šŸŽµ History Has Its Eyes on You: What Leadership Legacy Will You Leave?



By Tekeisha Zimmerman | The Leadership Jukebox

Leadership lessons that stay with you like a hook that won’t let go.

Last Sunday, like thousands of other musical-lovers who know every bar of My Shot by heart, I tuned in to the 78th annual Tony Awards for the highly anticipated Hamilton cast reunion. Ten years after its Broadway debut, I still play the entire playlist at least once a month while cleaning the house. I love hip-hop and R&B music, and Hamilton was the first time I'd heard hip hop on Broadway in such an artful way. 

Before Hamilton, all I knew about Alexander Hamilton was that he was on the $10 bill. But thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s storytelling genius, I now know that Hamilton was not just a founding father. He was a flawed, brilliant, bold, and often reckless leader.

And there’s one song that always stops me in my tracks:
“History has its eyes on you…”

Whew. Let’s talk about it.

History Has Its Eyes on You, Too.

Leadership puts you in the spotlight. The truth is, you don’t get to control who tells your story. Just like Washington told Hamilton:

"You have no control / Who lives, who dies, who tells your story."

And in today’s world of Glassdoor reviews, Slack screenshots, and “Remember when my old boss did THIS?” TikToks, your legacy might already be under construction whether you know it or not.

But don’t panic. That song isn’t meant to scare us. It’s a call to lead on purpose. So this week on The Leadership Jukebox, we’re digging into what it means to build an intentional legacy and how you can make sure that when history zooms in on you, the playback is something you're proud of. Here are three lessons from the song "History Has Its Eyes On You" designed to help you build an intentional leadership legacy. 

1. Own the Mistakes—They’re Part of the Legacy

“I led my men straight into a massacre / I witnessed their deaths firsthand / I made every mistake…” — Washington

Washington opens the song with brutal honesty. He doesn’t sugarcoat his leadership missteps. And that’s a powerful legacy move. Satya Nadella demonstrates this in his leadership style at Microsoft. 

When Nadella became CEO in 2014, Microsoft was known for its cutthroat internal culture, siloed teams, and a rigid, perfectionist mindset. Rather than doubling down on performance at all costs, Nadella took a radically different route: he led with transparency, vulnerability, and growth.

  • He openly acknowledged cultural flaws in the company, calling out the need to move from a “know-it-all” culture to a “learn-it-all” one.

  • He admitted past missteps including internal dysfunction that stifled innovation and positioned himself not as the savior, but as a student of what needed to change.

  • He modeled empathy and growth, especially when responding to internal crises and external issues like accessibility and AI ethics.

Instead of presenting himself as a perfect leader with all the answers, Nadella invited the company into a journey of reinvention, starting with himself.

The Lesson:
Too many leaders think legacy = perfection. Nope. Legacy = transparency. Great leaders don’t avoid hard truths. They acknowledge them and grow.

šŸŽ¤ Mic drop moment:
Admit when you fumbled the strategy, misread the room, or made the wrong hire. Your team doesn't expect perfection. They expect accountability. And when you lead with humility, you don’t lose credibility, you gain trust.

2. Legacy Is Bigger Than Ego

“Let me tell you what I wish I'd known / When I was young and dreamed of glory…”

Ah yes, the glow of ambition. Hamilton wanted glory. Washington wanted wisdom. And therein lies the difference between ego-driven leadership and legacy-driven leadership. Ken Frazier, former CEO or Merck is a masterclass in putting legacy over ego. 

Frazier focused Merck’s vision on long-term societal impact, not short-term shareholder applause. Under his leadership, the company prioritized R&D for life-saving medications (like the HPV vaccine Gardasil), even when it wasn’t the most commercially popular move.

  • He made a bold, values-driven decision in 2017 when he resigned from the Trump administration’s American Manufacturing Council after what he considered the president’s inadequate response to white nationalist violence in Charlottesville. He said:

    “America’s leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy…”

  • He also worked quietly but powerfully to diversify corporate boards and expand opportunities for Black professionals in business, including co-founding OneTen, an initiative to create one million careers for Black Americans without four-year degrees.

Ken Frazier didn’t chase headlines. He created impact that will outlive his title. He understood that leadership isn’t about being the loudest in the room, but the clearest about what matters.

The Lesson:
Real legacy is measured in the leaders you build, not the projects you dominated. If your name is the only one that shows up in celebration, you might be building a monument, not a movement.

šŸŽ¤ Mic drop moment:
The best leaders are remembered not just for what they did, but for how they did it and who they lifted.

3. Be Present—Because Someone’s Watching

“I know that we can win / I know that greatness lies in you…”
“But remember, from here on in / History has its eyes on you.”

Leadership isn't just about how you show up. It’s that you show up at all. Even on the days when you’re tired, uncertain, or just trying not to scream into the void. Howard Schultz, the longtime CEO of Starbucks, demonstrated this principle not just once, but repeatedly throughout his career. Most notably, in 2022, Schultz returned as interim CEO for the third time to lead the company through a wave of internal challenges including unionization efforts, declining morale, and cultural disconnects.

  • Schultz didn’t need to come back. He’s a billionaire. He’d already built a legacy. But when the company’s culture began to drift, he chose to show up not as a savior, but as a steward.

  • Instead of leading from a corner office, he went on a listening tour across Starbucks stores, meeting with baristas and store managers to hear their frustrations firsthand. He sat in cafĆ©s, acknowledged where leadership had fallen short, and made space for hard conversations.

  • In a moment where many CEOs might have stayed removed or blamed “the market,” Schultz modeled what it means to be present, uncomfortable, and accountable.

“The most important thing I’ve learned from our partners is that the company needs to show up in ways it hasn’t before,” Schultz said. “And that starts with me.”

Howard Schultz didn’t just return to lead, he returned to listen. And in doing so, he reminded all of us that real leadership means showing up when things get hard, especially when you don’t have all the answers.

The Lesson:
Presence is power. It’s not about having the perfect words or the strongest posture. It’s about being willing to stand in the moment, even when it aches. People won’t always remember your slides or strategy decks, but they’ll remember how you made them feel when life got real. They’ll remember the leader who showed up when it was hard and made it okay for others to do the same.

šŸŽ¤ Mic drop moment:
You don’t have to be fearless to lead. Just be present. Because every time you show up with honesty and heart, you remind others they can, too. And that becomes your legacy.

What Will the Playlist of Your Leadership Legacy Sound Like?

Will your employees say you were clear, compassionate, and courageous? Or will they remember a remix of missed opportunities, short tempers, and inconsistent feedback?

The truth is: every employee you lead walks away carrying your name in their story whether they say it out loud or not. Maybe you were the leader who helped them believe in themselves. Or the one who never asked them how they were doing. Or the one who finally modeled healthy boundaries.

Whatever the case: history, as the song says, has its eyes on you.

So let’s make it count.

šŸŽ¶ TL;DR: Legacy Remix

  • You don’t have to be perfect. But you do have to be present.

  • Your name will show up in someone else’s story so build a version worth telling.

  • Great leaders don’t just leave impact, they leave people better than they found them.

Now go press play on your legacy. 

 


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