A year in review - what I leaned into, and who I’m grateful for
2025 asked more of me than I expected…
The passing of my dad changed the shape of the year.
It turned the purpose dial up.
It also meant I ran closer to the edge than I’d planned - because when something really matters, it’s easy to give more than you have.
Grief sharpened the focus, and intensity demanded a cost I hadn’t fully anticipated.
In the middle of that year, I announced Be the Waves. Not as a marketing moment - more as a line I’d quietly crossed, a recognition of the work I’d already committed to living out, rather than just writing about.
What have I learned from 2025?
That lived experience of change and transformation is worth its weight in gold.
That it’s not really about whether you can write about leadership, systems, or stewardship - it’s about whether you’ve lived it, carried the cost of it, and can help others live it too.
I’ve been reminded that my work sits in practice, not abstraction.
In real rooms.
With real people.
Inside systems that are messy, political, human, and unfinished.
I’ve also learned something about cost.
The tiredness.
The doubt.
The discipline it takes not to keep proving yourself when what’s really needed is to stand and stay.
I’ve watched the persistence and determination of the next generation too – like my daughter, running up the hill to catch her brother, driven by focus, courage, and care. She never let go.
And that struck home.
What am I walking away with?
A sense of grounded-ness; in a good way.
Less striving.
More confidence in the part I can play.
A quieter trust in my own footing.
This year I’ve watched those I work with make braver calls. And those in my wider network too.
I’ve seen people stop bending themselves out of shape to fit systems that no longer serve.
I’ve helped good people stay whole while doing hard work.
And I didn’t do any of that alone.
I’m grateful to my family - for perspective, patience, and love when the work ran deep.
To the people who trusted me this year, often at moments of uncertainty or pressure, and let me walk alongside them.
To peers who challenged me without posturing, who sharpened my thinking without hardening it.
To great friends, mentors, and colleagues who showed me care, connection, and presence - whose love and support reminded me that I don’t have to carry it all alone. And that I am never alone.
And, quietly, to the systems themselves - public, private, civic - that didn’t always make things easy, but made the learning real.
A new ambition?
This year didn’t give me a new ambition.
It gave me permission to name the one that’s been there all along.
The goal isn’t better leadership.
It’s stewardship.
Stewardship is different from hero leadership, performance leadership, or leadership for appearances.
It’s the work of holding responsibility with care, courage, humility, and a longer view.
And I’ve been reminded that ambition isn’t meant to be carried alone. Its fullest expression comes when it’s shared with people who believe in it, commit to it, and are willing to lean into it alongside you.
When ambition is collective, it grows stronger, steadier, and more enduring. It’s not about doing more on your own; it’s about making space for others to step in, contribute, and carry it forward together.
So what do I need to do in 2026?
Be deliberate.
Clear about the change I want to help make in the world.
Clear that leadership on its own won’t carry us through what’s coming.
We need people willing to carry responsibility with care, courage, humility, and vision over time.
There are people who already feel this. I know that.
And I also know that I don’t just talk about it.
I’ve lived it.
I’ve been shaped by it.
And I’ve learned how to help others grow into it over time.
And through connection - we can be even more.
What do I need to let go of to do that fully?
My concern about being liked.
I was told years ago: “It’s not about whether people like you. It’s about whether they respect you”.
This year I realised something quietly important.
I have more respect than I thought.
So I’m carrying that into 2026.
Sticking to the track.
Trusting the work.
Committing to stewardship - steadily, publicly, and with care.
If this resonates, you’re not alone.
Onwards.
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For now; Thank you.
I am…
An executive coach and the CEO of Be The Waves, growing stewardship for a thriving planet.
I helping good people lead great things; in other words - I empower Stewardship
Good people care about others, our planet and beauty. Great things are changes for the betterment of society and all that lives within an around it. It sounds big and fun - it is.
I'm also an endurance racing cyclist and a go getter.
You can read more about me and what I do; how I work here