Your Leadership Legacy

The Difference You Make in People's Lives

Marta Brooks, Julie Stark, Sarah Caverhill

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9781605095837
• eBook ISBN: 9781605096315
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Leadership
• Index: Business

Whatever your position, if you influence change in the lives of those around you, you are engaged in an act of leadership. And if you are a leader in any sense, you are creating a legacy as you live your daily life. That legacy is the sum total of the difference you make in the lives of others. Will you consciously craft your legacy or simply leave it up to chance? Through an insightful parable, Your Leadership Legacy shows how to create a positive, empowering legacy that will endure and inspire. You'll learn that, as a leader, the legacy you live is the legacy you leave. Three Leadership Imperatives—dare to be a person, not a position; dare to connect; and dare to drive the dream—will guide you in creating a positive and lasting legacy.

chapter four
DARE TO BE A PERSON, NOT A POSITION

A few weeks later, Doug was hastily writing a note for his housekeeper when the telephone rang.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Roman, this is Jennifer. I hate to bother you,” his secretary began apologetically.

“What’s going on?”

“We need your approval on the budget changes so we can submit them to the bank.”

“Can it wait until I get in? I’m running a little late and I still need to . . . well . . . what is it you said you need me to do?”

It was typical of Doug to pay only partial attention to her. “We need your approval on the budget changes. We’re supposed to fax the changes by four o’clock. Will you be back in time?”

Doug didn’t answer for a few seconds and then mumbled, “Well, I did say I’d be in later, didn’t I?”

“Yes, Mr. Roman.”

“Budget approvals, right?”

“Yes, Mr. Roman.”

“I should be there by two o’clock. Please put everything on my desk. All right?”

“Yes, Mr. Roman.”

Afterward, Doug thought about Jennifer. She had come to Mooseland directly from college, the daughter of a friend who needed a job. Doug never understood why Nan had hired Jennifer. Nevertheless, Nan had been confident in her choice. “You’ll see,” she had said, “Jennifer will be a part of the family.”

Doug had countered, “Nan, this isn’t a family. It’s a business.”

Nan had only smiled.

Jennifer did okay, he guessed, but she should just do her job and not worry so much about details. Doug decided that if Jennifer were a plant, she would most likely be a prickly nettle. Minimal contact with her often caused him irritation. Some garden he had to deal with! A prickly nettle and a stupid fern that shed on his Persian rug. Well, at least he had moved the fern from the dark pantry to the table under the entryway skylight. Elliott could not accuse him of reckless abandonment when it died.

Doug finished the instructions to his housekeeper, poured some water on the fern, which was looking a bit lackluster, and printed the e-mail from Anthony Ferrano.

Doug,
It was great to hear from you and I look forward to meeting you. I know it’s short notice, but would your schedule accommodate a meeting at 9:00 Monday morning? I leave Monday afternoon for the rest of the week. Please let me know.
Regards,
Anthony Ferrano

Neither the business card he had received from Adoi nor Mr. Ferrano’s e-mail message offered any hint as to why he would make room in his schedule for a stranger like Doug. For that matter, Doug was not sure why he was making room in his schedule for Mr. Ferrano. What is the connection between Anthony Ferrano and Nan?

Despite his misgivings, Doug approached the reception counter at Anthony Ferrano’s building a few minutes before nine o’clock. I don’t have time to waste on this nonsense. I have a business to run. Instead, I’m chasing around after strangers, hoping to find my leadership legacy. This journey won’t help to finalize the bank submission.

“Good morning!” the receptionist greeted him warmly.

“Good morning,” Doug replied in a strictly business tone, “Mr. Roman for Mr. Ferrano.”

“I’ll be happy to let his assistant know you’re here. Please feel free to help yourself to something at the coffee and juice bar,” she offered, motioning to a table with a variety of beverages and pastries a few feet away.

“Thank you,” Doug said politely, but he discarded the idea of helping himself to any refreshment. Mr. Ferrano’s first picture of Doug Roman will not include a shirt covered with snack crumbs. He turned to face one of the framed prints nearby and checked his appearance in the reflection in the glass.

