Staying put at work? Create a legacy while you’re there
Want to stay put at work for while? There is a new trend for people in their forties who want to leave a significant legacy in their workplace
An interesting new trend is emerging from the coaching I’m doing with clients in their 40’s around creating a legacy in the workplace.
Rather than typically being of retirement age and looking to “put something back into society”, they have many years left in the workplace and are highly regarded by their organisations.
Originally coming for career change coaching these clients have decided to stay put for work-life and job market reasons, but want to make an extra impact while they are there. They want to create and leave a legacy that is meaningful to them and of benefit to others.
One works in a male-dominated engineering company and has set the goal of getting more women into the organisation. The coaching is around how she does this, who she can enlist to support her and how she can promote the project more widely.
Another client is using my support to leverage his knowledge of employment law to write a White Paper that will help his company’s employees as well as further establish himself as a subject matter expert.
So why is this happening now? On a practical level, the UK’s stagnant economy is making people risk-averse and hold onto their jobs despite outgrowing them. This means they trying to find ways to make them more interesting.
On a broader, more meaningful level, this trend taps into Maslow’s pyramid of motivational needs which is topped with self-actualization, where we have the time and space to become the most complete and authentic versions of ourselves. Here, we desire to accomplish everything we can and to become the best that we can be.
Fast forward 80 years and we enter the realm of sustainable careers (De Vos et al 2020), denoted in terms of happiness, health, and productivity. Researchers describe a sustainable career as one that is aligned with interests, strengths, and values, and offers ongoing learning and renewal. Ultimately, building a sustainable career will give us the ability to maintain several aspects of our career and life over the long-term.
In the US coaches are already devising models to support individuals and leaders to create a meaningful impact. Seeking to leave a legacy at work feels fresh and forward thinking, and could be just the thing we need to sustain and boost our careers and reputation in a tricky job market.
The only caveat is this cannot be an add-on, clever tool to hollowly build visibility, it needs to be authentically deep-rooted and aligned to values and interests.