Legacy
Things I Highlighted is a bulleted list of particular sentences in a book that stuck out to me. These cannot be viewed as general summaries of books, but rather parts of books that struck me in a way that demanded more of my attention. Typically I share one thing I highlighted from each chapter, so they will appear in the same order they appear in the book. This version of Things I Highlighted will cover Legacy, a book written by James Kerr that reveals what the New Zealand All Blacks can teach us about life and leadership.
Legacy
Chapter 1: Character
No one person has all the answers, but asking questions challenges the status quo, helps connect with core values and beliefs, and is a catalyst for individual improvement.
After all, the better the questions we ask, the better the answers we get.
Chapter 2: Adapt
Momentum swings faster than we think. One moment we're on top of the world, the next falling off the other side. The role of the leader is to know when to reinvent, and how to do it.
Chapter 3: Purpose
Personal meaning is the way we connect to a wider team-purpose. If our values and beliefs are aligned with the values and beliefs of the organization, then we will work harder towards its success. If not, our individual motivation and purpose will suffer, and so will the organization.
Chapter 4: Responsibility
Instill in your team members a sense of great self-worth — that each, at any given time, can be the most important on the battlefield.
Chapter 5: Learn
'What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments,' said the Greek statesman Pericles, 'but what is woven into the lives of others.' Your legacy is that which you teach.
Chapter 6: Whānau
In Māori mythology, whānau is symbolized by a spearhead, an image derived in turn from the flight formation of the kawau. A spearhead has three tips — but to work properly, all the force must move in one direction. And so it is with whānau.
Chapter 7: Expectations
From ancient theology to contemporary psychology, our words shape our story and this story becomes the framework for our behaviours; and our behaviours determine the way we lead our life and the way we run our organizations.
Chapter 8: Preparation
The best kind of practice involves intensity — getting out of your comfort zone, extending yourself. In a phrase heard around the All Blacks' camp, 'If you're not growing anywhere, you're not going anywhere.'
Chapter 9: Pressure
Under pressure, your attention is either diverted or on track. If you're diverted, you have a negative emotional response and unhelpful behaviour. That means you're stuck. That means you're overwhelmed.
On the other hand, if your attention is on track you have situational awareness and you execute accurately. You are clear, you adapt and you overcome.
Chapter 10: Authenticity
Authenticity allows us to author our own lives; to make our own original imprint and to write our own story in a voice that is true to our values.
'I want to live an authentic life,' says Anton Oliver 'But of course to do that you have to understand who you are first. To have a baseline to keep referring back to.' And this begins with honesty and integrity.
Chapter 11: Sacrifice
There is a saying: 'There are no crowds lining the extra mile.' On the extra mile, we are on our own: just us and the road, just us and the blank sheet of paper, just us and the challenge we've set ourself. It's the work we do behind closed doors that makes the difference out on the field of play, in whichever field we compete, whether we're in a team, leading a business or just leading our life.
Chapter 12: Language
Metaphors are where we recognize ourselves in stories — a way we attach personal meaning to a more public narrative. They create a visceral response, and force us to rethink meaning.
We, literally, re-cognize.
Chapter 13: Ritual
'Building trust, developing people and driving high-performance behaviours are never-ending tasks,' says Eastwood. 'Rituals are key for reinforcing the emotional glue.'
Chapter 14: Whakapapa
The word character comes from the Ancient Greek, kharakter, meaning the mark that is left on a coin during its manufacture. Character is also the mark left on you by life, and the mark we leave on life.
It's the impact you make when you're here, the trace you leave once you're gone.
Chapter 15: Legacy
Te torino haere whakamua, whakamuri. At the same time as the spiral is going forward, it is also returning.
It's time to make your mark, they say. Your contribution. It's time to leave a legacy. Your legacy. It's your time.