have something to offer others, which is a valuable reframing.
Their work becomes the legacy they have to offer, literally part of
their purpose in life. Since a sense of purpose is not about money
but more about psychic payoff, perhaps this is why it is that so
many millionaires continue to work.
In building a legacy, the focus is on living one’s passion, defin-
ing the individual, “double-clicking” on what is personally most
important and expressing it. Building and living legacies develops
powerful role models who enable and empower everyone in the
organization.
The Broad ViewLegacy is not the sole province of senior or high-ranking members
of the organization. Leadership is a way of acting, not a position or
title. Leadership and legacy are for anyone who wants to make an
impact beyond the execution of his or her assigned tasks.
In assessing your desire to build, live, and leave a legacy, a few
key questions should be pondered: Are you setting direction or
pace? Can you reflect on events and, perhaps with others, make
sense out of what has happened, and does that help you tackle the
next round? Are you interested in what you know? Are you groom-
ing others around you to develop themselves in your way of think-
ing, the meanings you take away, or your particular style? Have you
become a storyteller in your organization?
Legacy evolves from an individual’s experience and perspective,
even if the track record is not a brilliant one. Becoming aware of
what you have to give away in terms of knowledge and learning to
articulate it will make your legacy valuable. After all, learning from
failure can have tremendous value. We know of a young entrepre-
neur who hired a technology officer for his Internet start-up com-
pany. The man he hired was a Romanian refugee whose experience
was vast in the design and development of e-learning products on
the Internet. There was no question that his new employer valued
this man for his technology experience. However, his experience
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