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678. Influence as Legacy — What Remains After Authority · Daily Influence

• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to Daily Influence, your daily dose of positive influence.
• 0:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Brian Smith founder of IA Business Advisors and co-author of the Iain team series.
• 0:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: Each day we share stories and insights to help you find be and build your influence in a positive and responsible way.
• 0:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm Greg Clino, partner at IE Business Advisors, and co-host of Daily Influence.
• 0:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Be sure to follow, subscribe, and share Daily Influence with someone who could use a little extra positivity today.
• 0:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: And make us part of your Daily routine, whether it's during your commute, on a walk, or an quiet moment just for you, because you're influenced matters.
• 0:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hey everybody, Brian Smith here with the I'm team series and your daily influence and going to be talking about kind of a succession topic today.
• 0:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: And what I mean by that is our influence as a legacy.
• 1:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: And what remains after, you know, our authority after we leave after we move on to something new, whatever new might be.
• 1:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: And just a session isn't always about
• 1:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: where you're at in one place or one season of your life and going to the next.
• 1:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: So there comes a point in every leader's life.
• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: When a quiet but profound realization sets in is that our authority in our present area of influences temporary titles change roles you've all organizations restructure.
• 1:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: ownership transfers careers and all of these things are part of this equation and yet something always remains.
• 1:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: The real question is not how long you held authority.
• 1:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: The real question is, what remains after it's gone?
• 1:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: So today, I am going to take the time to actually talk about what influence is as our legacy.
• 2:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Leadership beyond that title, beyond that control, beyond that position, beyond that ownership, because authority ends, but influence echoes and creates ripples for a very long time.
• 2:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's look at what leadership is beyond title role or control because authority is granted, but influence, especially, and I think I mean to say responsible and positive influence is earned.
• 2:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: A title can require compliance, but influence inspires continuity when leaders rely primarily on authority.
• 2:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's behavior shifts when they leave the room, standards erode overnight, standards erode when oversight disappears.
• 2:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Accountability becomes positional, not cultural, but when leaders build positive and responsible influence values are internalized, standards become self-enforced and culture sustains itself.
• 3:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: True leadership maturity happens when we ask if my authority will remove tomorrow would my influence remain.
• 3:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because positional power manages behavior, personal influence shapes identity and identity outlives hierarchy.
• 3:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: Look, there are behaviors that outlive our careers.
• 3:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: You will be remembered less for your directness and more for your patterns.
• 3:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: People don't carry forward your org chart.
• 3:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: They carry forward your behaviors.
• 3:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: Did you interrupt or listen as a leader?
• 3:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: Did you protect systems or protect the people that made up those systems?
• 3:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Did you react during your leadership in fear, or did you respond with clarity?
• 3:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Did you avoid hard conversations, or did you enter them, respectfully?
• 3:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Did you reward politics, or did you reward performance?
• 4:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Culture has not built by mission statements.
• 4:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's built by repeated observable leadership behaviors under pressure.
• 4:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: The question is not, what did I accomplish while I was in charge?
• 4:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: The deeper question should be, what behaviors did I normalize?
• 4:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because what you normalize becomes what others repeat long after you're gone.
• 4:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because that is influence as legacy.
• 4:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: When thinking about legacy, I think about designing influence that improves others after we're gone.
• 4:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, a lot of what we believe in and how we strive here at the Iron Team series, what we're trying to give you access to through the daily influence is continuous improvement.
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Look, legacy is not accidental.
• 4:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's designed.
• 4:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: You design legacy when you teach others how to think, not just what to do.
• 4:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: Create systems that distribute clarity, not dependency.
• 5:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: Build feedback loops that correct drift.
• 5:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Model accountability without defense of this and develop successors who surpass you.
• 5:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Image our leaders build dependence, mature leaders, build capacity.
• 5:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: And in smart language, this is structural influence.
• 5:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Clear expectations, clear communication, clear ownership, clear measurement, and clear correction.
• 5:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: If everything collapses when you exit, you didn't build influence, you built control.
• 5:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: But if people grow stronger, clear, and more confident after you're departure, that's legacy.
• 5:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's responsible influence.
• 5:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: So every leader eventually hands over authority, sometimes often times throughout their life.
• 5:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Some leave behind confusion, some leave behind compliance.
• 5:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: a few leave behind courage, authority ends, influence, echoes.
• 5:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: So here's the reflection.
• 5:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: If your title disappears tomorrow, what would remain?
• 6:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: Would your team carry forward your clarity, your standards, your integrity, your maturity?
• 6:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: or only your absence.
• 6:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Legacy is not what you built.
• 6:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: It is what continues to build without you.
• 6:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that is the highest form of leadership.
• 6:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for joining us on daily influence.
• 6:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I hope today's episode helps you slow down and think about the intentionality of
• 6:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: what legacy can be and how slowing down and listening and engaging in your areas of influence in a much more structured or a much more thoughtful way can help lay a foundation for a legacy that will lead to continuous improvement and positivity and responsibility have a great day.