The HR Legacy

“The greatest legacy is that which benefits the widest number of people for the longest period without limit to value”.

Many of us are so caught up with daily work that we often fail to see the purpose of our very existence. We may argue that we are hired to do a job, to get things done – nothing more or less. For many of us, that works just fine, as that leaves us with room for our family and other things that are important to us.

Yet, for many of us who are HR leaders, the profession is no longer about getting things done. It is about leaving a lasting legacy. But again, that’s something that many of us would think wishfully, yet few would ever achieve. Those of us who are not in a position of organisational leadership may think that legacies are for CEOs; after all Jack Welch and Lee Iacocca are not HR directors. But you are far from right.

All of us, regardless of our place in the organisation and society have the ability to leave a lasting legacy. As HR professionals, we can create values so powerful that we will be remembered for generations. Leaders and legends come from all walks of life. But they have a few things in common: strong personal values, inextinguishable passion, and a burning desire to succeed. Key here is having strong personal values as opposed to merely supporting business values – to be able to define ourselves and our organisations instead of being defined by the rules that we sometimes inevitably help create.

ARE YOU UP TO IT?
However, many of the legends as we know them – people we read in business school textbook, people whose name adorn great halls and public buildings, have made sacrifices so great many of us would shudder to even consider. Many of these have shattered families, spouses who cannot live along with a seemingly selfish character, children who grew up never seeing their parent. Many of the greats lived a life misunderstood, hated even, and generally fighting to correct the perception. So how would you juggle this mismatch of public perception and reality?

Often, however, we can create our own legacy by just doing what we do, but a little differently, a little more passionately. That way, we leave behind a lasting history – be it in the systems that we create, the values that we instil, the culture that we build or simply, the leaders that we help mould.

When we set out to create HR Asia, for example, we know we are not just merely creating a magazine, but a mean to create a profession that is rich in leadership in thoughts and actions. Perhaps, that will be the legacy that we will leave behind.

Ultimately as HR professionals, all of us have a choice. To live a conventional life, or to leave behind a legacy. But if we live our daily life with the conscious effort to create a legacy in whatever we do, then we are already a step closer to creating one.

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This appeared in my note on the editor's page of the latest HR Asia. To get a copy, visit your nearest bookstore, or alternatively if you are a senior HR professional, email chro@hrasiamedia.com for free subscription.