How the Best Leaders End the Year
The Year-End Ritual That Sets Great Leaders Apart
By Jayson Krause
Executives spend their lives in meetings.
Investor briefings. Strategic reviews. One-on-ones. War rooms.
We obsess over time management tools. Try to cram clarity into calendars. And convince ourselves that more meetings equal more momentum.
But the most important meeting on your calendar is the one you’re not having. It’s the one with yourself.
And until you take it seriously… no system, no strategy, no sprint plan will save you.
The Best Leaders End the Year Differently
The top-performing executives I coach reflect forward.
They use the end of the year as a leadership pattern interrupt. Not to dwell on the past, but to align on the future.
Because speed without clarity is a liability. And leadership without reflection becomes performance art.
If you don’t pause to reflect now, you’ll keep solving the wrong problems next year. You’ll keep reacting to urgency instead of driving what actually matters. And eventually you’ll run out of gas, or resources and burn out.
None of this happens because you’re weak. But because you ran at full tilt without ever asking the only question that matters: “Am I building what I actually want to lead?”
Reflecting Forward - Not Backward
Reflection is a strategic reset that’s often confused as a soft skill that’s a luxury.
I don’t want you to think of it as a post-mortem, but a preparation ritual to sharpen your saw.
Those that do it well, use the power of reflection to reconnect with:
Purpose – Are we still solving the right problem?
Priorities – Am I spending time where it actually counts?
People – Are the right people rising — and the wrong ones still here?
Pressure – What pressure is purposeful, and what’s just performative?
This type of reflection is far from nostalgia and everything about navigation.
Three End-of-Year Habits to Reflect Forward
If you’re serious about leading from clarity instead of exhaustion — these are examples of the rituals I build with the execs I coach.
1. The Weekly Power Review
“What did I spend energy on this week — and what did I get back?”
Most leaders track time. Elite leaders track energy.
At the end of the week, run a quick audit.
For each commitment in your calendar:
Did this move the mission?
Did it energize or drain me?
Would I say yes to this again?
Then kill or delegate one energy drain next week. No mercy.
If you don’t audit your leadership choices — they’ll own you.
2. The Anti-Vision Check-In
“If this month repeated for the next 12… where would I end up?”
This is the mirror moment. It’s uncomfortable. And necessary.
Ask yourself:
Am I doing bold work or busy work?
Am I repeating patterns I should have broken?
What am I tolerating that would embarrass my future self?
Write it down. Say it out loud.
Then break one behavior that doesn’t belong in the next chapter of this great memoir you are writing.
3. The Silent Strategy Session
One hour.
No slides. No staff. Just you — and the real questions.
Like:
What am I avoiding that would change everything?
Who am I not challenging — and why?
Where am I the bottleneck?
Protect this meeting like you would a board review.
Because in many ways it is… a board review with the CEO of your own impact.
The Myth of More Time
You don’t need more hours next year. You need more alignment right now. More intentionality. More pause between your yes and your calendar.
Reflection is how high-performance leaders rewire for what’s next. And the moment you take this meeting seriously - the one with yourself - everything downstream sharpens.
What Would Change If You Showed Up to That Meeting?
The answer might be uncomfortable. But it might also unlock the clarity and conviction you’ve been chasing all year.
In The Science Behind Success, I wrote:
“The best leaders aren’t just decision-makers, they’re pattern-breakers.”
And here’s the pattern that needs breaking: Reacting. Rushing. Repeating.
Before you close your laptop for the holidays - book the meeting.
Reflect forward. And lead the next year from alignment and not autopilot.
