Reflect, Refocus, Refine: Leadership Reflections From 2025
It's been a heavy few days in Australia. Lives lost, people injured, trauma induced for years to come, and a country confused about how to move forward together. It puts in perspective what’s important: family, friends, kindness and community.
As we wind down for the year, it’s important to reflect on the wins and learnings along the way. Last week, my team sat down and asked ourselves the following questions:
In 2025:
What are you most proud of that we achieved this year?
What goals did we accomplish?
What mistakes or failures did we make?
What can we learn from this?
How did we operate as a team?
2026:
For it to be a successful year, what do we need to achieve?
What are our 3 biggest priorities for 2026?
What do we stop doing or say no to in 2026?
What skills do we need to develop in 2026?
Jo and Claire from Thriving Culture in Malaysia
It was a great way to get on the same page, reflect, learn and plan for the year ahead. I wanted to share some of the most memorable moments for me personally in 2025.
Writing Thriving Teams and interviewing so many amazing people for the book. The icing on the cake was having Amy Edmondson write the foreword and David Clutterbuck the afterword, two of my work heroes. Then, getting to meet Amy in person and going for a walk together around Sydney Harbour.
Recording 18 episodes of the Thriving Leaders Podcast for Season 2, with 3 episodes already recorded for Season 3 launching in January 2026. We have so many inspiring guests lined up for 2026. It’s something that has really surprised me, how much I love interviewing people and learning from them. Maybe it shouldn’t have been such a surprise, as I always love a chat and to learn… two of my favourite things.
Delivered some fun projects in amazing locations. Highlights included:
2-day all-team conference at Q Station in Manly
2-day Executive Team session at Monarto Zoo,
3-day Senior Leader Conference in Kota Kinabalu.
The focus in 2025 has been on building leadership capability, particularly to coach for performance and development, and accountability and feedback.
I’ve loved working with Executive Teams to have healthy debate and to challenge them to surface the tough conversations.
I’ve also spent time with senior leaders to enable strategy through cross-functional collaboration.
I've developed and delivered some new online programs such as Thriving Teams Training and Accountability Training
Delivered an Emerging Leaders Program in Construction, a new industry for me.
Internally, we completed a huge system integration, bringing our website, Thriving Academy, and CRM onto one platform.
Went on 8 podcasts as a guest and wrote 5 editorials for publications such as CEO World Magazine, CFO Magazine and FMCG Business
Attended the Australian Adaptive Leadership Institute immersive experience in Manly, continued my Team Coaching supervision, and saw my business coach.
This put a smile on my face, seeing my book in book stores this week.
In 2026, our big word is optimisation. It is going to be a year of refining and deepening rather than adding more – which is my default tendency.
I really encourage you to take some time to reflect on your achievements and areas of focus for the year ahead.
We have one more place on the Thriving Leaders Program for February 2026. Last chance to be a part of this cohort.
Let us know if you’d like to grab that final spot.
Hold your family close, be kind to those around you and have a safe and restful break.
P.S. If you're planning your strategy for 2026 and want to discuss how you can develop your leaders, create a meaningful strategy, work more effectively as a team or build a culture of accountability, feedback, and cross-functional collaboration, please reach out.
