Reflections from 2025

Over the past year, we had the opportunity to work alongside organizations throughout Canada across sectors, roles, and levels of leadership. While the work itself looked different from place to place, a similar feeling kept coming up in our conversations. 

For many leaders and teams, right now feels like a lot. The pace is relentless, expectations are high, and there is very little space to slow down or step back. At the same time, we saw a growing recognition that human skills really matter. How we lead, connect, and support one another are becoming increasingly important as people navigate what comes next. 

As the year comes to a close, we wanted to share a few reflections shaped directly by what we learned alongside our clients this year. 

1. Leadership is a constant navigation of paradox. 

   
   

Leaders are often asked to hold competing truths at the same time. Stability and change. Urgency and care. Realism and hope. The work is not choosing one over the other. It’s about learning to lead well in the tension between them. 

2. Leaders are carrying more than they let on, and many are leading while exhausted. 

   
   

In conversation after conversation, leaders shared (often quietly) how tired they are. They’re carrying responsibility for others while running low themselves. Naming this reality doesn’t weaken leadership. It creates space for more honest decisions and healthier ways of leading. 

3. Culture is always being shaped intentionally or not.

   
   

Stories take shape quickly in individuals and organizations. They influence what feels possible, what feels risky, and what gets attention. Culture is shaped through everyday choices and behaviours, whether we mean for them or not. 

4. It may not be our fault, and it is still our responsibility. 

   
   

Leaders often step into situations they didn’t create. Stretched systems, competing demands, and longstanding tensions are real. Acknowledging this matters. So does recognizing that leadership still calls us to respond with intention, care, and clarity. 

5. Psychological safety is built in moments, not statements. 

   
   

Many organizations talk openly about the importance of psychological safety. What really matters is how it shows up day to day. How leaders respond to mistakes, disagreement, and difficult conversations shapes whether people feel safe enough to speak, challenge, and learn. 

6. Unstructured connection creates outsized impact. 

   
   

This year felt urgent, and the instinct to jump straight into work was strong. But we saw progress happen when leaders slowed down and connected with people first. Those moments built trust, surfaced insight, and strengthened everything that came after.  

7. Asking for help is harder than it looks. 

   
   

Vulnerability is rarely convenient. It asks for self-awareness, humility, and a willingness to admit limits --- particularly in leadership. And when individuals and teams did ask for help, they often discovered more support and strength than expected.  

8. Data creates insight and listening creates trust. 

   
   

Surveys and metrics offered clarity. Listening is what built trust. The teams that made the most progress used data as a place to begin conversation, not a place to stop it.  

9. Change moves at the speed of relationships. 

   
   

We saw strong strategies stall when relationships were strained. And, we saw progress accelerate when trust, respect, and shared purpose were in place. Sustainable change isn’t just about the plan; it’s about how people work together to carry it forward.  

10. Hope is a leadership skill. 

    
    

Especially in uncertain times, hope isn’t naïve optimism. It’s about helping people see possibility and meaning, even when the way forward isn’t clear. The leaders who made the biggest difference this year were the ones who helped other believe progress was still possible, not the ones who had all the answers.  

Wrapping up 

We share these reflections knowing that leadership, building culture, and developing strategy is rarely simple and never static.  

Thank you to the leaders and teams who invited us into honest conversations, trusted us with their experiences, and continued to show up for their people in meaningful ways. 

As we look ahead, we’re hopeful about what is possible when organizations are grounded in care, clarity, and connection. We look forward to continuing the work together.