A leader’s job is to motivate people, and we motivate people by engaging their hearts.  The key to their hearts is story.  Every team, every organization, every employee deserves a leader who can grow them through stories.  While a leader can’t predict every occasion or orchestrate every set of circumstances, there are essential stories that every leader will need on their legacy journey.  As a legacy leader you need to be prepared with a story: not one that is perfectly delivered nor one just casually pulled out of your pocket, but instead one that is thoughtfully and carefully contemplated; one that can be called upon at a moment’s notice. 

In those moments when the circumstances are calling you to inspire rather than simply communicate, consider what your team needs from you.  A presentation just won’t do when you are facing a crisis of confidence.  A deck just won’t do when you step into a new role. With keen instincts, legacy leaders see the potential for certain moments to be epic.  They see the potential signature story in the moment — the turnaround, the comeback, the never-again story that must-be written.  They even create the conditions for new stories to be written by asking what story do I want to tell?  What stories do you want to be passed on to those around you, behind you, in front of you - not about you like gossip, but from you.