Your Leadership Legacy Starts Now

“Only 29 percent of employees say their leader actively helps them develop their potential. Just 20 percent say their leader removes barriers to their success, and only 27 percent feel their input is encouraged and valued.”— Forbes, April 2024

The numbers reveal a leadership legacy gap

Those numbers aren’t just about workplace performance. They reveal something deeper—a disconnect in how leaders show up for their people. This isn’t just about corporate structures or team size. It’s about presence. About what we make possible for others when there’s no applause, no recognition, and no one keeping score.

Whether we realize it or not, we’re all building a leadership legacy through the way we lead every single day.

Leadership born from loss

We’ve seen the meaning of a leadership legacy firsthand in the story of Memorial Tribute Legacy’s founder, Adair Maynard. Adair didn’t start her company chasing profit margins or investor rounds. She started it while trying to hold onto the memory of someone she loved.

In June 2023, Adair’s cousin, Sgt. Cory Maynard, was shot and killed in the line of duty. The news came in the middle of what had been one of her happiest weeks—she had just returned from vacation and been accepted into UVA Darden. Within 15 minutes of hearing that Cory had been shot, the family learned he had passed away.

Preserving the essence of a life

In the days that followed, she helped create his memorial while carrying the weight of shock and grief. She collected photos, read news coverage, and remembered his laugh. The media’s portrayal showed the official version: serious, uniformed, in service. But those who knew him remembered the Cory who made them laugh, who showed up for his community without hesitation, and who led not by speeches but by example.

That experience left Adair with a question that we couldn’t ignore: Why is it still so hard to preserve the essence of a person—not their title, not their resume, but who they truly were?

How one question shaped our leadership legacy

That question became a company. And it reshaped our understanding of leadership—reminding us that it isn’t defined by a job title or a corner office. It’s the way we treat people when it’s hard, the words we choose when no one is listening, and the choices we make when no one will ever know.

Why people really leave

The Forbes data only reinforces what many of us have already felt: people don’t leave because of workloads—they leave because they feel unseen, because leadership shows up as a title instead of a practice.

What people remember about our leadership

No one remembers our quarterly metrics or the number of projects we’ve completed. They remember when we paused to listen. They remember the conversation that shifted their perspective. They remember the moment they saw their own values reflected in the way we led.

The leadership legacy reflection guide

That’s why we created the Leadership Legacy Reflection Guide—ten questions to help us all reflect on how we want to lead, live, and be remembered, not someday, but right now.

Leading like it matters

We don’t need a platform to leave a legacy. We don’t need a business to lead with care. We’re already doing it—in how we support our teams, how we show up for friends, and how we guide our families.

Your leadership legacy starts now

Take a moment. Ask the hard questions. Lead like it matters.

Because it does. And people will remember. Let’s give them something worth remembering.