CHAPTER 23What Is My Legacy?
At some point in your career, you will start to think about the long-term impact of your work. You won't just think, “Did I do a good job today?” Instead, you think, “When I leave this job, what will remain? What will people remember me for?” It's never too late to start thinking about this, regardless of your age or experience. Thinking about the legacy of your work will force you to make decisions and strategies that are more impactful to your team, your organization, and you.
In the security profession, leadership doesn't seem to last very long. Conventional wisdom suggests that the average tenure of a chief information security officer (CISO) is about two years, although this is growing. One of the impacts of a short tenure is that a CISO has little time to establish a strong team or create a program that has a long-lasting impact on the organization. A leader who bounces from role to role or from company to company eventually gets to a place where they question the value of the work they are doing, and they ask, “What is my legacy?”
It helps to think about your purpose for leadership. I recommend One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership ...
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