May 2025 Hot Take: Why Legacy Leadership is Messy

Building leadership muscles and practicing leadership is not always pretty. It’s got to get messy if you want to master it. Nothing brought this home to me more than a recent CrossFit workout where I really started to understand the power of muscle memory and why constant skills development is required to keep yourself sharp.

Leadership is like this - we are never done learning, never done changing, and that means we cannot quit as we authentically embrace new models of leadership, work with those in our communities, and aren’t afraid to look messy. 

To access the episode transcript, please search for the episode title at www.TheEmpathyEdge.com

Key Takeaways:

• Leadership doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to be authentic. 
• Find your community - find those who will be honest with you, hold you accountable, help you sharpen your skills, and help you hone your human-centered leadership skills. 
• Embracing new models might feel uncomfortable and take time to embrace while getting the results you want, but that doesn’t mean you stop. Just keep going. 

"It's the people that keep learning, growing, striving, and sharpening that edge that are the ones that become the legacy leaders." —  Maria Ross

Episode References: 

• I have a FREE upcoming 2-day virtual leadership event with me! Let's have a chat first to see if this aligns with your goals and where you are right now. Visit www.TheEmpathyEdge.com/event to sign up for a time.
• Maria's Latest Forbes Article: Gen Z and the Empathy Expectation https://www.forbes.com/sites/mariaross/2025/04/30/gen-z-and-the-empathy-expectation-what-workplace-leaders-need-to-know/
• Coach Scott of Stoneway Fitness: https://www.instagram.com/scottmrodriguez/
• Listener Feedback! Please fill out the short survey here at https://bit.ly/edge-feedback

From Our Partner:

SparkEffect partners with organizations to unlock the full potential of their greatest asset: their people. Through their tailored assessments and expert coaching at every level, SparkEffect helps organizations manage change, sustain growth, and chart a path to a brighter future.

Go to sparkeffect.com/edge now and download your complimentary Professional and Organizational Alignment Review today.

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books on empathy: Red-Slice.com/books

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