Honoring Legacies

Today, I was reflecting on how to honor the legacies of women who have mentored me in my past volunteer efforts. I will soon be taking over an organization that has been successfully and well-run by a lady that has been a positive and enthusiastic leader as well as a mentor to me.

In the past, when I've taken over a leadership role my first response has been to completely overhaul the program and make it my own. Wipe the slate clean, start completely over if you will. I have seen a lot of women use this same approach as well because really, we all think we can do the tasks so much better!! I think about the women who attempted to mentor me and how I brushed off their help because really, I just knew better! And as I've moved on and left leadership to other women, I think about how they have brushed me off because, really they know better!

But as I start to approach this new role, I am finally realizing I need to honor her legacy. I reflect on the organizations that I have led and when the new leaders take over, watching them dump everything that I established and accomplished is so frustrating and sad. And I think- I did the same thing. In every organization, there are things that can be improved. I think every organization needs a fresh breath of air every couple of years or you risk becoming stagnant. I really try not to overstay my welcome as a leader and try to train up new leaders and then move on.

But this time, I plan to honor the legacy left by this amazing woman who helped build a very large organization that I now get the privilege to lead. I will keep some of her programs in place because they work. I will make changes in other areas that could use that "fresh breath of air". I will remember her creativity, her positive attitude and cheerfulness and hope that I can carry on the best of her qualities.

One lesson I've learned from my various leadership volunteer roles is this, listen to the women who have held your position before you. They may not have always done it right or the way you might have gotten the job done. However, they probably learned a lot of lessons along the way that you could avoid and their advice could be very helpful if you would just listen.