As we move further into 2025, the year continues to be tumultuous, with unexpected challenges and shifts reshaping the landscape of our world and workplace. As a leader, now more than ever, you must have effective strategies and tools in your back pocket to navigate through these times. Throughout this year, each month I am presenting you with strategies that will enable you to lead yourself and guide your team with clarity, confidence and resilience. I encourage you to write each of these strategies down and refer to them as you encounter challenges. By cultivating new practices, you can adapt more quickly, foster innovation and lead your teams with a greater sense of resiliency and strength. Let’s do a quick recap of the three strategies shared earlier this year:
¨ Strategy 1 – Be Ready
¨ Strategy 2 – Get Your House in Order
¨ Strategy 3 – Disrupt Your Own Beliefs and Self-Identity to Prepare to Reinvent Yourself Professionally
This brings me to Strategy # 4: Resource Yourself Well
Resourcefulness is a fundamental trait that greatly enhances your effectiveness as a leader, allowing you to navigate challenges with creativity, efficiency and a can-do attitude. Let’s begin by defining ‘resourceful.’ The Merriam-Webster definition is, “able to meet situations: capable of devising ways and means.” What does a ‘resourceful’ leader look like to you? Resourceful leaders move and think differently. They embrace a mental agility allowing them to adapt and redirect quickly and confidently. In the coaching profession, we support clients in cultivating self-resourcing capability. Why is this important for leadership effectiveness? Resourceful leaders can be nimble and flex dynamically, always on their toes. They think outside of the box to find clever ways to overcome challenges. Resourceful leaders are adaptable, creative and proactive and can easily pivot when necessary.
I invite you to pause and do a quick self-check-in: how resourceful are you able to be when circumstances change unexpectedly?
Coaching Questions to Ask Yourself:
Listed below are questions related to topics I regularly explore with my clients. I invite you to reflect on these questions.
Are you comfortable with ‘not knowing’ in any given situation?
Are you able to adapt and pivot in any given circumstance?
Are you able to think outside the box and quicky made decisions during challenging situations?
Are you mentally agile and flexible in your thinking?
What if you are freaking out right now?
Not all of us are comfortable or skilled with navigating these tumultuous times, and that is okay. We also need leaders who have strengths and passion for upholding standards and systems, as well as implementing with consistency and quality. And yet, what the current times are calling for – more demanding of us – is that we cultivate greater resourcefulness to adapt to a new paradigm and way of working and living. If you feel completely out of your depth with navigating these uncertainties, a form of resourcing yourself could be forming alliances with other people in your network who thrive in these conditions. Work together and lean on one another.
My Personal Experience
I am someone who is comfortable navigating change. Even though I recognize this is not the case for all leaders, I must accept that my strengths and comfort level with change also create a bias in me. I continually look for the unexpected gifts or learnings or better outcomes that may come from a seemingly disappointing or challenging experience. I cannot assume, however, that others thrive amidst evolution and change. I also cannot assume that it is easy for others to build the skills and shift their mindsets to see what positive results can come after the dust of disruption has settled. Whether you are a leader who embraces change, or someone who struggles or is resistant to change, I invite you to ask yourself the following questions to further resource yourself.
1. When was a time when I had to pivot and embrace uncertainty? What strengths, resources, network connections or inspiration did I draw upon to make it to the other side of the uncertainty?
2. What creative or innovative solutions have I come up with to remedy a small or larger crisis? (Consider getting a flat tire on a deserted road with no cell signal or being out of the house with your infant with no diapers, or showing up to a meeting and realizing you forgot your sample materials to show the customer…. what did you do?)
3. Recall a time when you failed, did not get the job, got stood up on a date… what good ultimately came from what you originally perceived to be a negative?
How to Resource Yourself Well in 2025:
The most effective way to resource yourself well is to begin by cultivating mental agility. What exactly do I mean when I say this? Mental agility is a crucial trait in leadership that helps you to problem solve, leverage opportunities,maximize resources and stay resilient during turbulent times. It encompasses the following traits:
Adaptability – You adapt to any given situation pivoting and shifting perspectives when necessary. You are flexible in your strategies and thinking.
Calm – You stay calm under pressure, guiding your teams through uncertainty and complex challenges. Lead by example. If you are calm, your team members will follow your lead.
