Your Leadership Year in Review: What 2025 Taught You — If You’re Willing to Look

Everywhere you look, companies are offering a “Year in Review.”

Spotify shows us what we listened to.ChatGPT shows us how we thought, asked, and explored.Fitness apps recap our habits, trends, and progress.

These summaries are interesting — even entertaining. But they point to a deeper opportunity that many of us should consider as leaders…

What if you conducted your own leadership year in review?

Not the polished version.  Not the resume version.  The honest one.

The Leadership Data That Actually Matters

No algorithm can fully capture the data that defines leadership.

Leadership is measured in moments:

·       The conversation you avoided

·       The feedback you delivered — or didn’t

·       The decision you delayed

·       The risk you took

·       The person you invested in

Your real leadership “metrics” live in memories, not dashboards.

If you paused and replayed your leadership journey through 2025, you’d likely see clear highs and lows — moments of courage and moments of hesitation. Growth and missed opportunity. Clarity and confusion.

The question isn’t whether those moments exist.The question is whether you’re willing to learn from them.

Highs: Where Did You Lead Well?

Start with what went right.

Where did you:

·       Step into discomfort instead of avoiding it?

·       Show up with consistency when it mattered most?

·       Lead with empathy and clarity during uncertainty?

These moments deserve attention — not ego. Understanding what worked helps you repeat it intentionally.  Great leaders don’t gloss over success. They study it.

Lows: Where Did Your Leadership Miss the Mark?

This is the harder part — and the most valuable.

Where did you:

·       Let ego creep in?

·       Stay silent when leadership was required?

·       Choose convenience over conviction?

Every leader has these moments. The difference between average and exceptional leadership isn’t the absence of mistakes — it’s the willingness to confront them honestly.

Growth begins where excuses end.

Why Focusing on Less Leads to More

Most leaders approach a new year with long lists:

·       Be more strategic

·       Communicate better

·       Delegate more

·       Develop others

The problem? Too much focus leads to no focus.  When everything is important, nothing is important. 

The most effective leaders choose one or two small leadership behaviors to sharpen — not overhaul.

Small, intentional improvements compound:

·       One better conversation per week

·       One clearer expectation per meeting

·       One moment of presence per day

Leadership doesn’t improve through grand resolutions. It improves through repeated, disciplined action.

From Reflection to Intention

A leadership year in review is useless without intention.

As you move into 2026, ask yourself:

·       What is one leadership habit I need to strengthen?

·       What is one behavior I need to let go of?

Not ten. Not five.One or two — done consistently.

That’s how leaders evolve.

The Real Opportunity Ahead

Your 2025 leadership story is already written.  But your 2026 story is still being drafted — one decision, one conversation, one moment at a time.

The leaders who grow the most aren’t the ones who chase trends.They’re the ones who pause, reflect, and act with intention.

Don’t wait for a platform to summarize your leadership.Do the work yourself.

Call to Action

Take 20 minutes this week and write your own leadership year in review:

·       Three moments you’re proud of

·       Two moments you’d handle differently

·       One habit you’ll commit to improving in 2026

That clarity may be the most valuable insight you gain all year.

Don’t wait.Lead now.

Disclaimer:  This post is mine alone and may not be the views or opinions of any others, including past or current employers, friends, or family.  You can also find me on Substack, Medium, Tumblr, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X. 

PS:  This blog was written by me (a human).  If AI was used, it was solely for research and formatting purposes. AI was used for the image in this post.