Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

A reflection on leadership, legacy, and the quiet strength of those who honour what came before them.

Standing among the ruins of Ayutthaya, it’s impossible not to feel the weight of time.

Just over an hour from Bangkok, this ancient city was once the capital of the Kingdom of Siam, founded in the 1300s. Today, the remains of temples, chedis and royal structures rise quietly from the earth — weathered by centuries, partially broken, yet still deeply dignified.

Walking through the site, what struck me most wasn’t simply the age of the structures.

It was the reverence.

For generations, people have chosen to protect what remains. The ruins are not treated as something obsolete or inconvenient, to be replaced by something newer or more modern. Instead, they are preserved and honoured as part of a much longer story — something built before us, carried through time, and entrusted to those who come next.

Standing there, I found myself thinking about leadership.

Because in organisations, the opposite can sometimes happen.

A new leader arrives and, consciously or unconsciously, begins distancing themselves from what came before them. Previous strategies are criticised. Past decisions are framed as mistakes. The narrative subtly shifts to suggest that the organisation is only now beginning to move in the right direction.

Each time I see this happen, I feel a quiet sense of discomfort.

Not because organisations shouldn’t change. Of course they should.

Leadership often requires new direction, new thinking, and a willingness to evolve.

But what I find myself wondering is this:

Why do some leaders feel the need to diminish what came before them in order to establish their own leadership?

The answer, I suspect, often sits somewhere beneath the surface.

Sometimes it’s insecurity. Sometimes it’s a desire to signal authority quickly.Sometimes it’s the pressure to demonstrate impact early in a role.

And occasionally, it’s simply a lack of curiosity about the conditions under which earlier decisions were made.

Every leader inherits a system they did not build.

They inherit strategies that were shaped by the context of the time. Decisions made with the information available then. Teams who have been working hard long before the new leader arrived.

Understanding that context requires something that isn’t always easy in leadership: humility.

Humility to recognise that the people who came before you were not foolish or careless. They were navigating complexity, just as you are now.

Humility to understand that many of the foundations you benefit from today were laid by others.

This idea was reinforced for me recently while listening to an interview on Diary of a CEO with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

Speaking about changes he wanted to make within the organisation, he described reaching out to the founding leaders of the company for advice and perspective.

His explanation was simple.

“Why wouldn’t I? I’m standing on the shoulders of giants.”

That mindset struck me.

Because it reflects a quiet confidence — the kind of confidence that doesn’t need to diminish the past in order to lead the future.

Leadership, at its best, is stewardship.

We inherit systems we didn’t create. We shape them for the future. And eventually, we pass them on to the leaders who come after us.

The strongest leaders understand they are part of a much longer story.

They recognise that organisations, like the temples of Ayutthaya, are rarely the work of one individual or one moment in time. They are built through the efforts, decisions, and leadership of many people across many years.

And when leaders honour that reality, something important happens.

They create continuity.

They create respect.

And they create the kind of leadership culture where progress isn’t built by tearing down the past — but by building carefully, thoughtfully, and respectfully on the foundations already laid.

In the end, the question is not whether leaders will change what came before them.

The question is how they choose to do it.

With dismissal.

Or with respect for the shoulders they stand on.

Leadership is stewardship. We inherit systems, shape them for the future, and pass them on.