“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” –Maya Angelou
This has long been a favorite quote of mine, and one that I strive to fully live out in my work.
An exercise I regularly use to kick off leadership development groups involves asking each person to reflect on a leader they admire and to share a story or word that describes what makes that leader so memorable. Year after year, the following qualities always top the list: clear-sighted visionary, strategic thinker, excellent communicator, true compassion for others, inspires (and extends) trust, and maintains integrity in all things great and small.
The stories shared by these aspiring leaders about the leaders they admire are ones they carry deep within because they have been impacted deeply by their actions.
As a leader: How do you want people to feel when you’re gone? This could be Big Time Gone, as in your Legacy…but it also could be simply gone, as in when you’ve left the meeting or Zoom room. What taste does your name leave in people’s mouths as they talk about you? Because talk about you they will. Do your actions cultivate feelings like the ones listed above, or something else? How do you know?
If you’re ready to explore questions like these, reach out and let me know.
For more information about the emotional wake you leave behind after every conversation, check out Susan Scott’s Fierce Conversations (specifically Principle 6: Take Responsibility for Your Emotional Wake.) Here’s a summary.
Talk to you soon,
Jenny
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