Question: Why does Legitimate Leadership return to our company periodically (at approximately 7-year intervals)?

Answer: It depends on the reasons for Legitimate Leadership returning. If it is to bring newly appointed employees on board regarding the leadership ethos, this is perfectly understandable. If it is to conduct a refresher or expose the company to new Legitimate Leadership products, this is also perfectly in order. Firstly, Legitimate Leadership is not a one-off vaccination but requires constant reinforcement – all gardens need to be maintained or the weeds will take over. Secondly, care and growth/Legitimate Leadership content is also constantly evolving.

If the reason for Legitimate Leadership returning is due to the application of the leadership concepts and tools having become rusty, misused or unused then this is of some concern. But unfortunately this does sometimes happen because:

• Once results have improved there may be the temptation to neglect the leadership practices which contributed to the improvements in the first place.
• Managers may forget to constantly refresh and reiterate the leadership principles. There may be a slow erosion of accountability around leadership issues.
• Turnover in management may also lead to the Legitimate Leadership concepts being neglected or even abandoned.
  Legitimate Leadership is not about attending courses but rather about embedding the associated practices by living them consistently on a daily basis and making them part of the DNA of an organisation.

Legitimate Leadership recently did a Refresh, Invigoration and Onboarding of new managers in a fashion retail brand, part of The Foschini Group (TFG). The impact of this mini Intervention was truly dramatic.

Organisations, once they have done the initial Leadership, Team or Employee Excellence intervention, need to follow up with a maintenance plan to ensure that all the initial gains are not only sustained but further enhanced.