Product Description

Most executives think of legacy as something to worry about later in their careers, at the edge of retirement, if at all. But authors Rob Galford and Regina Maruca argue that thinking about your legacy now makes you a better, more effective leader today. One's desired leadership legacy should be a catalyst for action, rather than a result considered after the fact.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #317613 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 194 pages

From the Author
Why did you write this book and who will benefit from your framework?
Over the course of our conversations with senior executives and in our
experience in helping senior-level managers--we heard over and over again
how difficult it is for leaders to take the time to consider their personal
legacies in the course of running a company. Big-picture thinking about the
long-term impact of a leader's actions--in terms of corporate growth or
direction--is built into the strategic process at most companies. But the
same can't be said of the long-term impact of a leader's influence on
colleagues and employees, even though that's the realm in which most of the
leaders we spoke with ultimately wanted to make a lasting and significant
difference. In practical terms, the book's first goal is to connect the gap
between personal aspirations and the day-to-day work of running the
company. The second goal is to help leaders leave positive legacies.
We feel this book is written for CEOs, professionals, and executives from a
wide range of organizations. We are speaking to managers in the hope that
they are better able to leave in their wake strong companies and
individuals who can perpetuate that strength in a positive and healthy way.
When this occurs, the result is both leadership and legacy at their best.
Can you talk a little bit about the approach you call legacy thinking?
Our legacy is something we think of only at the end of our tenure, or when
we're on the cusp of retirement. What's more, when we do look back, we
often measure success in broad terms of corporate growth, strategies
fulfilled, or processes set or changed.
The problem is that this conventional approach leaves a lot on the table.
The approach we recommend, which we call legacy thinking, puts the idea of
legacy in a much more personal light. It marries the one-to-many nature of
leadership with the one-to-one reality of day-to-day work.
How can a leader assess the kind of impact that he/she is having right
now?
You can't precisely pinpoint these streams of impact, but you can get a
fair sense of where you stand. One way is to cast your own performance
reviews in the light of legacy thinking. This method can be particularly
effective with the results of a well done 360-degree review. Ask these
questions: What do these results suggest about the effect I'm having on the
people around me? How do the results place me in the context of the
organization's history? What behaviors might I be introduced to or
perpetuating in the organization? What kinds of behaviors might my
strengths and weaknesses be seeding in other people?
Another useful approach is to participate in something we call a multiple
perspec¬tives exercise. This involves writing two or three paragraphs that
describe what you think the major streams of your legacy might be, either
at your current organiza¬tion or at the one you left recently. Then, asking
two people who have worked with you from different parts of that
organiza¬tion to provide their own brief accounts of what they think your
legacies are.
What is a legacy statement and why is it meaningful in shaping your legacy?

A legacy statement is a way of setting up the specs for the kind of impact
you want to have at work. It also makes the concept of legacy thinking
tangible by giving you a benchmark. Writing a legacy statement goes beyond
describing the actions or symbols you are most proud of. Instead, your
legacy statement should focus on your behaviors, values, or approaches to
leading and managing. Far from being a prescription for the legacies you
are confident you can leave, a legacy statement should describe your
aspirations and direction.

From the Inside Flap
Most executives think of legacy something to worry about later in their
careers, at the edge of retirement--if at all. Even the idea of legacy is
daunting as the term generally opens the door to a host of unsettling
"could haves" and "should haves." According to the authors of a new book on
leadership development--it is never too early for a leader to start
thinking about the kind of influence he or she will have on a company. In
fact, the earlier leaders begin to consider their legacy, the more
effective leaders they will be today as well as over the course of their
careers.
In Your Leadership Legacy: Why Looking Toward the Future Will Make You a
Better Leader Today (HBS Press; September 12, 2006; $26.95) Robert Galford,
a managing partner of the Center for Executive Development, and Regina
Maruca, a principal at the Center for Executive Development, demonstrate
the importance of legacy to leadership development and show why and how
individuals should think about legacy on their way into a position as
opposed to on their way out. The authors achieve this by introducing an
approach they call legacy thinking, a powerful framework to help leaders
ensure that their priorities--both personal and organizational--are
reflected in their actions.
According to the authors, legacy thinking is not a substitute or a synonym
for a leader's organizational vision, mission, and strategy. Although those
traits are included, it is grounded in the individual as opposed to the
organization and guides the process by which vision, mission, and strategy
are attempted. Legacy thinking frames the leader's set of actions and
interactions so that everyone--the leaders, the employees, and the
organizations--emerge satisfied.
Based on the stories of top managers and leaders who have used legacy to
shape their careers, the authors give readers a way to think about their
legacies and to plan and shape them over time. Starting with the idea that
legacy is defined by how others see you, they present ways to understand
better a leader's current impact and influences on those around them. The
authors then help leaders and managers write a statement of the legacy they
would like to leave; how to act on it now; modify and shape it over time;
and how to correct its course when it gets too far off track.
"Our central idea is that one's desired leadership legacy should be a
catalyst for action rather than a result considered after the fact," said
Galford and Maruca. "As best we can tell, you have only one chance in this
world, so it's important not to waste it."
Your Leadership Legacy enables all leaders--from CEOs and other high level
executives to line managers and new leaders--to craft their work and build
their legacy unburdened by crises, and to experience personal satisfaction
and achievement throughout their working lives.

From the Back Cover
“After reading Your Leadership Legacy, any leader would wish that they had read it at the start of their career. It’s a book that actually forces you to think how your day-to-day actions are molding your eventual measure as a leader. By planning for the impact you will have on your people and your organization, you become a better leader today.”

--Thomas C. Leppert, Chairman and CEO, The Turner Corporation

“This important and useful book goes to the heart of leadership today. It challenges thoughtful leaders to ask themselves not just what it takes to get ahead but, more importantly, what it means to leave something lasting behind.”

--Alan M. Webber, Founding Editor, Fast Company

“Your Leadership Legacy should inspire many leaders to empower the people who matter at work, at home, and in their communities. Galford and Maruca will teach you how to learn as much from your leadership mistakes as from your successes.”

--Carol Goldberg, President, The AVCAR Group, Ltd

Customer Reviews

How to shape your career so you leave the right legacy.
This short book offers a core recommendation: think about your legacy long before your retirement. Plan it and begin to create it now. Many executives do not begin to consider their legacies until their working lives are nearly done. This wastes a great opportunity. By thinking ahead and planning for the sort of legacy you would like to leave, you can make it much more probable that the legacy you actually do leave will match your aspirations. Legacies do not happen accidentally. They are the products of years of effort. We recommend this framework for considering your legacy. Authors Robert M. Galford and Regina Fazio Maruca include a structured series of action steps to help you get started on the path of legacy creation, and they provide numerous entertaining and illustrative anecdotes to help point the way. They don't dwell on asking if a manager who is preoccupied with legacy creation is hampered in making risky decisions, and they don't examine the mini-fad in legacy thinking. However, they do clearly tell you how to look forward, act with deliberation, and pick yourself up and start again if one legacy gets destroyed and you must build another.