A Year-End Reflection from Molly & Peter
As we look back on the past year and embark on the year ahead, we find ourselves returning to a practice we encourage in every executive we work with: intentional reflection. Not to evaluate performance in a narrow sense, but to understand how leadership capacity is being shaped, personally and organizationally, by the choices leaders like you make each day.
Throughout the year, our articles reflected what we see consistently in our work with senior leaders, boards, and executive teams. The demands on leaders continue to intensify, but the capabilities required to meet those demands are becoming clearer.
Empathy as a Strategic Leadership Capability
One of the strongest themes was empathy — not as a “soft skill,” but as a core leadership capacity. In The Leadership Capacity Companies Overlook, we explored how empathy directly influences decision quality, trust, and engagement. We expanded on this idea in Empathy Strengthens Leadership Pipelines, where we examined how organizations that intentionally develop empathy build stronger, more resilient leadership benches. In our coaching and advisory work, we see that leaders who can genuinely understand and respond to others make better decisions and lead more sustainable organizations. Empathy plays an especially critical role in succession planning. Technical excellence may earn an executive consideration, but empathy is often what determines readiness for enterprise-level leadership.
In our coaching and advisory work, we see that leaders who can genuinely understand and respond to others make better decisions and lead more sustainable organizations. Empathy plays an especially critical role in succession planning. Technical excellence may earn an executive consideration, but empathy is often what determines readiness for enterprise-level leadership.
Addressing Workplace Bullying as a Leadership Responsibility
Another important theme was the role leaders play in either preventing or perpetuating workplace bullying. Bullying is not merely an interpersonal issue; it is a leadership and governance failure when left unaddressed.
In The Bully-Proof Workplace, we examined how bullying behaviors thrive in environments where accountability is inconsistent, power is unchecked, and leaders avoid difficult conversations. We’ve repeatedly seen that senior leaders and boards underestimate the cost of bullying until it shows up as attrition, stalled succession plans, or reputational risk. Leaders who are willing to confront these dynamics directly — clearly, calmly, and consistently — set a powerful cultural standard.
CEO Readiness Is About Who You Are Becoming
A recurring question we explored was what truly prepares an executive to step into the CEO role. While experience, strategy, and financial acumen remain essential, they’re not sufficient on their own.
In The Six CEO Fundamentals, we emphasized that CEO readiness is about more than what leaders know — it is about how they think, relate, decide, and lead under pressure. The executives who succeed at the highest levels are those who have done the difficult inner work required to lead with clarity, integrity, and confidence.
Leadership Development Is Personal Work with Organizational Impact
A consistent insight from the past year’s articles is that leadership development is deeply personal — and profoundly consequential for organizations. In Elevate Your Leadership: Why Developing Yourself Strengthens Your Organization, we reinforced that leadership growth is not remedial work. It is strategic work.
When leaders invest in their own development, the ripple effects are profound: stronger teams, healthier cultures, and organizations better equipped to navigate complexity and change.
Adaptive Leadership in a Complex Environment
As organizations face increasing uncertainty, adaptive leadership emerged as another key theme. Leaders must be able to hold competing priorities, respond to change without reactivity, and remain grounded in purpose.
In Adaptive Leadership, we explored how flexibility, self-regulation, and systems thinking allow leaders to respond effectively without losing strategic focus — an essential capability for today’s senior executives.
Communication, Presence, and Influence Matter
We also spent time examining leadership communication and presence — particularly how leaders claim authority, influence outcomes, and shape perception. In Women’s Leadership Communication Strategies: Claiming Your Voice and Leadership Presence, we addressed how clarity, confidence, and alignment between values and action shape leadership credibility and impact.
Leadership influence is not accidental. Executives who intentionally develop communication and presence lead with greater consistency and authority across stakeholders.
Looking Ahead
As we move into the year ahead, we remain committed to helping leaders develop the capacities required to lead well in increasingly complex environments. We will continue to explore career transition strategy, succession planning, and the personal dimensions of leadership that drive organizational success.
Reflection is a key aspect of leadership. Our hope is that this year’s insights encourage you to reflect not only on what you’ve accomplished, but on the leader you are becoming. Leadership, after all, is not static. Neither is the work of growing into it.
Are there topics you would like us to explore or cover in greater depth? Contact us to share your thoughts.
Are you reflecting on your leadership?
Executive coaching creates the space leaders need to think clearly, lead intentionally, and prepare for what’s next.
