Year-End Pause for Reflection Can Refresh Your Leadership

As 2024 comes to a close, leaders are presented with a unique annual opportunity to take stock and regroup. I’ve followed the example of great leaders I’ve known who pause each year and reflect upon their professional journey, examining key actions and progress they’ve made, as well as any stumbles and chances to do better next time.

We’re all in “crazy busy” mode, running hard and trying to get things done day-to-day. In this collective whirlwind, it’s rare for leaders to carve out even a few moments to step back and take time for reflection—yet doing so can make a significant positive impact on your leadership and as human beings.

So as we wrap up this year and gear up for the next, I invite you to consider the following questions to guide a New Year’s reflection.

As you go through this exercise, try to identify any areas that you may want to intentionally rethink and reset in 2025 and beyond. You can also keep your answers handy in the coming year about what went particularly well, referring to those highlights when your confidence is low.

Professional Development

• What professional milestones and accomplishments did you reach this year, and which ones are you particularly proud of? (In addition to listing your victories and recognition, make time to celebrate them!)
• In which instances do you feel you didn’t show up as your best self, and what did you learn from that?
• Did you demonstrate the courage to have any critical conversations with your boss, colleagues, employees, or other key stakeholders this year? If so, what was the impact of those conversations on your professional relationships and career?
• As you end 2024 and think about your attitude toward 2025, do you feel hopeful and excited, or anxious and stuck? Why? What can you do to improve the situation if you feel negative about your work or particular aspects of it?

Strategic Networks

• Did you make the effort to reach out to your network and beyond to build new strategic relationships this year?
• With your career goals in mind, are there professional relationships that you’d like to be more intentional and strategic about developing next year?
• Did you reach out to your strategic network when you needed the support of allies, mentors, or sponsors this year?
• Did you take the time to be an ally, mentor, or sponsor to others this year?
• In what ways did your strategic relationships help you make an impact on your organization and employees this year?

Personal Development

• What forms of self-care did you leverage this year?
• What worked best about your self-care efforts this year, and in which areas did your self-care fall short? What can you enhance or improve?
• If you’ve experienced a lot of change, either personally or professionally, this year, did you embrace it and thrive, or are you struggling and feeling stuck?
• If you’ve struggled through change this year, how can you try to avoid letting the change control you next year, so that you can feel more confident and in control of your own actions and beliefs in response to change?
• In which areas do you want to challenge yourself in terms of your personal development next year?

New Year, Next Steps

If this reflection exercise helped you identify specific areas that you’d like to work on in 2025, but you’re feeling unsure how to start, SHAMBAUGH Leadership would welcome hearing from you and exploring ways we can help. Our executive coaches can be the partner you need to guide you through the process.

Working with an executive coach can be a great way to ensure progress and accountability. Contact us at info@shambaughleadership.com for an exploratory call with me!

Visit SHAMBAUGH’s offerings on Executive Coaching,  Leadership Development, Coaching and Development Programs for Women, Keynotes, and Fireside Chats. 

Rebecca Shambaugh is President of SHAMBAUGH Leadership, Founder of Women in Leadership and Learning, and author of the best-selling books It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor and Make Room for Her: Why Companies Need an Integrated Leadership Model to Achieve Extraordinary Results.

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