Define & Refine

I have been the beneficiary of being able to work for some excellent leaders and mentors over the course of my professional career. A common thread that has been passed to me is that a leader will define his or her legacy through the folks that they develop and you will define yourself as a leader by dealing with the tough times. These two issues can be inter-related in that if you are investing in the the professional development of your people on an ongoing basis your organization will be better prepared to deal with the tough times.

While we will not all achieve some of our childhood dreams and leave our legacy by becoming a U.S. Open tennis champion, etc., we can still leave our footprint on the world (and will) through the people with who we interact and develop. An ongoing commitment to the professional development of people can be a difference maker in an organization becoming a talent magnet. Arguably, every organization has room for improvement in this area. I am, however very pleased with the current programs that are offered through our organization. The most prevalent (from a leadership perspective) is our Manager In Training (MIT) program. This program is comprised of 12 individual modules that go into detail on the specifics that a top-performer will need to round out their skill set to successfully move into a leadership role. How many individuals have you mentored or have been involved in their professional development on an ongoing basis? Better yet, how many of those individuals have been promoted as a result of your mentoring? This is a great way to measure your ability to leave your mark, knowledge, legacy on the world through your leadership. In essence, this is a form of immortality as the knowledge gained through your teachings lives on in those that you have professionally developed.

"The best executive is the one that has sense enough to pick good men to get what he wants done and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it." Theodore Roosevelt

While the folks that leaders develop will define that leader's legacy, it is how they deal with tough times that will refine their legacy. No one ever remembers how a leader took over an organization that was firing on all cylinders and kept it firing on all cylinders. It is when a leader find their business dealing with adversity or a new threat such as conditions that are in essence "new waters" that a leader will refine their leadership legacy. One such challenge that I am dealing with is the education of everyone in our company on how think like an electronic media company. This means learning new skills, teaching new skills, and leading our business in new ways. Traditionally, things we did not have to worry about as being important to our business are now critical. One example of this is in the content we create as well as how and where we place it on our websites. Not only does this take into consideration the words we use, but the number of words we use. Interestingly enough, we have made strides in how we are utilizing these tools in just a short period, although, this is a journey. The ship is turning and as we do so I am confident that we will remain a formidable organization as we stay the course. The coolest part of this journey is that it involves both the professional development of everyone in our organization and it offers a unique opportunity for those in a leadership role in our organization to refine their legacy.

How would you define your journey? Does it involve developing your people or your "inner-circle?"