Creativity – Creatively solve problems by thinking outside of the box. Be open to new ideas and different ways of solving a problem.
Innovation – Innovation is vital to drive progress and inspire your teams. Inspire fresh thinking and encourage new ideas to push boundaries.
Positive Mental Attitude – Subscribe to a can-do attitude. Stay positive and resilient in the face of setbacks. View challenges as opportunities. Your mindset is everything
Proactive Attitude: Anticipating problems before they happen and taking the initiative to find creative solutions.
Resiliency – Bounce back from setbacks and inspire your team to do the same.
Transparency – Communicate openly and honestly with your team to build trust.
April Challenge:
This month, I challenge you to read through the traits above and choose one to focus on and implement in your leadership approach throughout April. By consciously practicing and integrating this trait, you’ll help elevate your leadership and drive your team to new heights. I would love to hear how it goes. Share your journey with me on my LinkedIn feed—let’s grow together as leaders!
Resourcefulness is a key trait that greatly boosts a leader’s effectiveness, allowing them to tackle challenges with creativity. Leaders who demonstrate resourcefulness inspire their teams to think creatively, make the most of available resources, and adapt quickly to changing situations. By understanding and practicing mental agility you can cultivate thriving work environments and resource yourself well in 2025.
As we move further into an era defined by rapid technological advancements, specifically AI, the ability to adapt and reinvent yourself is no longer a nice to have—it’s a need to have. The future of leadership will require a new kind of mental flexibility and strength, where emotional intelligence and mental stability are central. This emotional and mental intelligence will allow you to challenge your own assumptions, beliefs, biases and set ways of thinking. Why do this? Cultivating these skills will be essential for thriving in an ever-evolving landscape and leading ourselves and others forward into this new era of human development. The ability to be flexible, innovate, learn, and pivot, is key to you and your team’s success. The leaders of tomorrow will be those who can harness their inner resilience, disrupt their own beliefs and continuously reinvent themselves for what each new moment requires.
Strategy #3: Disrupt Your Own Beliefs and Self-Identity to Prepare to Reinvent Yourself Professionally
This month I offer you Strategy #3 for 2025. (Refer back to Strategy #1 Be Ready and #2 Get Your House in Order if needed.) This month’s strategy is all about embracing change and challenging your own assumptions and belief systems to stay adaptable in this rapidly changing world. Now, I know this can be difficult to do. Many of us are comfortable with our current way of thinking and operating. BUT stay with me here and try on this idea…if you can step back and challenge your assumptions about what you’re capable of and how things can get done, your ability to reframe and shift your beliefs will help you to foster innovation and build the kind of leadership that inspires your team to stay agile. You will be better able to dynamically reinvent yourself, accepting and welcoming new perspectives, skills, and tools—like AI—to stay ahead and lead through transformation rather than fear. In a world that never stops evolving, the leaders who thrive are those who are willing to evolve alongside it or even help shape the evolution.
Coaching Questions to Ask Yourself:
At the foundation of this strategy are some powerful coaching questions I regularly explore with my clients. I invite you to grab a pen and some paper or your digital notes and make note of your own answers:
1. What beliefs are getting in the way of you realizing your goals?
2. WHO do you need to BE to move into this new role or stage of your life?
3. What do you need to let go of or change or move beyond to create space for what is required and who you are becoming?
Yuval Noah Harari’s prediction:
Do you remember the Futurist Yuval Noah Harari’s prediction in 2018? He predicted that by 2025 the convergence of AI and biotechnology would create circumstances in which corporations and governments would have the ability to understand us better than we understand ourselves, predict our choices and manipulate our desires. For example, what we buy and who we vote for. He discussed the notion of “bio-enhanced” humans and hacking human beings. Take a moment to soak that in. Harari’s 2018 prediction about the profound impact of AI and technology on society is rapidly coming true, as we witness the following:
Job displacement.
Widening inequalities.
The growing divide between those who can adapt to the future and those left behind.
The ability to “hack” human beings and predict their desires.
You can watch his full prediction by clickingHERE.
