Legacy Leadership and Capitalism

Some people believe that being a capitalist means you have to care more about making money than people. Some of the people who believe that are capitalists while others are socialists. In many situations, these people appear to be correct. But, I have seen numerous companies where that concept does not appear to be true. In each of these cases those companies are led by people I consider to be Legacy Leaders. Legacy Leaders make money, and often a lot of it, but they do that by truly caring for everyone that helps them do that.

I have personal experience with several leaders that care so much about their people that they share their gains with them. They listen to them. They adjust their behavior and procedures based on what they hear from their people. They believe the culture of their company is critical to the company’s success. Life is not always free from difficulties and neither is the world of any business. But, the Legacy Leader doesn’t suffer through those difficulties alone. The Legacy Leader engages everyone in the organization to help weather those storms just as they engage everyone in the celebrations of success.

When I look at the world around me, I see many examples of incredibly caring companies but I also see way too many many companies that just don’t care at all. They may say they care but all the evidence points to selfishness and a serious lack of caring. When a company can be fined for their bad behavior, not just once, but numerous times! They really don’t care. When employees leave a company as soon as they have the opportunity! They really don’t care. When the executives are paid hundreds of times more than wages paid to workers! They really don’t care. Legacy Leaders share the financial success just as they share the financial hardships. The selfish share only the hardships.

All of the true capitalists out there; you could change the world’s perception of capitalism in a very few years. Switch from caring more about money than you do people. Accept the very real fact that to make money requires people. If people are tools you use to make money, they figure that out. If people are critical parts of your company’s success fabric and are treated like they are important to you, they figure that out as well. If you are an organizational leader, you have a choice as to how you will lead that organization. Picking the Legacy Leader approach will pay dividends no other way can provide. Their will be financial dividends, human dividends, social dividends, and, quite likely environmental dividends as well.