Behind him, people who he presumed were employees strolled through the lobby, greeting others as they walked. Sometimes two or three stopped for a conversation that included so much laughter, he was sure the topic had more to do with personal escapades than work.

Doug shook his head, thinking that they behaved very much like Mooseland employees had when Nan had been around. He had pointed out more than once that workers wasting time in idle conversation were costing her money. Nan had only shrugged.

“Consider it an investment,” she had said.

“An investment? In what?”

She hadn’t answered. Now, as he watched these workers, he was reminded of their unfinished discussion.

Just then, a good-looking man with dark hair strode across the lobby in Doug’s direction. Doug guessed him to be in his midfifties.

“Good morning, Tiphani,” he bellowed. “How’s your deck project coming along?”

“Good morning, Tony,” she answered. “I think we’ll finally finish it this weekend. You’ll have to come over for the unveiling.”

“Let us know when, and we’ll be there!”

Must be some PR guy, Doug thought with disdain. Doesn’t he have any real work to do?

The man continued toward Doug and stopped in front of him. “Hello. You must be Mr. Roman,” he said, extending his hand to Doug. “I’m Tony Ferrano.”

Caught off guard, Doug stammered, “Uh, good morning.”

That’s odd, Doug mused, trying to account for what he had just observed. I thought his assistant would come down. Maybe his assistant is absent today. And all that friendly stuff with . . . what was her name? Tiphani?

Meanwhile, Tony continued to pump Doug’s hand. “Thank you for coming on short notice. I thought you might not want to wait until next week.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ferrano. Although I must confess, I’m not sure why I’m here.”

Tony’s smile broadened. “Please call me Tony. We try not to be formal around here.” As they headed for the elevator, Tony continued. “Adoi is an amazing person. I’m always glad to meet a friend of hers. It’s the least I can do.”

Doug heard an echo of Nan in his words. Everyone who worked at Mooseland addressed her as “Nan.” Doug preferred that his subordinates call him “Mr. Roman.” He had always dismissed Nan’s familiarity with her workers as a quirk in her nature. But Tony Ferrano did the same thing, and he was the president of a standout marketing firm.

Tony glanced at his watch. “My group is assembling for our weekly executive team meeting. These people are awesome, and I learn so much from them. We wrap up loose ends from the previous week, update ongoing projects and goals, and formulate short-term priorities for the upcoming week.”

As they entered the elevator, Tony went on, “I e-mailed everyone and let them know you’d be joining us. Adoi no doubt told you that, as the special guest, you’re scheduled to make a five-minute presentation about your company. We’ll do that first.”

What the heck is going on here? Doug looked expectantly at Tony, awaiting a further clue as to the meeting plan. Adoi hadn’t said anything about a presentation.

Doug realized Tony was chuckling. “Just kidding, Doug,” Tony exclaimed as he slapped Doug reassuringly on the shoulder. “I guess Adoi didn’t tell you about my sense of humor.”

Doug half smiled, again questioning his decision to meet with Tony Ferrano in the first place.

“Here we are,” Tony said as the elevator doors opened. “And there’s my crew,” he added proudly, nodding toward the glass-walled conference room that adjoined the lobby. “Let’s see if they’ve left any bagels for us, shall we?”

“Great,” Doug answered as Tony led the way into the conference room.

“Hello, everyone!” Tony boomed.

Everything about the scene made Doug think more of an informal reception than a meeting of senior managers. Tony’s eight executive team members were milling around a circular arrangement of upholstered sofas and armchairs, chatting and sipping beverages.

“Would you like some coffee or bottled water?” Tony asked Doug.

“Water would be great. Thank you.”

“You got it.” Tony turned and walked to the under-counter refrigerator. As Tony passed by his staff, each person greeted him in his or her own way, and Tony responded cordially.

