Living a Legacy of Leadership

Living a Legacy of Leadership - "A legacy is often thought of as money or property bequeathed to another by will.  It can be something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past.  A synonym of “legacy” is “heritage” - practices that are handed down from the past by tradition or hereditary succession to a title or an office or property.  Both of these depict images of death or loss of what was.  When applied to leadership we think of one educational leader leaving the school district and another picking up where they left off.  The verbs that describe this scene are in the past tense, of leaving a legacy.

"When we speak of leadership in education we should use vibrant, living verbs that speak of a proactive educational leader.  We should envision educational leaders as Living a Legacy of Leadership where every action taken is purposeful and with intent, and addresses the vibrance and potential of today.   Living your legacy of leadership instead of leaving your legacy is the difference between being “action oriented” and “state of being” oriented.  Leaders who cannot break away from a “state of being” leadership are recognized by the verbs that surround them—is, are, was, were, am, be, been, being.  These tend to be RE-active to what is or was, not PRO-active for what can be.

"Educational leaders who want to live their legacy now seek the right tools to leverage the opportunities to lead powerfully today – thereby also creating a lasting and living legacy for tomorrow."