Legacies aren’t just for big-time business leaders, influencers, or entrepreneurs—whether personal or professional, legacies are built in the small everyday actions of regular people.
Still, the idea of leaving a legacy can be overwhelming. If you’re like 68 percent of women, you may even feel pressured to leave a legacy. But leaving your mark on the world doesn’t have to be a burden; it can be a fulfilling endeavor that shows you what really matters, pushes you to grow as a person, and allows you to be more intentional about how you live your life.
7 small ways to build a legacy and make an impact
From providing invaluable guidance to building communities, women are already creating impact in accessible and meaningful ways. As you consider what you want your legacy to be, remember you can make a lasting impression on the world around you, even without having a major platform or job title.
1. Mentorship
Mentoring others is a great way to create impact and leave a legacy. Formal mentorship involves participating in an established program at your job or in your community. Informal mentorship involves organically giving someone guidance or support—for example, a seasoned employee offering a new hire advice over lunch or a college graduate guiding her younger cousins through the process of applying to schools.
Mentor-mentee relationships are often beneficial for both parties and allow you and your mentee to gain a sense of purpose, exchange information, and build lasting connections. Further, mentorship has proven to be vital to women seeking advancement in life and at work. The Women in Leadership study released by global health company Cigna shows 70 percent of women attribute their success to the mentorship they received from other women, reinforcing the value of mentorship in developing a career and building a legacy.
2. Advocacy
Lasting change often starts with one person deciding there is a problem that needs to be resolved. Once you decide to be a part of the solution to that problem, you can leave a legacy of enacting positive change, one small step at a time. For example, appealing to your company’s leaders for more equitable hiring practices or working with your coworkers to make a business case for increased flexibility are attainable ways to advocate for change, regardless of your job title or level.
You can also advocate for changes that promote safety and wellbeing within your local community—examples include:
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Starting a petition
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Contacting elected officials
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Attending community meetings
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Raising awareness through local media
Wherever you are in your life or career, you can advocate for the changes you want to see at work or in your community. When building a legacy, even small wins can shift culture, make a positive impact, and open doors for future generations.
3. Community-building
Build community by fostering connections with people who have shared interests or experiences. At work, you can create affinity groups or employee resource groups (ERGs), and in your neighborhood, you can start book clubs or community organizing groups.
Among your family and friends, starting a group chat where you all encourage each other, send funny memes, or lend support is a great way to build community in a small yet meaningful way.
Community-building creates a sense of belonging, introduces opportunities for collaboration, and promotes mutual respect, support, and understanding. When you do your part to build community at work, in your neighborhood, or in your inner circle, you leave a legacy of unity and camaraderie, which enriches everyone’s lives long after you’re gone.
4. Volunteer work
Volunteer work is vital to how nonprofits and grassroots organizations address critical community needs, such as food insecurity, lack of affordable housing, and education inequality. With a higher volunteer rate than men, women continue to strengthen communities, tackle societal issues, and build legacies through volunteerism.
You can volunteer by identifying a social or community cause that you care about and connecting with an organization that contributes to that cause. According to HelpGuide.org, a nonprofit mental health resource, giving to others through volunteer work can reduce stress, sharpen your mind, and provide a sense of purpose.
In addition, most volunteer work, such as helping people register to vote, tutoring students, or cleaning up trash in local parks, is flexible enough for you to contribute as you are able to and still build a legacy of service that extends beyond your lifetime.
5. Philanthropy
As a philanthropist, you raise awareness and donate money to important social causes, like children’s rights, climate change, or access to healthcare. Internationally, women are already frontrunners in philanthropy. According to the Women’s Philanthropy Institute, women are more likely to donate, tend to give a larger portion of their income, and often give to a wider range of causes and organizations than men.
If your budget is tight but you still want to support important causes, non-monetary contributions, such as goods or services, can also make a long-term difference in the community. You could also practice philanthropy by promoting your employer’s corporate social responsibility efforts. Companies like Ben & Jerry’s, Bombas, and Patagonia have been noted for their corporate philanthropy. Check with your HR department about how your employer practices social and environmental responsibility and how you can help.
Ultimately, you do not need to be wealthy to be a philanthropist; however, you do need to have an authentic desire to improve the human condition.
6. Documentation
Knowledge sharing is one of the most accessible and valuable ways you can leave a legacy. Through handbooks, process documents, guides, and templates, you can instill useful knowledge for new and existing employees and build sustainable, easy-to-follow workflows.
On a personal level, memoirs, videos, or blogs are great ways to capture your unique experiences and how they can help future generations. Podcasts, in particular, have become an increasingly popular option for how women give and receive information. According to the Women’s Audio Report: Women & Podcasts by Edison Research and SiriusXM, monthly podcast listenership among women has increased from 15 to 45 percent in the last 10 years. What’s more, 46 percent of those listeners cite learning as a major reason for listening to podcasts, giving you a prime opportunity to teach, inspire, and comfort people through your life lessons, long after you’re gone.
7. Tradition
Traditions are important because they foster a sense of belonging. Women are often at the forefront of creating, continuing, and passing down family traditions. Women are also more likely to champion programs and initiatives that promote a healthy workplace culture, which includes establishing traditions for the team.
To leave a legacy marked by positive practices, values, and customs, consider instituting welcome breakfasts for new team members, granting employees a paid day off for their birthdays, or implementing “shout-outs” at the top of team meetings to recognize coworkers for a job well done. These kinds of traditions help employees feel valued and included, and can easily be adapted as employee needs evolve.
Begin with the end in mind
As you reflect on the impact you want to make, remember to live your legacy now. Start embodying the values you want to be known for today instead of waiting until the end of your life or career. Consider how you’d like to be remembered once you’re gone, and use that to guide you each day.
In the end, your legacy will not be one simple thing, but a blend of what you did, why you did it, and how you made people feel in the process.
