Strive to perfect legacy for self through feedback Published March 25, 2016 By Chief Master Sgt. Jamie Vanoss 821st Contingency Response Group TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- What will your legacy be? When you sit back and ask yourself this simple, but pointed question, I hope it brings about a moment of self-reflection and spurs you to action. As a parent, I hope my legacy is that of teaching my daughters the importance of being honest, caring and compassionate members of our society. I want them to respect others for their differences just as much as for their commonalities. I want them to be successful in life and in fulfilling their dreams for the future. My oldest wants to be an astronomer and my youngest wants to be a panda searcher which goes out into the forest to feed, brush and give hugs to pandas. My goal is to help them realize their dreams, no matter how far-fetched they may be. If I accomplish this, I will count my legacy as intact. However, I would be remiss if I did not consider my other family in these deliberations as I strive to fulfill my obligations as a leader of the world's greatest air, space and cyberspace power. Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner wrote in their book "A Leader's Legacy," "When we move on, people do not remember us for what we do for ourselves. They remember us for what we do for them. Exemplary leaders are interested more in others' success than in their own. Leaders who see their role as serving others leave the most lasting legacies." So what will my legacy be? It is something that gives me pause and, to be perfectly honest, keeps me up at night. As a chief, I firmly believe one of my most important responsibilities is to develop my replacement. Equally important is giving those I am given the honor of leading the opportunity to succeed. The only questions are whether I am getting it right and, if not, how this will impact my legacy as a chief. In a previous commentary, I talked about the importance of feedback. I want to stress that while I think providing feedback to those we supervise is vitally important, I would argue of equal importance is providing feedback to those who are given the privilege of leading you. Most of us think we are doing a good job and, often, it requires courageous and honest feedback upward and downward to identify those things we need to do better. I know there are a myriad of things I need to do better. I wonder, though, what if those self-identified shortcomings barely scratch the surface what I needed to improve upon. This is where upward feedback might help me become a better chief and, in turn, help me to better assist those I am charged with leading. There is no denying there is a direct correlation between cementing one's legacy and feedback. So are you brave enough to provide that feedback to your leadership? Leaders, are you strong enough to ask and act upon that feedback if offered? If the answer to both of those questions is "yes," then one could submit that you are fully on your way to making sure your legacy is intact.