That’s a wrap, 2025 – End-of-Year Takeaways and Lessons for 2025

A good friend and wonderful colleague shared her end-of-year reflection process at our December CliffsNotes Book Club meeting. In December, she takes time to read through her journal entries from the past year, then takes a long hike in the woods to see what bubbles up. I love the serenity and intention, but if you’re like me, you don’t have a journal or a go-to patch of woods.

Inspired by her beautiful ritual, though, I took an urban shortcut: I read through my blog posts and newsletters from 2025. What did we spend the year talking and thinking about? A few clear themes emerged, and I thought I’d share some of my key takeaways.

1. We struggle to focus. Keeping focus in the age of distraction was top-of-mind in 2025, and we featured multiple books on the topic in our Book Club. But what really stood out for me? The advent of smart phones, e-readers, alerts/notifications, and our modern busyness has not just changed our routines, it’s rewired our brains. In the book Stolen Focus, Johann Hari uses the framing of robbery—these devices are thieves that have STOLEN our focus. To win back what’s rightfully ours, he offers many simple strategies such as using a timer and setting goals for uninterrupted work time. (Read more in this blog post.)
2. AI excites and worries us. Because, as always, both things can be true. In 2025, generative AI took off. We spent a minute tinkering with it and then shifted to panic mode. Which jobs will go away? What do we need humans for anyway? One of my key thought anchors is regarding critical thinking. AI is a tool to support us and streamline our work, but once we receive the output, we need to verify the information and ensure that it aligns to our purpose and objectives. That’s where humans—and leaders—will always be needed. Humans come up with a framework and evaluate the data against it. 
3. Storytelling is a skill to master. We’ve been talking about storytelling at work for 25 years, but still, we are working on improving this skill. Neuroscience research tells us that telling a good story creates shared memories with the listener. Stories at work can leave a lasting impression unlike any slide presentation or chart. If you feel it, you will remember it. So keep the PowerPoint deck short and keep practicing your storytelling!
4. Our greatest teacher is the people around us. We discussed How to Know a Person by David Brooks at one of our book club meetings. Brooks uses the terms “diminishers” and “illuminators” to refer to how people behave in conversation. When you’re talking with an illuminator, you can feel their presence and see in their eyes that they are really with you. Diminishers, on the other hand, drain your energy and bring you down. They make you feel small. We’ve all felt it, but having the terms to reference is so useful.
5. We want to do better. Doing right used to mean making sure a leader had a good work-life balance and was making an impact for the organization. But we can’t stop there. We need to think about sustainability and impact on the planet. The founders of clothing brand Patagonia have written a book on this topic, and they urge us to drive resilience through responsibility. This blog post has several coaching questions that can help you if you’re wanting to do better for yourself, your team, your organization—and the planet.

 
As always, let me know what resonates.
 
Here's to a wonderful New Year!