Lead the Way.

My mom has recently been watching a motivational speaker named Justin Prince, and in one of the videos she sent me, he was talking about generational impact within the family. The idea that a person's influence on their family lineage, positive or negative, tends to have an effect on the next 5 or so generations.

It begs the question(s), what am I doing today that is going to benefit my family for generations to come? Who in my lineage has had a lasting positive impact on me? In our family, I would say that my Dad is going to have left a positive influence on leadership and my Mom is going to have left a positive influence on faith for generations of Buchanan's to come.

Just as important as impacting family though, I realized that this can also apply in an organizational sense. While it's more yearly than generational: What impact are you leaving on your organization for years to come? Is it positive or negative? Looking back at all of the teams and organizations I have been a part of, I can name all of the people that have had a positive impact on the cultures. High school soccer was Coach Galvan bringing to life the value of teamwork, Quincy United Soccer Club was Coach Ryan bringing the value of knowledge and hard work to not only the field, but also life, Home Depot (4169) was my assistant manager Mike Olenik being an example of high energy fun at work while still getting the job done, and now at Apache it has been Cody Smith leading with integrity and building relationships in a way that people feel seen and valued. These people had/have influence that impacted/impacts the then/now and because of that, people were/are motivated to change in a way that they could/can continue the influence. These examples all led the way.

Teams at Macomb continued to benefit from the value of a team atmosphere when Coach Galvan left, Teams at QUSC continued to perform at an incredibly high level both on and off the field due to the learned values from Coach Ryan, Home Depot (4169) continues to be a place where people come to work with high amounts of energy after seeing the every day joy that Mike came to work with, and the people on the floor at Apache continue to be motivated by Cody at the idea that someone cares to know them and cares about more than just their performance.

Wherever you are, your influence matters. It matters not only now, but for the years to come. Good culture is contagious, and it starts with positive influences. Be a positive influence for what you value, because there is a good chance you do it well. If it's teamwork, lead the way. If it's relationship, lead the way. If it's energy, lead the way. If it's faith, lead the way. If it's creative thinking, lead the way. Whatever it is, lead the way. If you don't do it now, then when?

Be both consistent and persistent in your efforts. It won't happen overnight. It has taken my parents more than 30 years, it took Coach Galvan 5 years, Coach Ryan at least 2 years, Mike nearly 2 years, and Cody most of his career. It takes time, and tomorrow isn't guaranteed, so start today. Be the positive influence and have an impact that lasts. Shepherd your values. Lead the way.