How to Disrupt Your Own Beliefs
Whether you have a formal hierarchical title of leadership or are an influential leader in your network, I encourage you to actively engage in the steps below to disrupt your own beliefs and challenge your way of thinking. Engaging in these steps will help you to cultivate adaptability to succeed in this every-turbulent work world. The key is to continuously engage in building your self-awareness, self-reflection, and openness so you can be willing to address discomfort and pivot when necessary. These practical steps will help you foster adaptability and flexibility so you can meet the moment with what is required.
Cultivate a growth mindset – Embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. Ask yourself: What can I learn from this experience?
Regularly Reevaluate Assumptions – Constantly question the validity of your assumptions and beliefs. Ask yourself: Is that really true? What else might be true?
Stay Curious and Committed to Learning – Embrace lifelong learning and betterment. This will help you be more adaptable. Notice where your positive energy and curious attention are taking you: What can you learn by intentionally carving out time to seek out others’ perspectives or learning a new skill or knowledge area?
Practice Vulnerability and Openness – Share your uncertainties and invite collaboration. Be open to others’ ideas and feedback. Start by saying something like “I’m noticing that I’m not feel right with this, but I’m not sure why. Can we talk through this a bit more?”
Challenge the Status Quo Regularly – Regularly evaluate current practices and question what is working and what isn’t. What is valued and positive in impact that makes sense to continue doing? What is feeling a bit stale that may need to be refreshed or redesigned? Where is there a gap or need that is inviting in a new approach?
Set Aside Time for Self-Reflection – Dedicate regular time for personal reflection on your leadership assumptions, beliefs and actions. It can be helpful to identify a peer coach or accountability partner and have them check-in with you about what you’re learning through this reflection.
Lead by Example – Demonstrate adaptability and flexibility in your own actions to encourage and inspire your team. Give others a preview of what you’re experimenting with and why, then give them updates on what you’re learning and ask for their observations as well.
We can all see that the technological landscape is shifting rapidly. If you’re aware that you’re struggling a bit with fear of what’s changing or resistance to let go of your (dare I say) outdated way of thinking, it may be time to wake up and take some baby steps in this direction. It’s normal to resist change, but the reality is you risk being left in the dust. I speak from my heart when I say that I know this may sounds harsh, but it is the absolute truth. As a leader in today’s rapidly evolving world, it is crucial that you question your beliefs (even if that means re-affirming them), embrace new perspectives and stay open to reinvention. Evolving with the changes rather than resisting them will help you stay ahead of the curve.
As we approach the leadership challenges of 2025, it has never been more crucial for you to get your house in order.What do I mean? Leadership demands clarity, energy and focus—qualities that are difficult to achieve when fundamental areas of your life and work are in chaos. I encourage you to align your physical environment, finances, personal life, and relationships with the same clarity and discipline you expect from your organization. DECLUTTER all areas of your life. Need a little help? Click here to read my previous LinkedIn article, “Declutter Your Life, Perform Better as a Leader.” When your house is in order, you’re better equipped to navigate an increasingly uncertain world with resiliency, clarity, flexibility, and strategic focus.
Strategy #2: Get Your House in Order to Effectively Navigate Leadership Challenges
To effectively navigate the leadership challenges of 2025, you need to ensure that your foundation is strong and stable, with healthy boundaries, harmonious relationships, and a grounding introspective practice as cornerstones. A strong personal foundation is crucial. What is making this more difficult now than ever? Burnout and a change in the traditional employment model.
1. Burnout is becoming an ever-growing crisis among leaders across all industries. An alarming statistic highlighted in the recent DDI Global Leadership Forecast 2025: Insights and Trends report underscores:
“Stress among leaders is surging, with 71% reporting a significant increase in their stress levels since stepping into their current role. This marks a sharp escalation from 63% in 2022 and signals a critical inflection point for leadership stability.”
It is now more crucial than ever to ensure your house is in order so you are equipped to handle the pressure and challenges that come with your role. Be a role model for others and start by building your own reservoir to fuel resiliency and strengthen your foundation. Click here to read the DDI report in its entirety and explore the trends redefining leadership.
