Let me start by saying that I have been doing some reflecting. I wonder what makes this time of the year one where reflection seems more possible and important than it does at other times of the year? Perhaps, here in London anyway, it is simply more time spent in the dark with fewer distractions as winter embeds. Whatever the cause, my first reflection is that I do not reflect enough.
The temptation to resolutely approach leadership and business challenges as human doings often supersedes our real superpower which is to approach these things as human beings.
• People who are able to learn from past lessons while not overly dwelling on either our past successes or failures.
• People who adapt to change in creative and flexible ways to find new solutions to new challenges.
• People who understand how others feel and deliver to them what they need to succeed.
My commitment to myself for 2025 is to do more of all of these things and to encourage the Executives I coach to do the same.
And The Winner Is…
I would quite like to start a business equivalent to the Oscars as a way to help us all reflect. Sure, keep some of the glitz and glamour as that’s always fun to incorporate (sub reflection; do we think enough about fun in our professional lives?). In other aspects these imagined Business Oscars would be rather different to the Hollywood version.
The winner for most overused term in business in 2024 is…(drum roll)…… TRANSFORMATION!
The winner of least used leadership imperative in 2024 is…….PRIORITIZATION!
And the winner of the highest creation of both excitement and anxiety in 2024 goes to…..AI!
My point is that the Hollywood Oscars are all about celebrating and reflecting on success, which is wonderful, and something many businesses and people do not do enough of. However, we also need to check our own versions of reality and learn to moderate when we overuse our strengths or overreact to the opportunities and challenges ahead of us.
The level of change and uncertainty that we are all grappling with, in every sector and in almost every geography around the world, is blinding us to the ability to thoughtfully learn and to create the appropriate perspective from which to make the right choices and decisions at the right pace. A good dose of regular reflection can help slow us down and amplify our ability to maximize our superpower of humanity. No matter how counterintuitive that may feel when busy.
My learning from my reflections of 2024 are more around self; the greater need for empathy, the greater need to focus on only that which is in our control, the need to navigate towards “true north” no matter how rough the seas and that all these deeply human attributes are greatly helped by reflection and deep thinking before the dive into action.
Looking Forward to 2025
Let us not be under any illusion that the leadership obstacle course is going to get any easier in 2025 – it will not. Think about how you set yourself up for success in the most resilient way possible. Put your own oxygen mask on before helping others. Below are some questions to help you find your way.
• What changes in routine, professional or personal, could most help you in the coming year?
• What are you proud of from 2024 that you could amplify and accelerate to help you or others in 2025?
• How can you develop a stop list that will truly help you and others to effectively prioritize?
• What change that is in your control could you make that would most help the people around you and your stakeholders?
• How will you ensure that you have time to reflect in 2025 in a way that helps you optimize your leadership impact?
• What will you continue to be consciously grateful for?
• How will you improve your fun factor in 2025?
As you reflect on those questions, on behalf of myself and the whole TPA team, may we wish you the season’s greetings and health, happiness and success for 2025.
Tom Preston, Partner & Executive Coach
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