What 2025 Taught Me (and What to Do With It in 2026)
2025 was not a “comfortable” year.
It has been a revealing year.
Not because anything new has happened at all, but because everything that previously supported itself by inertia has stopped working.
Roles, leadership models, catchphrases, reassuring beliefs. One after another.
And when things stop working, you have two options:
pretend nothing is happening or learn seriously.
I believe that 2025 has taught us some very clear lessons.
Uncomfortable, but precious.
And that 2026 will be the year we stop talking about them… and start practicing them.
Lesson one: it wasn't the competence that was lacking. It was the courage that was lacking.
In 2025 I have not seen any incompetent managers.
I saw managers helpless.
Intelligent, knowledgeable, experienced people, blocked by the fear of making the wrong move.
Fear of exposure.
Fear of deciding.
Fear of losing consensus.
The truth is simple and brutal:
Today driving does not mean having certainties, but knowing how to act even without having them.
In 2026, we will not need infallible leaders.
We will need leaders readable: who explain the context, who choose, who take the responsibility of saying “this is the direction, we'll fix it as we go”.
Second lesson: strategy exists only if it is understood
In 2025, I saw companies with impeccable strategic plans…
and completely disoriented teams.
Beautiful strategies that lived in documents, not in people's heads.
If a strategy can't be explained in a few minutes, it is not an operational strategy.
It's a theory.
In 2026, the strategy will have to go back to being simple:
clear priorities, clear choices, explicit boundaries.
And above all, a concrete answer to the question everyone asks, even if they don't say it:
“OK, but what should I do differently here?”
Third lesson: Values aren't what you write. They're what you tolerate.
2025 has exposed many inconsistencies.
Companies that talk about respect but reward toxic behavior.
Leaders who talk about trust but control everything.
Organizations that talk about wellness but glorify exhaustion.
True values emerge in moments of pressure, not in the posters.
In 2026, simply declaring values will no longer be enough.
It will be necessary practice them even when they cost: time, consensus, short-term results.
And yes, sometimes people too.
Lesson four: AI isn't the issue. The issue is how we think.
In 2025, everyone was talking about artificial intelligence.
Few have spoken of managerial intelligence.
AI is of no use if you use it to make you run more in the wrong direction.
It's useful if it helps you think better, organize, or remove noise.
In 2026, whoever uses AI to free up mental time will win,
not those who will just use it to fill their agenda.
Lesson five: Leadership consumes emotional energy. Ignoring it is irresponsible.
Leading people today is tiring.
Emotionally draining.
Difficult decisions, high expectations, latent conflicts, constant uncertainties.
Pretending it doesn't weigh is a lie that sooner or later you'll have to show up at the bill.
In 2025, we saw too many tired leaders pushing on.
In 2026 a new maturity will be needed:
knowing how to regenerate energy, not just results.
Because a drained leader doesn't lead. He reacts.
Lesson Six: Growing Up Means Stopping Being Indispensable
As an organization grows, the type of leadership it needs changes.
Not because the previous one was wrong, but because it's no longer enough.
At first, being everywhere works.
Decide, intervene, resolve.
It's normal, it's often necessary.
But then comes a different moment.
A moment in which continuing to do everything well is no longer enough, because the system demands more:
people growing up, responsibilities being shared, decisions that can no longer be made by a single mind.
In 2026 the real evolution of leadership will be this:
move from "I'll take care of it"
to “I create the conditions for it to work even without me.”
It's not a step backwards.
It's a leap in level.
Final lesson: kindness isn't do-goodism. It's a skill.
2025 has shown us one thing very clearly:
Harsh contexts without humanity don't perform better. They perform worse.
Kindness doesn't mean being soft.
It means to be clear, respectful, civil even in tension.
In 2026, kindness will become a competitive factor.
Anyone who mistakes it for weakness will be left behind.
The guidelines for 2026
If I had to sum it all up in a few lines, I would say this:
- fewer postures, more responsibility
- less control, more context
- fewer clichés, more real choices
- fewer lone heroes, more systems that hold up
- less blind rush, more clarity
2026 will not be the year of perfect answers.
It will be the year of right questions done with courage.
And this, for those who lead people and businesses, is already a huge step forward.
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