2. Fractured Roles & Reduction in Traditional Employment – We are seeing a trend of a reduction of traditional employment and an increase in fractional roles. You need to be ready for this paradigm shift and get your house in order to face this change head on. I encourage you to take a tough look at how your team or organization can continue to deliver its services/products with a change in the employment relationship with labor and lower-level management. And if you are the one exiting a traditional employer and going out on your own as an independent contractor or consultant, ask yourself this crucial question:
How can I increase my financial flexibility to shift to an income model that relies on multiple fractional contracts with either no benefits or self-paid benefits?
If you are personally and professionally addressing burnout and the change in employment model in an intentional and values-aligned way, you will be better equipped to navigate the challenges and changes ahead.
My Personal Experience:
Speaking from personal experience, my own physical and mental well-being are the bedrock of my leadership coaching business. I cannot coach, lead and inspire without my own health being in order. At several points in my life I experienced lifequakes, a term coined by Bruce Feiler that I learned about in the TQ Navigating Transitions coach certification program I recently completed. By “lifequake” what I mean is that my world was turned upside down by health crises that originated in work-related stress and not working in a soul-aligned way. The unexpected gifts that came from navigating these crises were transformative.
I got my whole house in order, and by that I mean I upgraded my food, my spiritual practice, my relationships, my physical fitness, and my mindset. And I realized that life is not just about achievement and making money; it’s about learning and growing while making a positive impact. The practices of meditation, yoga, Reiki, and visualization have all helped me to rebuild a stronger personal foundation. Each new challenge provides an opportunity to further test and reinforce the bedrock practices that enable me to uphold healthy boundaries, harmonious relationships, and soul-aligned decisions. As a result, I am not only more resilient, but I continue to experience a positive impact on my leadership performance and coaching effectiveness from my daily practices.
How to Get Your House in Order:
Effective leaders understand that success is built on consistency. They cultivate daily routines, embrace healthy habits, and maintain an organized, decluttered environment in both their personal and professional lives. This helps them to create the clarity and focus they need to lead their teams to success. Just as an athlete must be mindful of what foods they eat and the hours they sleep to perform at their optimum level in key game time moments, you need to be mindful of your habits and how they affect your ability to lead. (For more on learning from athletes how to Be Ready for 2025, read my January 2025 LinkedIn article here.)
Try this exercise to help you get your house in order…
Identify at least one daily habit or routine you can implement in your personal and professional life daily to help get your house in order. Here is a simple yet beneficial list to inspire you:
Organize your finances: keep track of all incoming revenue and outgoing expenses, then cancel any subscriptions and services you no longer use.
Declutter and organize the digital files on your laptop and phone, or declutter the surfaces and drawers in the room where you sleep or work.
Work out any conflict in your relationships that is lingering: if you continue to think about it, it’s draining your energy, so plug that hole by getting to work and taking responsibility for your part in the conflict.
Take a daily walk outside: breathing freely circulating air and feasting the eyes on nature – even small plants or bushes in the city – is rejuvenating and can clear the mind to make space for creative thoughts and inspiration.
Meditate: it’s not about creating perfect wide-open space in your mind, but rather tuning in to your inner reality and screening out external distractions to build a strong relationship with yourself and your Source.
Practice mindful breathing: oxygenate every cell in your body for energy, health, stress reduction, and clearer connection to your inner truth.
Drink more water or add more healthful foods to your diet such as veggies: highly processed beverages and junk food may be fast and tasty, but do not nourish you over time and can even cause harm.
Reduce your screen time before bed: let the mind find itself again unplugged from the outside world so it can settle down before you…
Take a nightly inventory: a quick journaling exercise to reflect on the day.
Start your day fresh by journaling in the morning, with a focus on gratitude, inspiring words to anchor your experiences and allow the creative juices to flow.
Authentic leadership thrives on the synergy between personal and professional order—when your personal life is organized, it fuels your ability to lead with clarity, focus, intention and purpose. Take immediate action! Whether it is scheduling a financial review, resolving conflict in a relationship or clearing off your workspace, now is the time to begin the process of alignment. Keep an eye out for next month’s strategy #3 to help you navigate a tumultuous and generative 2025.
