Leadership Legacies – Distinguishing your goals from those of others

We in professional service marketing understand that we have to meet the expectations of others, whether they be shareholders, boards, or the market. What about y”ur “Leadership Leg”cy?” What are your hopes, dreams, desires, and expectations for creating an impact for your company?

In an Interview for Management Consulting News, Rob Galford, Regina Maruca, and the authors of Their Leadership Legacy: Why Looking Toward the Future Will Make You a Better Leader Today, Rob Galford, describe what they mean when they use the term.

Legacy thinking is all about the present. What decisions will I make today? What am I doing with my time? How do I act? How am I influencing others’ thinking/behaviors/outlook today? Are my actions today making me happy?

Others define your legacy. You can influence your legacy by gaining a better perspective of yourself.

Marketing leadership will be a major influence on the future of the marketing profession. Senior-level marketers are they conscious of their leadership today? Do they feel that they are shaping the future of their profession?

It was easy to find out. I asked senior marketers from global service firms to send me a few sentences about their hopes and dreams for their legacy and what they would do to make it happen.

Leadership – Intentional or accidental?

As I waited for the replies, I had high hopes. As the owner of a ten-year-old business, I’ve had to consider consciously and sometimes re-clarify my aspirations regarding my career and business. I was curious to know what others thought about this idea. Imagine my surprise to find out that several people responded in the same way as I believe I’ve thought about your question concerning the person’s “legacy of leaders” IP. I haven’t developed a response “et.”

Sorry, I don’t think that I can leave a legacleadershipdershI never given it any consideration”.”

How could this be? I wondered. Do you not think about your professional purpose at least once during your career? What are these people thinking as they wake up every day and put in, often, an extraordinary amount of effort to achieve what their company has asked them? There must be a personal motivation behind the work these people do every day.

What about their own companies? hasn’tsn’t the firm done more to help their senior marketers develop a sense of leadership legacy or to help them connect their aspirations with firm’srm’s strategic objectives? When was it ever a good idea to execute without any regard for a strategic direction?

Take Control of Your Leadership Legacy

Many people expressed their gratitude for my asking them about their leadership legacy, even though they had never really thought about it.

Rich Marcello, an executive at HP who was asked this question by the authors Galford & Maruca in their blog, replied: “It is not a simple question, especially if you have never thought about I. tIt’ssIt’s also probably the most important question that any of us will ever answer in our lifetime.

Now is the perfect time for senior marketers in marketing to start to understand this subject. One of the most important aspects of defininleader’ser’s legacy is to be able to see the relationship betwone’sne’s personal goals and company objectives. We can only find true passion in our professional lives if we recognize that we need to integrate both sides.

Take a look at RMarcello’slo’s thought process on his legacy to get an idea I’m I’m talking about. abConclusYou’veu’seu’ve probably wondered, like other senior service marketers, who is really in control of y”ur “career jour” ey.” Even with the best of intentions, your business is largely shaped by circumstances or actions beyond your control. It can be great or horribly bad.

This notion of being able to imagine and steer your own Leadership Legacy strikes the perfect balance between our self-determination and our interactions with colleagues and organizations. Rob Galford, Regina Maruca, and others have stressed the importance of creating professional goals and desires that are oriented outward. Their work is indeed a legacy!

All those involved in the professional services marketing field, as well as all those working to ensure its growth and health, will benefit if they start thinking more like future leaders and develop a better understanding of their legacy after making their mark.

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