The Colonel said, No one is in leadership forever. There is always a natural end to your term. The best I, you, or anyone can hope for is to influence enough people that you create a legacy that outlives you.”
When I assumed the board presidency of a non-profit arts council, the organization was in a terrible state. It was a hot mess. I knew it was going to take a very complex balance of soft-glove and sledgehammer to get them back on a solid footing. The presidential term was one year, but in seeking The Colonel’s counsel, I told him I thought I should ask the board for an extension up front and request a two- or three-year term. I thought it would take that long to stabilize the association. Dad advised me against it.
He said, “I know you, kiddo. You’re gonna work your back-side off trying to turn it around in a year. Then you figure you’ll have another year or two to create growth. And you’ll kill yourself trying to make that happen. It’s not your job to do it all yourself. It’s your job to visualize the path that will take the association to where they want to be and then help them take the first steps down that path.”
He was right, of course. If I had gone the two years as I had originally envisioned, when we did stabilize the organization, it would have been seen as my success rather than the association’s success. That’s not leadership; it’s solo achievement.
Instead, he encouraged me to work with the board to create a three-year plan that could be administered and guided by the next two presidents – creating footsteps for the subsequent presidents to walk in. This would have the triple benefit of stabilizing and growing the organization, as well as creating a solid succession model and growing the leadership skills of upcoming leaders.
As a leader, it’s not your job to do it all for the organization. It’s your job to create the vision and chart the course for future leaders in your organization to follow.
Read Lauren’s Whitepaper on The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership.