The Research Initiative
About This Project
Independent Research. Meaningful Insights. Better Leadership.
Why This Exists
A Simple Question With a Profound Answer
Will They Remember You? is an independent leadership research initiative exploring the characteristics, behaviors, and qualities that make leaders memorable.
Our goal is to understand what people remember most about the leaders who have influenced their lives and careers, and what those insights can teach us about leadership today.
The answers, gathered from people across different backgrounds, industries, and life experiences, form the basis of a living, crowd-sourced picture of what truly memorable leadership looks like.
How It Works
Participation, From Start to Finish
You reflect
Think of the best leader you've ever had — a manager, coach, teacher, mentor, or anyone who made a real difference. What three characteristics made them unforgettable?
You share
Submit your three characteristics through the challenge form. You can also share a brief story about that leader — entirely optional, and only published with your explicit permission.
We aggregate
Responses are counted as submitted. Spelling variations and grammatical forms of the same word are combined — for example, 'honest,' 'honesty,' and 'being honest' are treated as one characteristic. Conceptually related but distinct words are kept separate.
The picture emerges
The Top 10 updates in real time as new submissions come in. Every original phrase is preserved and shown behind each ranked characteristic so the results can be independently examined.
Research Integrity
How the Rankings Are Calculated
The integrity of this research depends on the rankings reflecting what participants actually said — not what we think they should say. These are the rules we follow.
Responses are preserved verbatim
Every phrase submitted is stored exactly as written. Nothing is paraphrased, reworded, or interpreted before it enters the data.
Only grammatical variants are combined
We combine spelling variations and grammatical forms of the same word — for example, 'honest,' 'honesty,' and 'being honest.' These are the same characteristic expressed differently, not different characteristics.
Related concepts stay separate
Integrity, trustworthiness, and accountability are counted as separate characteristics even though they are related. Participants chose their own words, and we respect that choice.
Original phrases are always visible
Every ranked characteristic shows the actual phrases submitted behind it. Anyone can examine the groupings and verify the results independently.
Our Commitments
How We Handle Your Responses
Participation is voluntary
There is no obligation to participate, and you can submit anonymously. We never require your name or contact information.
Stories require explicit consent
Your story will never appear on this site unless you check the consent box during submission. Checking it means you're comfortable with it being published.
Privacy is protected
Individual submissions and personal information are not sold or shared for commercial marketing purposes. Aggregate research findings may be shared through presentations, publications, educational programs, research briefings, and organizational consulting engagements.
No editorial agenda
We do not weight, curate, or adjust the rankings to reflect any particular leadership philosophy. The results are what the data says — nothing more.
Independent Research. Meaningful Insights.
The privacy and integrity of participant responses are central to this initiative. Individual submissions and personal information are not sold or shared for commercial marketing purposes. Aggregate research findings may be shared through presentations, publications, educational programs, research briefings, and organizational consulting engagements. These insights can help organizations better understand the leadership behaviors that build trust, inspire people, strengthen engagement, and make a lasting difference. The initiative also creates opportunities for professional conversations, leadership development, facilitation, coaching, and consulting. Ultimately, this research is about more than identifying the qualities of memorable leaders. It's about encouraging each of us to become one.
Bring the Research to Your Organization
Interested in exploring what makes leaders memorable and how those insights can strengthen leadership in your organization?
We welcome conversations with organizations interested in research presentations, leadership workshops, customized discussions, and consulting opportunities.
Contact us at research@willtheyrememberyou.com to start a conversation.