Leadership is About What Continues on Without You
There are so many brilliant leaders who create real change in their organisations. You know the type. They deliver results, grow people and shift culture. They do everything that we’re looking for in a leader.
Then they move on.
And within months, it's like they were never there.
What happened?
It’s because the way we've been taught to lead is set up for individual heroics rather than creating lasting impact. That creates a dynamic where too much of the outcomes rely on the presence and personality of the individual, rather than the system they’re a part of.
It doesn't have to be this way.
In a world that’s increasingly uncertain, individual heroic leadership might look like the answer. But it misses the point. We need to be able to lead in a way that creates lasting, durable impact beyond any one leader’s tenure.
The Unsustainable Story
Leadership that relies on the heroic energy and efforts of single individuals is unsustainable. I know because I lived it. At 30, I burned out as a national manager, saying yes to everything, driven by this belief that busyness equalled value. I crashed pretty hard! And the business suffered too.
That breakdown became a breakthrough when I realised I was living someone else's definition of success. I started asking a different question: how can I lead on work that matters in a way that makes a lasting impact over the long-term?
That’s a question that I’m still asking today.
And I'm inviting you to ask it too.
The Five Pieces That Create Lasting Impact
During the past year, I’ve had some powerful conversations on the Dig Deeper podcast around what it takes to lead lasting impact. I’ve identified five elements that, when combined, create the ability to lead lasting impact beyond individual heroics. Here are those elements, along with links to some of the podcast conversations behind them:
Systems Thinking: We need leadership that sees the system, not just the symptoms. Dr Richard Hodge's dragonfly model gets us to think systemically about our leadership. A dragonfly spends years developing underwater, then emerges briefly to ensure the next generation. What if we thought of our impact in generations rather than quarters, and as a contribution to a healthier system?
Hero to Host Leadership: James McCulloch, CEO of Victim Support New Zealand, when faced with a list of problems from his people, responded with: "I'm just the CEO. I can't actually do that much myself. Let’s work this out together." That's not weakness. It's wisdom. Create conditions where answers emerge, not dependency on you.
Unhurried Productivity: When feeling overwhelmed and frantic, Derek Sivers' friend told him, "You don't have to do any of that." Seventeen years later, Derek still uses the question “Who or what am I doing this for?” as a circuit-breaker for busyness. The distinction between obligation and choice stills the mind, slows you down and gets you to focus on what matters most.
Living Authentically: Rachel Paris made partner in one of New Zealand’s most prestigious law firms, then realised: This isn't it. Success isn't about what looks impressive. It's about what actually sustains you. If our leadership efforts are to last, they first need to be grounded in authenticity and purpose.
Leading Lasting Impact: When you weave these four elements together, you level up. You can create a momentum beyond your individual efforts, and a change so embedded that people don't want to go back.
Why This Matters Now
We're in an age of leadership churn and short-term thinking. All too often, we’re playing defence (making problems go away) rather than offence (moving towards what we want to create). It’s exhausting, and it’s unproductive.
What if we measured leadership success differently? Not by what you achieve while you're there, but by what continues after you're gone? Not by personal heroics, but by the capability you build in others?
That's the shift.
Where Do You Sit?
Here's the uncomfortable question: Are you creating lasting impact, or are you just performing brilliantly?
If you're honest with yourself, you probably know the answer. Most of us are stuck at Stage 2: exhausting ourselves and everyone around us.
I've created a free 3-minute diagnostic that shows you exactly where you sit on the four-stage spectrum from Crisis-Driven to Lasting-Impact Leadership. It'll give you clarity on where you are and what your next move is. You can take it at digbyscott.com/leading-lasting-impact.
The Year-in-Review Episode
I've also just released a special year-in-review episode of Dig Deeper where I pull all these threads together. It's 45 minutes that synthesise a year of conversations into a clear framework for creating sustainable impact. Think of it as a masterclass in Leading Lasting Impact—complete with practical actions you can take at individual, team, and organisational levels.
If this article has sparked something in you, I reckon the episode will take it deeper. You'll hear the actual voices, the stories, the vulnerable moments that shaped these ideas. You can find it wherever you listen to podcasts, or at digbyscott.com/podcast. Here are some handy links:
What's One Choice You Can Make Right Now?
Leading Lasting Impact happens through repeated, deliberate choices that add up to something extraordinary.
Take the diagnostic. Listen to the episode. Have that conversation with your team. Pick one theme to focus on.
Because the world doesn't need more brilliant individual leaders performing heroics. We need leaders who create brilliance in others, build systems that work, and embed change so deeply that people don't want to go back.
Ready to explore what's possible? Let's talk: hello@digbyscott.com