Your real leadership story this year wasn’t written in your goals. It was written in the moments you almost forgot.
Most year-end reflections push leaders to list accomplishments, track wins, and set new targets. This one isn’t about that. This reflection is about the quieter moments that shaped you. Moments like the conversations that took guts, the repairs that brought people closer, and the times you showed up when it would have been easier to pull back. These are the pieces that tell the truth about your year, and they deserve to be named before you look ahead to what’s next.
You don’t need to grade yourself. You just need to notice the courage and connection you already showed this year. Then get clear about where you want to grow next.
You get to be both: the leader you’re proud of and the leader you’re still becoming.
Part 1: Telling the Truth About This Year
- What story would this year tell about the kind of leader you were in the small, unglamorous moments of work?
- As you look at that story, what parts do you want to celebrate and carry forward into 2026?
- Where did you choose comfort over courage at work, and what did it cost you or your team that you do not want to repeat next year?
- Right next to that, where did you choose courage over comfort, and what did it give you or your team?
- What is one moment from this year that quietly changed you as a leader? It might be something small on the calendar but big in impact, and what did it reveal about what you value most?
- When did you protect connection by reaching out, checking in, or working to repair when it would have been easier to avoid or stay busy?
Part 2: Who You Are Becoming in 2026
- Imagine it’s December 2026 and someone on your team is describing you at your best. What three words do you want them to use?
- Where did you already see glimpses of those three words in 2025, even if they were imperfect or inconsistent?
- Which strength showed up most reliably for you this year (clarity, steadiness, humor, empathy, curiosity, something else), and how do you want to lean into it more boldly in 2026?
- What part of your current leadership identity needs to soften or evolve, and what part do you absolutely want to protect and carry forward because it’s core to who you are?
- In the moments when you are most stressed, what version of you tends to walk into the room, and who do you want walking in instead next year? What is one concrete practice that could help you make that shift?
Part 3: Relationships, Repair, and Appreciation
- Whose trust deepened with you this year, and what did you do that helped that happen?
- Whose trust matters most to your leadership next year, and what truth or repair could make that relationship even stronger?
- What is one hard conversation you have been postponing that, if you had it early in 2026, would immediately change the health of your team or culture? What is the first line you are afraid to say out loud?
- What do you wish you had said “thank you” for this year, and is there still time to say it in a way that feels specific and sincere?
- If your team said a year from now, “We felt more seen and safer with you this year,” what would you have done consistently to make that true?
Part 4: A Compassionate 2026 Leadership Intention
- Complete this sentence:
- In 2026, I will be the kind of leader who ________, so that the people I lead can ________.
- In 2026, I will be the kind of leader who ________, so that the people I lead can ________.
- Then, refine it with one more layer of self-support:
- In 2026, I will lead with more ________ and no less ________, so that the people I lead can ________ and I can ________.
Leadership happens in the small moments (the ones you might forget by February). Moments like check-ins that mattered, the repairs that rebuilt trust, and, most importantly, the times you picked courage when comfort was easier.
Give yourself a high-five, you showed up this year in ways that shaped the people around you. Next year, you get to do it again. Only this time, you’re even clearer about who you want to be.
I hope your holiday season is joyful and restful. And I hope 2026 brings you everything you’re working toward.
Always in your corner,
DeDe
