4 Ways Leaders Can Leave a Lasting Legacy At Work
In the US during the 1960s, soldiers returned from war with government financial support to complete their schooling. The problem, though, was that schools weren’t prepared for it. Control Data Corporation and the University of Illinois began researching how technology could solve the problem by extending the capacity and reach of learning.
Those researchers could never have expected the legacy of their work. It gave birth to email, texting, and gamification as we know it today. The lessons learned from the history of their work have implications for all leaders who want to build a legacy of impact.
The research into technology-based learning gave birth to a system (and later, a company) called PLATO Learning, which was an acronym for Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations. That pioneer of virtual learning grew and ultimately acquired two other firms founded in the tech-boom in the early 2000s: Archipelago Learning, maker of the Study Island individualized learning system, and EdOptions, which believed that kids shouldn’t be limited to courses available in their district but should have access to any class available to any student via virtual classrooms. The combined organization is known today as Edmentum.
The Operating System of a Lasting Legacy
I mentioned in a recent article that I work with five companies that I love. Edmentum is one of those five. I’m fortunate to work closely with them on the growth and development of their people.
Last week I sat down with Jamie Candee, the president and CEO, and Ryan Hagedorn, the COO. Jamie came from PLATO and Ryan from EdOptions. I found their perspectives on what it takes to build a legacy and make a lasting impact fascinating, and I think you will, too.
Their point of view is that everyone needs a sense of belonging. Wired in all of us is a desire to know that we came from something. And we can build that something into our legacy. They ask, if someone stopped you in an elevator ten years from now and asked you, What was your legacy, how would you respond?
To know how to respond, they say, you need to deeply know four things:
1. Your “Customer”
Whoever it may be, whether it’s your boss, your colleague, your spouse, your funding sources, or the person who buys what you sell. Invest in lasting partnerships. Understand what others are trying to do. Know why they’re challenged. And most importantly, know more about who they are than what they do. What they do is tactical and finite. Who they are doesn’t change regardless of circumstances. For instance, school teachers and administrators do things differently today than they did 60 years ago, but who they are hasn’t changed much.
2. What You Offer
Be clear on what you can give. How can you be a trusted partner if you don’t deeply understand how you solve problems? Know your uniqueness, and learn your limits — what you can’t do. Have a point of view based on thorough research and listening. Constantly grow your understanding of what works. Computers have changed dramatically since the 1960s, and so has Edmentum, because it has to in order to thrive.
3. Your Teammates
If you work together, know their “why.” It’s not enough to know who they are and what they do. You have to understand what motivates them. What feedback resonates with them? What rewards inspire them? Humans are more productive and work more effectively when they work together in trust and empathy. One of the reasons I love to work with Edmentum is because they love to work together.
4. What Lasting Impact Looks Like
According to Jamie and Ryan, you not only have to have a reason to do what you do, it has to be a reason that’s not commercial. You need to discover your intrinsic motivation that will inspire you to run up hills. Why is it so important to know how you define the lasting importance of your work? Because if you don’t have that picture in mind of the impact you’re aiming for, the short-term pain will get you — if not the pain of the work itself, then the pain of dealing with other people. People are not rational. Politics, to some degree, drives behavior in families, teams, and organizations. You’ve got to know why, in ten years, it will have been worth it.
How will you leave a legacy?
Know who you serve, know what you have to give, know who you work with, and know why you’re doing it.
And thank Edmentum the next time you send a text.
Comments are closed here.