Twelve months ago, I called 2025 the Year of Connection. And I’ve definitely seen that theme play out again and again in my work since.
I’ve watched:
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People reconnecting with their best selves – their strengths, their purpose, their currencies of success, the impact they want to have, and exploring how they will stay competitive in a shifting world.
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Teams moving beyond surface-level collaboration into real conversations and deliberate behaviours that build genuine belonging, alignment and accountability around shared goals, and cultures of learning and innovation fueled by risk-taking and experimentation.
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Leaders shifting their focus from chasing short-term performance to truly understanding what their people need – showing up with intent, role modelling and laying the foundations for sustainable success.
These shifts weren’t driven by trends or hashtags. For many, there was a confronting but necessary realisation that what used to work… doesn’t anymore. So something had to change.
And for those who made the leap, Connection became a strategic advantage – bringing clarity to what matters most, how they lead, and how they want to work and be moving forward.
But unfortunately, not everyone made that leap…
Not Everyone Took the Leap
Despite everything we’ve learned since 2020 – the broken systems, the burned-out teams, the great rethink – many organisations chose to stay stuck. Or worse, slid backwards… We’ve seen rigid return-to-office mandates, rolling layoffs dressed up as ‘efficiencies’ that only deepened the trust deficit, and change programs that failed to change much at all. Even in the AI arms race, over 80% of organisations have yet to realise any tangible gains to their bottom-line or performance (according to McKinsey).
And yet, this was the moment we have been asking for. Perhaps our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redesign our work, our workforce, and our workplaces for the better. And instead… crickets. Most haven’t taken meaningful action, and most are still waiting to be told what to do.
It’s disappointing because the opportunity is right there. But it’s also inspiring to see those who did seize it:
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IKEA, who added 1.3B euros to their bottom line by launching an interior design service by upskilling 8,500 of their call centre staff. It wasn’t just a commercial win, but an engagement and employability win too as there have been no headcount cuts just a shift to higher-skill, more relational work.
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Heidi Health, who has returned 18M hours to frontline clinicians in just 18 months – the equivalent of 10 hours per week per worker, which has cut down exhaustion, helped reclaim evenings with loved ones, and spend more time with patients.
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And many of my own clients who have made bold, human-centred moves that are reshaping how their people work, perform, and lead – like Monash University, who upskilled over 100 of their staff this year to strengthen the human skills technology can’t replace and future-proof their teams.
These aren’t just success stories, they’re proof that even with small shifts, meaningful change is possible. And for the rest of us, the next chapter can start now.
But before we race into the future, it’s also worth asking: What did get achieved this year? Before we wallow in what didn’t, let’s recognise the progress. And these are the kind of reflections we’ll explore in my final Masterclass for 2025 happening tomorrow.
Ready or Not – Change is Coming
We’re on the edge of massive disruption – not the slow kind we can plan for, but the kind that reshapes entire industries in months, not years.
Stability is something we now see only in the rearview mirror. And the ability to adapt and perform despite complexity, pressure, and unpredictability will define this next chapter.
That’s why I’m calling it now: 2026 is the Year of Change.
Not incremental, surface-level change, but deep, foundational, systemic change.
And quite frankly, I’ll be disappointed if it doesn’t happen…
This is the year we stop trying to bounce back to something outdated. This is the year we use the change to build something better!
Change is already here – and if you thought it was fast this year, you haven’t seen anything yet.
In 2026, the real difference will be between those who react and those who reimagine.
Because the future isn’t waiting. And neither should we. We need to grab the opportunities that disruption is handing us and use it to build a better next.
So, will Change be your biggest advantage in 2026?
