Turning Legacy Into a Verb: Empowering Others to Achieve
- Aug 26
- 3 min read
By Amy L. Bernstein
When I stepped away from the traditional working world several years ago to become a full-time creative writer, I felt as though I was starting my life from scratch. I had to study my craft, find my community, restructure my days, and set all new goals. Leaving a legacy was definitely not on my to-do list!
But nearly a decade later, leading with legacy infuses many aspects of my work—and is a daily source of motivation. My focus isn’t so much on what I can and should leave behind as it is on how to empower and inspire others pursuing work—and dreams—similar to mine.
I have discovered that satisfaction isn’t based solely on achieving personal goals, such as publishing books and winning awards. I’ve done that, and it feels great. And if you’d asked me when I embarked on this second career whether that was all I aimed to do, I might have said yes. But now I know that’s not enough. I actively seek the deep satisfaction that comes from helping other writers and artists achieve their own breakthroughs.
I treat “legacy” as a verb; it’s something I do on a day-to-day basis. My outlet for this is my professional book coaching business, in which I strive to model a form of compassionate and reflective coaching that empowers my clients to perceive and activate their own powers and possibilities. With my guidance, aspiring writers are becoming published authors and women are claiming their voices through writing books in ways that are purposeful and so gratifying! In addition, as a more informal creativity coach, especially for Gen Z creatives, I run workshops designed to ignite a spark of self-confidence that may be missing in their lives. Many budding artists seek permission to step into that life. If I can be the tinder to help light that fire in them—that’s a win, every time.
Through these endeavors, I’m leading with legacy by sharing tools, perspectives, and a sense of direction that others can internalize and perhaps pass on to others in their own lives. I am changed by our shared experiences, and hopefully, so are they.
I’m acutely aware of the value of leadership and legacy because I never had any mentors. I see first-hand the lasting impression a mentor can make on someone craving guidance and reassurance that they’re on the right path and should keep right on going.
As for advising women stepping into powerful positions on how to handle that power and build their own legacies, I learned in the course of writing my book on managing creativity and self-doubt that women too often allow doubt to constrain them and under-value their own contributions. It’s important to acknowledge that female leadership styles often differ from men’s—and we shouldn’t assume the men are doing it “right” and the women are doing it “wrong.” Women seeking to lead through collaboration and active listening should not question their own strength or decisiveness. Women are perfectly capable of leading effectively while also allowing others to be heard—and making room for productive dissent. Those are not mutually exclusive options.
It's time for women to stop doubting their competence as leaders because they bring a sensibility into the C-suite that differs from their male counterparts. Women who are newly installed in positions of power should embrace the value-added benefit that comes from listening to differing perspectives without feeling threatened, and making decisions not driven by ego but by what’s best for the organization and its people as a whole.
Amy L. Bernstein is an author and professional book coach. She is also a former journalist, communications director, and speechwriter for C-level executives. Her latest book is the award-winning Wrangling the Doubt Monster: Fighting Fears, Finding Inspiration.
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