A reflective guide for CEOs and senior leaders on the importance of pausing to review the year, renew energy, and set sustainable priorities for effective leadership in 2026.
A few weeks ago, halfway through a routine coaching session, a CEO paused and said:
“I feel like I’m moving all the time—but I’m not entirely sure I’ve stopped long enough to think about what this year has actually done to me as a leader.”
There was no frustration in the comment. No drama. Just an honest observation.
“We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.”
- John Dewey
Reflection, done well, is not a soft exercise. It is a leadership discipline. It protects judgement, energy, and perspective over the long arc of demanding roles.
Step One: Take Stock
Senior leaders are conditioned to perform, even in private reflection. We catalogue outcomes, rationalise trade-offs, and move quickly to what’s next. The risk is overlooking how the year has shaped us, not just what it produced.
A more useful starting question is not “How did I perform?” but:
“What did this year ask of me—and what did it cost?”
A practical first step: Open your diary now. Scan back through the year’s key moments—the board meetings, travel, late nights, breakthroughs, and quiet wins. Let the calendar jog your memory to truly remember what happened, not just what you recall. This external prompt reveals patterns your mind alone might miss.
This requires looking beyond the enterprise dashboard across your whole life: leadership role, energy, health, relationships, learning, and meaning. These domains are tightly linked. When one is depleted, others compensate - often until they can’t.
“Leadership is not about the next quarterly result; it is about sustaining the human system that produces results.”
- Peter Senge
Misalignment often shows up first outside the boardroom. These are early warning signals.
Ask yourself honestly:
- Where did my time and emotional energy really go this year?
- What nourished me—and what steadily drained me?
- What challenged me in ways I needed?
- What decision am I most proud of?
- What moment deserved more celebration?
- Where did I recover well?
- Where did I push through when renewal would have served me better?
This is about sustainability in a role that makes constant demands.
Step Two: Name the Climate
Emotion is one of the most underused sources of leadership insight. Emotions are not noise—they are data.
Every year has an emotional climate. Not the highlight moments, but the background weather.
Was this a year dominated by urgency? Low-grade anxiety? Pride mixed with exhaustion? Renewal after a tough period? Quiet satisfaction?
“Emotion is the primary driver of attention, and attention is the currency of leadership.”
- Daniel Goleman
If you had to name three emotions that showed up most frequently this year, what would they be?
Then ask:
- In what situations did they arise?
- Which conversation made the biggest impact?
- What behaviours did they trigger?
- What do they suggest about where your leadership system was under strain—or replenished?
Step Three: Harvest the Lessons
High-performing executives accumulate experience quickly. Wisdom only emerges if that experience is processed.
Every year teaches us something, often about our limits as much as our strengths.
The most useful lessons are short, practical, and embodied. They sound like advice you would give your future self:
“When I don’t protect recovery time, my decision quality deteriorates.”
“If I allow work to crowd out everything else, my leadership narrows.”
“I am at my best when I create space to think—not just to respond.”
“The essence of strategy is deciding what not to do.”
- Michael Porter
Some of the most strategic decisions are about boundaries, rhythms, and what you will no longer sacrifice.
Ask yourself:
- What work energizes me most?
- What do I need to let go of?
- What should I start saying no to?
Step Four: See the Horizon Before You Narrow
Most senior executives are disciplined about annual planning and far less intentional about the medium-term arc of their leadership—and their lives.
A three-year horizon is often the most useful frame. Long enough for meaningful change—in leadership style, energy, and sustainability—yet close enough to feel real.
Before setting 2026 priorities, pause to consider:
- Three years from now, what would success look like that I could sustain?
- What kind of leader will this organisation need me to be—and what kind of life will allow me to do that well?
- What must be true for me to still have energy, perspective, and choice?
- What would make next year feel even more successful?
- What do I want to be known for?
“Management is about efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”
- Stephen R. Covey
Link this horizon to succession, legacy, and optionality. Ask, ‘Who would flourish with more of my time?’ Leading well includes leaving well, whether that moment is planned or not.
Step Five: Choose your priorities
Over-commitment at C-suite level is rarely about ego. It is usually about responsibility.
Attention is finite, and recovery is not automatic.
“If everything is important, nothing is.”
- Patrick Lencioni
Choosing fewer priorities creates space for thinking, relationships, health, and renewal.
Step Six: Translate to plan
The most effective CEOs design rhythms that include pressure and recovery.
Ninety days is the right unit of change:
- What will I advance?
- What will I stop?
- What will I deliberately protect?
One practical way to begin: Block an hour before year-end to review your notes, refine 2026 priorities, and note first-quarter changes. Then schedule a 90-minute mid-March review, perhaps marked with a St Patrick’s Day cup of tea or coffee (a pint or a glass of wine too!) —to check progress and make any adjustments.
“Strategy is a hypothesis. Execution is the experiment.”
- Roger Martin
Year-end reflection restores balance between fast, intuitive decision-making and deliberate thought.
Closing Reflection
The CEO who prompted this article needed space—to reflect, recover, and decide what kind of leader they wanted to be next.
Leaders who sustain performance renew themselves deliberately. They know when to pause. They protect what restores them. They treat balance as a condition for excellence.
As you prepare for 2026, stand still long enough to understand the year you are leaving behind—and carry forward only what truly serves you.
Reflection does not slow leadership down.
It sharpens it.
Wishing you a restorative Christmas—one that offers genuine rest, perspective, and time with those who matter most—and a New Year entered with clarity, energy, and intent.
