Why Your Legacy Matters
The legacy you leave is the life you lead. — Jim Kouzes
Photo: Author
I am writing a book based on my Breadcrumb Legacy™ concept. This concept is about finding purpose and meaning on a daily basis — moment by moment and crumb by crumb.
We often think of legacy at the end — end of life, end of career, end of the position.
But we create bits and pieces of our legacy daily by what we say or don’t say. By what we do or don’t do.
Finding purpose and meaning could not be more important than it is during the pandemic and after. Breadcrumb Legacy is for everyone who wants to live a life of daily meaning.
We know baby boomers are reaching retirement age at a rate of 10,000 per day. Today, 30 percent of workers are millennials. By 2025, 75 percent of the workforce will be comprised of millennials.
Millennials are being called The Purpose Generation. They are not looking for the same things from their employers that the boomers were. If businesses want to stay competitive in recruiting and retaining talent, they need to know that Millennials want to work for organizations that allow them to evolve and innovate in order to stay relevant and to work for companies that have a higher purpose in addition to profits.
Generalizing, baby boomers wanted workplaces that offered stability, security, and high pay. Millennials have different priorities.
For example, a 2016 Cone Communications study reveals:
- 75 percent of millennials would take a pay cut to work for a socially responsible company.
- 76 percent of millennials consider a company’s social and environmental commitments before deciding where to work.
- 64 percent of millennials won’t take a job if a potential employer doesn’t have strong corporate responsibility practices.
According to a PwC report titled “Millennials at work — Reshaping the workplace,” “millennials want their work to have a purpose, to contribute something to the world and they want to be proud of their employer.”
What Is Corporate Social Purpose?
Social purpose is different from philanthropy and charitable giving. It is a commitment to social good that is woven into the fabric of a corporate culture.
Businesses with a strong social purpose make intentional day-to-day decisions that support their values and “encode these purpose-driven practices into their processes so the company is aligned from the frontline to the C-suite.”
Organizations have a legacy also. Making intentional decisions based on identified values and a strong social purpose is a great way of leaving breadcrumbs that matter for your employees and other stakeholders.
What Do Millennials Want in the Workplace?
Known for their research, Gallup discovered Millennials have certain desired aspects of the employee experience.
- A purpose and a paycheck. Work must have meaning.
- Job satisfaction and development. Learn and grow.
- Not bosses, but coaches. Valued as people and employees.
- Not annual reviews, but on-going conversations. Continuous feedback is welcome.
- Develop strengths not fix weaknesses. Opportunities to do what they do best.
Why Workplaces Should Pay Attention?
Organizations should listen to the desires of Millennials because it is good business to do so.
Purpose: Gallup finds that one in three employees worldwide strongly agree with the statement, “The mission or purpose of my organization makes me feel my job is important.”
“By doubling that ratio, business units could realize a 34% reduction in absenteeism, a 41% drop in patient safety incidents and a 19% improvement in quality. Just a 10% improvement in employees’ connection with the mission or purpose of their organization would result in a 12.7% reduction in safety incidents, an 8.1% decrease in turnover, and a 4.4% increase in profitability.”
Development: The primary reason people quit a job is for “career growth opportunity.” Replacing employees is extremely costly in both time, money, and affects the culture as people come and go.
Coaches: Gallup reminds us that employees don’t leave bad companies. They leave bad bosses. It is time to focus on coaching to help employees learn and grow.
Ongoing conversations: Performance reviews are not known to greatly improve performance. Only about 20 percent of employees strongly agree that their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work.
Strengths: Gallup research reveals that the most effective leaders are always investing in strengths.
A good job: Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report shows that most employees say it’s “very important” to have a job that permits greater work-life balance and personal wellbeing.
Turnover is expensive in many ways. Yet, 63% believe it is “very likely” or “somewhat likely” that they could find a job as good as the one they have — and 51% are actively looking for a different job.
What Legacy Are You Leaving?
If you are in a position to influence the lives of others, you are a leader. In addition to bosses and managers, this definition includes pastors, teachers, coaches, among others.
What legacy are you leaving?
What are people remembering about you after you leave a meeting, a room, an interaction?
What legacy is your organization leaving?
Because of COVID-19, some organizations will not reopen. Hundreds of thousands of businesses will close their doors. Would people miss your organization if it were gone?
To Learn More About Legacy
I am hosting an online course August 12th titled Beyond the Money: Leaving a Breadcrumb Legacy. Check out my website for details. I would love to see you online!
