Take three deep breaths…in through the nose, out through the mouth.

Now visualize your employer, colleagues, and customers saying a few words about you because you’ve decided to move on to your next challenge. What will they say?

What will they say about your leadership? What do you want them to say? Why does it even matter?

If you lead people, you are automatically building a leadership legacy, whether you want it or not. It’s not just about how you excel at your profession, it’s also about the impact and impression you leave on other people – – your employer, employees, colleagues, and customers. You want to leave a legacy where people speak your name in a positive light, even when you’re not in the room, and think about you for opportunities that will take you to the next level.

Take a moment to reflect on the past week. Write down three words that describe how you made the people you lead feel. Do the same for whoever you report to and then, for your colleagues and customers. The words you wrote down likely reflect what you value in your leadership and relationships and what will shape your leadership legacy. Do the words you wrote reflect your intended outcome? If so, great. Keep improving what you’re doing and keep these words visible to help you stay aligned with what’s important to you. If not, you have some work to do.

Climbing the leadership ladder does not come with instructions on how to do the very thing that will make you an effective leader: building relationships that connect, inspire, and motivate people to act. If you’re lucky, you have a mentor, coach, or someone in your life who intentionally supports your growth and development and keeps you grounded and accountable. Leading people is an exercise in patience and flexibility, but if you do it “right”, your people will have your back, know their contributions are valued, and think twice before doing anything that jeopardizes the integrity of your relationship. These attributes embody a leadership legacy rooted in the core values of compassion, integrity, and accountability and are the keys to building a healthy, diverse, positive, and productive workplace culture and a legacy to be proud of. Here are a few ways to make them work for you.

Build a culture of compassion

Not long ago, effective leadership primarily meant inspiring an environment that created exhausted, stressed, burned-out employees competing to be seen, heard, and valued. But the “great resignation” has quickly taught us people would rather quit their job than be subjected to those conditions. Compassionate leadership on the other hand has gotten a bad rap over the years. It’s getting better, but when some people think of leading with compassion, they think it just merely means being nice to people. That’s part of it, but there’s more to it. A leader who builds a culture of compassions allows everyone to leave the conversation with their dignity, integrity, and wellbeing intact. They see, hear and value the people they depend on to make the organization, team, or project successful. They let people know that they don’t just see them as

objects that produce an outcome, but that they see them as humans and as an integral part of the organization’s success. Acknowledging, celebrating, and coaching instead of criticizing and demeaning are ways to lead with compassion. The Takeaway: Build a culture of compassion by being a leader with compassion.