What are your predictions for 2025? It’s human nature to want to know what is next and what the future has in store for each of us. The dawn of the new year has me deep in thought on this very topic, both personally and professionally. Amid the political chaos and transition of power, now is the time to dig deep and navigate the impending uncertainty with an acute alertness, ready stance, and resilient optimism. Be alert. Be ready. Be vigilant. And most importantly: behave the way you want to see other leaders behave and be a model for your peers and direct reports. In past LinkedIn articles I have referenced disruption and change, and this coming year we’re in for a peaking dynamic of evolutionary and sometimes seemingly paradoxical movements. During this time, never forget that you have the choice to disengage, create healthy boundaries, invest time and energy into what you want more of in your life and work, and lead your organization in a measured way that is human-centered and full of integrity.
This year will challenge you as a leader — both in your broader life and in your organization — to embrace reality as it is and make the most of the year ahead. But how do you do this? Throughout this year I will lay some groundwork and offer a set of tangible strategies to support you in effectively navigating your own career and your organization’s path for what’s ahead. I will focus on one strategy each month that has immensely helped me in my own career and in my coaching sessions with clients. No matter who you are, where you live, or the role you play in your organization, these strategies will help you navigate the year ahead. So don’t close your eyes and hope it passes quickly. Be ready for anything and what’s to come.
Strategy #1: Be in the Ready Position Every Day
What do I mean when I say be ready? Think of it as gearing up for game day every day. Athletes bring their A-game to each game. They are alert and always ready to go. An analogy I frequently bring into my coaching sessions is that of the athlete who is ready to spring in any direction depending on what move they need to make. Think of the GOAT, such as professional tennis player Novak Djokovic, ready to receive a 120 MPH serve. At the foundation of this strategy is a situational readiness and a preparedness for anything and everything akin to standing in an athletic “be ready” stance.
For the daily work you do, consider:
What does your mental state need to be?
What kind of physical shape do you need to be in?
How can you stay aware of what’s ahead of you to be best prepared?
What Exactly is the “Be Ready” Stance?
The “Be Ready” stance is an athletic stance used across the board in sports. It’s all about being emotionally, mentally, and physically positioned, with your eyes wide open, alertly scanning. In this posture, you are prepared to spring into action. Your feet may be positioned a little bit wider apart than usual, with some springy bend in your knees, and the weight of your feet shifted a little bit forward. Your elbows are bent and your arms out to the sides, ready to balance you, but also able to work for you and respond to the guidance of your brain or muscle memory at any given moment. Your mind is alive with anticipation and your energy is ready so you can either allow what’s “out of bounds” to pass by you easily or be ready to spring into action when the moment requires. Some of my clients literally take this stance on calls at their standing desks, which allows them to be alert, access their physical power center in the core, and leverage all their creative, emotional, and intuitive centers of intelligence. This position encourages full attention, focus, and power.
With this “Be Ready” stance in mind, take it a step further:
Let’s take the “Be Ready” stance one step further and apply it to your everyday work world. I often ask my coaching clients to think about the following questions so that they can come up with a “be ready” state of mind. I encourage you to ask yourself these same questions and get intentional with your mindset.
What is your required work mindset?
What emotions will serve you and which emotions will get in your way?
How will you manage distractions in your physical environment and technology environment?
How will you navigate around others who do not have the “be ready” mindset? (Think of those who are caught off-balance, maybe even shouting out in surprise, or even metaphorically falling all around you.)
What advance preparation do you need to do the day or night before to wake up ready?
Utilizing this strategy leads to all systems go! Are you ready to level up and get your head in the game? Click here to schedule a call with me to help you get into the “Be Ready” Stance for 2025.Be alert and ready so you can navigate the year with clarity and a dynamic quality of leadership that enables you to float above the chaos at times and engage constructively with grounded discernment at others.
Think about this for a moment: 2030 is only five years away! What will the work world ask of you in 5 years? What will the leadership archetype and DNA be like then? What will generally be required of leaders as we move into the 2030s? It’s something to ponder in this highly disruptive era of transformative change and uncertainty. Now, more than ever, there is a fundamental pivot and shift in the business landscape. There is a divergence from what we used to think of as the traditional leader. If you have not yet started to think about this for yourself, NOW is the time to reimagine what leadership looks like for you and your organization as we approach 2030.
I recently attended The Leader of 2030 webinar hosted by executive search firm, Bridge Partners. It was an eye-opening experience that laid-out the framework for developing and identifying leaders who will thrive in this era of transformation. According to their research and corresponding report, “In the years ahead, organizations will either confidently lead change or fall victim to it. The difference will be determined by the leaders who are at the helm.”
