Presence-Based Leadership: The Future of Legacy

I didn’t know what to call it at first.

But I knew it had power.

Running away from the family business led me into corporate. I went from an emotionally-charged, yet structured life where everything revolved around the business… to an emotionally hollow world where the rule was “leave your heart at home.”

From the beginning of my corporate career, I found myself working for or alongside executives who trusted me enough to make decisions on their behalf. They shared some of the most personal stories I’d ever heard. Stories that left me humbled—and speechless.

It was a mirror of my childhood.

Pexels: Elizabeth Ferreira

Present in rooms.

Quiet in voice.

Seeing what no one else saw.

And when I did speak up? I was silenced.

I don’t write this from victimhood. I write this from clarity.

A clarity that only presence can bring.

Because what I now understand is this: presence impacts every relationship.

When you are first present to understand someone, then you will be heard.

For decades, I described these experiences to the outside world and was met with gasps

and disbelief.

So, I internalized it.

Made myself wrong.

Tried to be “useful.”

But deep down, I knew there was a better way to do business.

I spent most of my corporate time with male leaders. I witnessed their vulnerability. And I knew something bigger was at play—not only in what I offered, but how it was offered.

Even recently, while developing a technology platform that bridges generations within family offices and aligns them to values-based businesses, I still felt something wasn’t quite right.

And then it clicked.

Five years ago, I committed to knowing myself more deeply. To flipping the narrative of my story, my legacy, and how I choose to show up as a woman, mother, leader, friend, sister and partner.

It’s been a mucky, soul-shifting ride.

But it led me to this truth:

Legacy isn’t numbers.

It isn’t a trust document.

It isn’t an investment or tax strategy.

(Well—it includes those things.)

But none of that matters if your legacy isn’t heard.

None of it matters if you aren’t present.

The most difficult part?

When you are the top of the pyramid, others respond to how you lead.

Said another way: the chaos in your house and business is a reflection of you.

That was a hard pill to swallow.

But I was up for the challenge.

So I write this as a starting point.

A narrative that diverges from the noise.

One that speaks to the messy middle of legacy work.

Legacy doesn’t understand gender, money, wealth, love, or pain.

Legacy is how you choose to live in integrity with yourself.

Legacy is a mirror of what you model.

When you model covert contracts, the next generation retaliates.

When you lead with projections, they rebel.

When you dismiss them, you are dismissed.

This doesn’t make one generation right and the other wrong.

But it does clarify this truth:

Legacy amplifies what we attach to it -- money, wealth, love, pain.

And so we begin (or not) a new way of modeling legacy:

From the best place we know how to be present—with ourselves.

It will be clunky.

It will be awkward.

It will require hard truths and a support structure.

And this is my superpower.

I’m so glad you’re here.

Welcome to the ride.

If you’re navigating legacy transitions—whether as a founder, inheritor, advisor, or parent—and you know something deeper needs to shift, I invite you to begin with presence.

Let’s stop performing legacy and start living it.

You can learn more about presence-based legacy work and how I support families, founders, and advisors at www.stacyidema.com or reach out directly at stacystacy@stacyidema.com

Because how you lead is your legacy.