At the ASEA® 2021 North American Envision Conference, Founder Tyler Norton encouraged associates to create their own personal leadership legacy statement using only six words. Tyler discussed the concept of leaving a legacy and what that can mean for individuals in personal and professional life. He noted that the derivative of the word “legacy” originates from the 14th century, from the root word of legacie, meaning a person or group of persons sent out on a mission. Tyler then issued a challenge to ASEA associates worldwide to write a leadership legacy compressed into a single statement.
The Power of a Personal Leadership Statement
The challenge to consider writing a legacy statement in six words was inspired by the story of American novelist Ernest Hemingway, who once made a bet that he could write the most impactful story in only six words. His winning story crafted with only six words was, “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.”
“Now, think about that for a minute,” says Tyler, “Hemingway could have written 600 words or even 6,000 words, but it only took six words to communicate a haunting notion. Who’s baby shoes were they? Was it a baby never born? Did the person selling them realize ‘I’ll never have a child or this child’? That speaks to the power of what is known as literary compression, speaking less, and succinctly, in such a powerful way.”
Communicating a Mission
Next, Tyler asked his colleagues on the ASEA Executive Team to communicate the mission they hope to inspire in others using only six words. He explained that he had asked his colleagues what their six-word legacy statements would be. Chief Marketing Officer Jina Anson replied with two statements: “Paved the way for women leaders” and “The team doesn’t need me anymore.”
“Can you imagine the competencies, the support and, over time, the confidence that would come for a leader to be able to say, “I’ve worked so hard with this team, paving a way for women leaders and my team, that they don’t need me anymore,?” says Tyler, “They’re working intelligently and capably on their own.” That is Jina. What a powerful expression of a leadership legacy.”
Here are more six-word leadership legacy statements submitted by executives, including Tyler Norton’s personal statement:
“Prioritize people, teach truth, inspire hope.” — Tyler Norton, Founder
“Consistency and integrity create enduring devotion.” — Dave Wall, Chief Financial Officer
“Steadfast servant heart. Loves, uplifts people.” — Chris Mastin, Regional Vice President, ASEA US
“My father gave me advice earlier in my life, that you should be thoughtful with how you treat people because you always see those people twice in your life,” says Jörg Höche, Chief Revenue Officer, “My six words: You meet people twice in life.”
“Bring teams together. Make things better.” — David Jensen, Vice President of Global Supply Chain & Support
“Take the blame. Give the credit.” — Chuck Funke, Chief Executive Officer
A New Challenge for Associates
At ASEA, we are building on the “We Are Legacy”’ movement with a new challenge: Create your own “We Are Legacy” leadership statement. Share yours by submitting a photo of yourself holding a handwritten sign with your six-word legacy leadership statement. You could be featured on our website, at corporate events, and on the official ASEA Facebook and Instagram pages. Please submit your six-word personal leadership legacy statement to socialmedia@aseaglobal.com.
“I challenge you all to sit down and use the power of what is known as literary compression to write your six-word leadership legacy,” says Tyler, “Take those six-word leadership legacy statements and work on them. Share them with your teams. You’ll inspire each other. These are powerful statements and I think if we will focus first on living a legacy, get really clear on what that is, I truly believe we will most certainly leave a legacy.”