This month, I explore the latest thinking on the future of leadership and highlight some key findings from the webinar that really spoke to me. As you read through this article, I encourage you to think about the following topics as they apply to you as a leader.
What is a Myriad Leader? Are You One?
Do You Have a Conscious & Intentional Leadership Mindset?
What Skills/Competencies Do You Need to Develop Today and in the Future?
Emerging Leaders Checklist
What is a Myriad Leader? Are You One?
When I think about what the future requires of leaders, I think about people with a broad range of expertise and experience. Long gone are the days of siloed leadership with a depth of technical expertise in only one area. Future leaders are those who adapt and evolve with the times, embracing different roles, industries, and perspectives, to navigate the complex and rapidly changing landscape. A new type of leader is emerging; one that is diverse, multi-faceted, and has a wide range of global experiences…what Bridge Partners calls the Myriad Leader.
According to The Leader of 2030 report, “While the leader of the past presents as a narrowly focused expert in a single function and/or sector, the future calls for a Myriad Leader–one who brings a wide range of functional, industry and lived experiences, cognitive diversity, cross-generational insight, innovation, strategic thinking, and problem-solving abilities.” The graph below highlights the crucial skills of a Myriad Leader.
Photo credit: Bridge Partners – The Leader of 2030
Do You Have a Conscious & Intentional Leader Mindset?
Cultivating a high-consciousness, intentional culture and mindset is imperative for the leaders of the future. Do you have this type of mindset already? Do the leaders around you in your organization have this? These are not just buzzwords but rather tools and frameworks essential to the next generation of leaders. Leaders of tomorrow prioritize human capital and focus on employees’ physical and mental health and wellbeing. These leaders practice radical self-awareness, empathy, emotional intelligence, and inclusivity. If you’ve been reading my LinkedIn articles, you know how much I emphasize the importance of these qualities in leaders. Leaders of this kind subscribe to the two heads are better than one philosophy by harnessing the power of their people collectively. This leadership style focuses on the “we”, rather than the “me”. I hear time and time again in my own coaching practice how outdated is the traditional leadership model and how quickly we must evolve and transform to meet the needs of today’s workplace. One way to start this evolution is to practice leading with authenticity, high-consciousness and intentionality.
What Skills/Competencies Do You Need to Develop Today and in the Future?
Throughout my many years of coaching, I have catalogued a crucial list of skills and competencies that I believe are imperative for navigating the everchanging sphere of leadership. Inspiring others with a compelling vision, being resilient and adaptable, and working collaboratively are at the top of my list. It’s interesting to note that The Leader of 2030 report highlights an increase in demand for these three skills in five years. Within the category of Collaboration and teamwork I would add the sub-skill of Discernment and Delegation – and not just to other humans but including AI and other technologies.
Photo credit: Bridge Partners – The Leader of 2030
Emerging Leaders Checklist
Rising leaders: it’s your time now to build and optimize your own leadership capabilities as well as that of your leadership team! The checklist from The Leader of 2030 reportwill help you strengthen the foundation of your leadership effectiveness and get laser-focused for prioritizing what skills to build next.
Pursue Cross-Functional and Cross-Sector Opportunities: Actively seek roles or projects that give you exposure to different functions, industries, and global perspectives to develop a well-rounded leadership profile.
Focus on Building Adaptability and Innovation Skills: Prioritize learning experiences that enhance your ability to think strategically, solve complex problems, and adapt to changing environments.
Leverage AI to Stay Ahead: Continue to familiarize yourself with AI technologies and understand how to use data-driven insights to inform decisions and lead teams effectively.
Cultivate Cognitive Diversity in Your Approach: Be open to new perspectives and collaborate with people who have different backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking to improve your problem-solving skills.
Develop a Nonlinear Career Path: Embrace opportunities that allow for broad, multifaceted experiences across different roles, industries, and functions, ensuring you build a dynamic and adaptable leadership style.
In today’s rapidly changing world, a new leadership era is on the horizon. The DNA of this fresh leader is adaptable, diverse, human-centric and well-rounded. To not only survive, but rather to thrive, you will need to embrace this updated archetype.