“Thank you. But you didn’t have to . . .” Doug protested when Tony returned with the water. “I would have—”

“Nonsense,” Tony said. “You are our guest. Okay, everyone. Let’s get started.” Doug eased himself into one of the armchairs near where Tony was standing, then glanced at the faces around him. Two or three welcomed Doug to the meeting. It seemed to him they were actually eager to get started.

“Good morning!” Tony proclaimed. “I hope that you got a chance to read my e-mail about our guest, Doug Roman. He’s a friend of mine and the future CEO of Mooseland Stoneware. Please welcome him when you have a chance.

“Last week, I announced that I would have the results of our customer survey for you today. Unfortunately, I overloaded Amy with preparations for the regional president’s meeting. I’ve asked her to finish tabulating the data and distribute the summary in my absence. I apologize for the delay.

“I will be checking e-mail and voice mail while I’m away, so if there are any comments about the survey results or any other concerns, please leave me a message. If you need to reach me immediately, check with Amy.

“Well, Nick, let’s roll and see where we’ll begin today!”

All eyes in the room were trained on the coffee table in front of Nick as he rolled a pair of dice.

“Eight!” everyone who could see the dice said in unison.

“Who is lucky number eight this week?” Tony asked the group.

All heads turned as a young woman held up a piece of paper bearing the number eight.

“Carla!” Tony exclaimed. “What’s happening in the world of Reichert Electronics?”

Doug was rattled by the contrast between the staff meetings he chaired at Mooseland and what he was seeing unfold here. When he walked into a meeting, Doug expected his subordinates to stay on their side of the table. It was obvious that Tony did not have the same expectation.

A confident female voice broke Doug’s reverie. “Tony, we’re suffering major heartburn with Reichert. We presented their decision makers with the entire layout on Friday expecting final approval—”

“And they want changes, Carla?” Tony smiled understandingly.

“Exactly. We’ve gone over and over this layout with them. We’ve responded to every one of their concerns. This was supposed to be the final presentation. We explained that if they continue to request revisions, we would have a problem with their deadline. The last thing we want is to push back the product launch.”

Someone is to blame for this fire drill, and I would darn sure find out who, Doug thought. But Tony didn’t react with anger. Instead, he extracted pertinent information by asking questions.

“I’m sure that news must have made them dance a jig,” Tony cajoled.

“Pushing back the product launch is not an option, so they flexed. T. J. and Juanita and volunteers from Burke’s team spent Saturday and Sunday mocking up the changes. We’ll present the revisions tomorrow,” she said with a shrug. “I’d like to let our weekend warriors leave at noon this Friday. They’ve gone ‘above and beyond’ on this one.”

“I won’t ask you or Burke how the greens treated you over the weekend. It sounds like you had your hands full,” Tony said, smiling at Carla and nodding at Burke, an athletic-looking man who reminded Doug of a slightly younger, rough-cut version of Antonio Banderas.

“Thank your people for their efforts. Good call on the early departure on Friday. Keep me posted.”

“Thanks, Tony.”

“No problem. Okay, Burke, what’s happening in production?”

Moving clockwise around the room, each attendee gave a summary of department happenings, project status reports, account updates, and budget results. Team members sometimes broke into dialogue that did not include Tony. At other times, Tony referred a question asked of him by one manager to another manager for comment.

Tony’s approach bothered Doug.

What is wrong with an agenda listing items in order of importance? It’s a meeting formula that works, right? True, my staff meetings aren’t as lively as this one, but they get the job done. Maybe this is a show being staged for me.

The last to report was Nick. Looking serious, Nick straightened when Tony asked if he had anything he’d like to discuss. Doug had him pegged as Tony’s CFO. Okay,...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• CONTENTS
• Foreword
• Preface
• ONE The Reading of the Will
• TWO Every Journey Begins with One Step
• THREE The Fern Is as Good as Dead
• FOUR Dare to Be a Person, Not a Position
• FIVE Dare to Connect
• SIX Dare to Drive the Dream
• SEVEN The Fern Is Revived
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors