Imagine you are a leader. Your contribution will be judged by three things. First, by what you personally do. Second, by what your team delivers. Third, by the legacy you leave. The word ‘legacy’ may have become overused, but it is remains a key element in a leader’s work. Let’s explore how you can leave a good legacy.

1) You can clarify your legacy as a leader

An artist tries to cheat death by leaving behind a body of work. A leader leaves behind achievements and memories. There are, of course, many different kinds of leaders - such as people leaders, business leaders, thought leaders and creative leaders. Different leaders obviously leave different kinds of legacies.

Imagine you are leading a company. How do you want your contribution to be remembered? Start by listing the groups of people who will be affected by your work – such as your employers, employees, customers and other groups. Looking into the future, describe the actual words you want each group to be saying about your contribution. Describe what you want them to be saying about what you did regarding the profits, products, people and planet. Previously many business people cared primarily for their profits - but nowadays it is vital to leave a more sustainable legacy.

Looking at yourself as a leader, what do you want to pass-on to people? What will be the benefits – for yourself, for other people and for the planet? Try completing the following sentences.

The legacy I want to leave as a leader is:

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The benefits of leaving this legacy will be:

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2) You can clarify the key strategies for leaving the legacy.

Looking at your legacy, ask yourself: “Am I serious? If so, what are the 3 key strategies I can follow to deliver the legacy? What will be the pluses and minuses involved in pursuing these strategies? How can I maximise the pluses and minimise the minuses? Am I prepared to take the tough decisions that will be necessary? How can I continue to keep my eyes on the goal - rather than get distracted by tactics? Am I prepared to do what is necessary to deliver the legacy?” Try completing the following sentence.

The key strategies I can follow to deliver the legacy are:

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3) You can do everything possible to leave your legacy as a leader.

Great leaders do whatever is necessary to deliver the legacy. Keep your eyes on the goal. There will be distractions, setbacks and disappointments, but they are part of the journey. Every leader encounters difficulties along the road. Dame Cicely Saunders spent years raising money to found the modern hospice movement in Britain. Peter Beneson met resistance when founding Amnesty International. Abraham Maslow was criticised for encouraging psychologists to study health rather than sickness. Keep returning to your compass and focus on the real results to achieve. Recommit to your beliefs and press on towards delivering the goal. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I must do to ensure I deliver the legacy are:

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