As this year begins to fold into its next season, we find ourselves returning again to reflection. Not as an annual obligation, but as away of seeing more clearly who we are, how we’ve grown, and what is quietly calling us forward. Once again, we return to the question at the core of our work: What has been asked of us as leaders this year?
Continuing on from 2024, one of the strongest threads running through our year has been discernment. Not just individually, but collectively, continually asking: What is ours to hold, and what is not?
This has not always been seamless. We, like many of the leaders we support, have found ourselves picking things up out of habit, stepping in too quickly, or hesitating to let go. And yet, each time we paused long enough to discern with honesty, something became clearer. Sometimes that meant stepping back, sometimes handing something over, sometimes admitting that a long-held responsibility was no longer ours to carry.
As leaders, our work is not to hold everything; it is to hold the right things well, and that truth often reveals itself through practice, not perfection.
Each time we honoured that practice, even imperfectly, space opened.
Space for our true work to unfold.
Space for each of us to stand more fully in our own wisdom.
Space for others to step further into theirs.
And we know many of you have been navigating similar territory, uncovering what truly serves and what quietly drains, in the midst of real pressures, expectations, and complexity.
Alongside this came a deepening awareness of sustainable leadership, the ongoing balancing of performance and care. This too has been a learning curve. We each had moments this year where our leadership asked us to pause; where our bodies signalled fatigue, where our nervous systems called for a reset, where “pushing through” was no longer of service.
Sustainable leadership isn’t built on continuous output. It honours cycles of energy, presence, and recovery. And we’ve seen how challenging this can be for leaders and teams who feel caught in the momentum of urgency, limited resourcing, or expectations to be “on” at all times.
Yet across the systems and organisations we accompanied, we sensed a collective longing for rhythms that nourish rather than deplete, and a renewed commitment to contracting not just for performance but for replenishment, boundaries, support, and shared responsibility. These are small but powerful steps toward genuine collective resilience.
A third theme that shaped our year was the importance of connection, with each other, with our partners and collaborators, and with the broader systems we serve.
We were continually held, strengthened, and stretched by the relationships around us. We also saw how connection requires intention,vulnerability, and sometimes courage to bridge differences or reach across silos.
This echoed through many of the organisations we worked with, some already fluent in working systemically, others just beginning to experiment. What became clear is that the challenges leaders face today cannot be solved in isolation or through individual brilliance alone.
Progress happens when people connect across boundaries, share responsibility, and lean into collective wisdom. We witnessed teams moving toward this, sometimes with ease, sometimes with friction, always with learning.
Connection reminded us, and those we walk alongside, that leadership lives in relationships, not roles, and that our greatest impact is always created together.
As you reflect on 2025, we invite you to sit gently with a few questions:
- What has shaped you, not only in strength but in stretch?
- What has sustained you, even when the year felt full or demanding?
- What is quietly asking to be released, to create space for what wants to emerge next?
With deep gratitude to all who have journey ed with us in 2025, and with warmth and anticipation for what will continue to unfold as we walk into 2026.
We wish you and your loved one’s joy, love, and peace for the festive season, and a safe and replenishing New Year.
Monique and Margot
Photo by Mathieu Odin on Unsplash
