Legacy Moves vs. Resume Moves

Estimated read time: 5 minutes

The Temptation of Resume Moves

Every leader faces the temptation to build their résumé instead of their legacy. Resume moves are the shiny achievements that photograph well, impress recruiters, and make annual reports look good. They often produce quick wins and personal visibility, but they don’t always leave the organization, the team, or the community better off.

Examples of resume moves:

• Launching a flashy initiative with no plan for long-term funding.

• Overexpanding for growth metrics, then leaving the fallout for the next leader.

• Prioritizing optics — headlines, awards, or speaking slots — over outcomes.

Resume moves make leaders look accomplished in the moment. But they often age poorly, leaving cracks that someone else has to repair.

The Weight of Legacy Moves

Legacy moves are different. They may not trend on LinkedIn or land you on magazine covers, but they last. They strengthen systems, elevate people, and shape culture in ways that endure long after a leader is gone.

Examples of legacy moves:

• Building processes that outlive your tenure, even if they take longer to implement.

• Investing in leadership development so future managers are stronger than you.

• Making the tough call to align around values, even when it costs you short-term wins.

Legacy moves often require patience. They require the courage to trade immediate recognition for long-term respect.

Why the Distinction Matters

Leaders who chase resume moves may win promotions, but they leave fragile organizations behind. Leaders who prioritize legacy moves may not get the same spotlight, but they build durability. Teams remember them not for titles, but for impact.

The distinction also matters personally. Resume moves pad careers. Legacy moves define lives.

The Hidden Cost of Resume Leadership

• Burnout for teams. Constantly chasing optics forces people to sprint toward ever-shifting, surface-level goals.

• Fragile progress. What looks like momentum disappears once the leader leaves.

• Cynicism. When people sense that decisions are made for personal advancement, they disengage and lose trust.

Resume leadership isn’t neutral; it actively weakens what it touches.

How to Choose Legacy Moves

Every leader can start by asking different questions:

• Instead of “Will this look impressive?” ask “Will this still matter five years from now?”

• Instead of “Will this help my next promotion?” ask “Will this strengthen the people and systems that remain?”

• Instead of “How fast can I show results?” ask “How well will this endure?”

Practical steps:

1. Tag initiatives. Label each one as a “resume move” or a “legacy move.” Rebalance the list.

2. Redefine success. Add resilience, trust, or capacity alongside financial metrics.

3. Reward patience. Celebrate leaders in your organization who build lasting systems, not simply flashy wins.

The Takeaway

Resume moves fade the moment you leave the room. Legacy moves compound long after. The leaders who shape the next decade won’t be remembered for how quickly they climbed. They’ll be remembered for what they left standing when they were gone.

The choice is always present: Do you want to look accomplished, or do you want to be accomplished? One leaves a résumé. The other leaves a legacy.