative statements of impact are measurable. Qualitative impacts are descriptive. Both matter when describing the impact you want to leave behind as a result of having lived your business purpose.
Here is a three step process you can use to define your team’s legacy at work.
STEP 1: WHAT DO YOU WANT THIS TEAM TO BE REMEMBERED FOR?
Discuss the answer to this question with your team. In doing so, have them dream big while choosing an answer they would be proud to hold themselves accountable for. Find the right altitude for your answer. Too high and lofty and the answer to what you want to be remembered for becomes intangible. Examples of too high an altitude may sound like, “Making a great contribution to the growth of our company.” or “Help our company become #1 in the marketplace.” However, too low an altitude for an answer will result in a lack of emotional connection. Examples of too low an altitude may sound like, “To sell five thousand new widgets by March of next year” or “Training new employees in a new software program”.
The answer should be more than just nice words on a page. It should feel like a big deal to all those involved. At the core of the answer should be a clear sense of meaningful. Be conscious and clear. Take the conversation seriously.
Once you feel you are getting to a good answer to the question of what you want the team to be remembered for, evaluate its efficacy by checking if it is achievable, specific and measurable.
STEP 2: EXPLORE AND DEFINE AREAS TO BE IMPACTED
In the end, legacy is about an impact we seek to leave behind long after our work is done. It is therefore important to consider and define the potential areas of impact you and your team seek to achieve as well as the type of impact you would like to have for each area.
Begin by considering areas of impact such as your team’s potential impact on the business, your team’s potential impact on work culture, impact on the industry your business is a part of, or a type of social impact. Of all the areas of impact you and your team discuss, choose the top three areas of impact that the team finds most meaningful.
STEP 3: EXPLORE AND DEFINE TYPES OF IMPACT FOR EACH AREA
Discuss and define the quantitative and qualitative type of impact you and your team would like to achieve. Do this by exploring the different types of impact for each of the areas you have just defined. For example, in the area of business impact, what will be the type of quantitative impact you seek to leave behind? Will it be revenue, profit, mission fulfillment or some other key performance indicator you seek to impact? What will be the type of qualitative impact you seek to leave behind for the business?
In the case of “work culture”, what will be the type of quantitative and qualitative impact you seek to leave behind? Will it be on values, norms, behavior, mindsets, systems, or processes?
For “industry”, what is the type of quantitative and qualitative impact you want to leave behind. Will it be on ethics, innovation, expansion, etc.?
In the case of “society”, what part of society can you have a quantitative and qualitative impact on? For example, will it be on education, justice reform, equal rights, the economy?
As was the case in selecting your top three areas of impact, you and your team should select one quantitative (measurable) type of impact and one qualitative (descriptive) type of impact for each area.
At the end of these discussions, you and your team will have a solid statement of what you want the team to be remembered for as well as how your legacy is defined specifically by areas of impact and in quantitative and qualitative terms.
What follows is an illustrative example of a final legacy statement.
CONCLUSION
Legacy is all about who you want to impact and how you want to impact them. Be it business impact, organizational culture impact, industry impact or social impact, by defining the mark you and your team aspires to leave behind will drive greater and deeper meaning into all work. People are then motivated by the opportunity to leave their self-defined mark on the world and are far more likely to overcome obstacles to achieve it.
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