Maxwell Leadership Executive Podcast
Episode #377: Closing Your Year with Intention
Date: January 1, 2026
Hosts: Chris Goede (A), Perry Holley (B)
Overview
This episode explores the importance of closing the year with intention, specifically for leaders. Chris Goede and Perry Holley discuss why the year-end is a critical time for reflection, realignment, and purposeful planning—both for teams and individual leaders. Drawing on John C. Maxwell’s principles and their own experiences, they share practical frameworks, discussion questions, and actionable steps to help leaders thoughtfully wrap up the current year and set a strong stage for the year ahead.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Case for Year-End Reflection
- Leaders often skip reflection and rush into planning for Q1.
- “To be able to think better, to be able to reflect, to reset where I'm at as a leader and then to realign with what I'm trying to go after is something that is super, super precious.” — Chris Goede [01:09]
- Citing John Maxwell and their CEO Marco, the hosts note how reviewing the entire calendar from the year—evaluating what worked, what didn’t, and where energy was spent—helps make intentional decisions about what to carry forward.
- “As John likes to say, experience isn’t the best teacher—evaluated experience is.” — Chris Goede [01:41]
2. Discipline in the Reflection Process
- Reflection is a discipline, not just an easy, automatic task.
- “If I'm not disciplined enough, I'll get distracted and not follow through.” — Chris Goede [03:30]
- Leaders are encouraged to intentionally block time—ideally an hour or more—for thoughtful reflection.
3. Practical Reflection Questions [04:00–06:30]
- Hosts suggest journaling or discussing:
- What are three wins and three lessons from this year? Why did things go well, and what can you learn from both successes and failures?
- Look for patterns—are certain mindsets or processes showing up?
- For teams, hold a “team retrospective” meeting:
- What are we most proud of?
- What challenged us most?
- What should we stop, start, or continue in the next year?
Notable Quote:
“If you don’t reflect, you potentially [risk] going into repeating bad choices, bad mistakes you may have made before.” — Perry Holley [02:22]
4. Team Retrospective & Engaging Input [06:30–10:00]
- Involve the team in year-end review—get their voice on what went well, needs change, or spurs pride.
- Chris shares a set of reflection questions inspired by Elon Musk:
- What requirements can we make ‘less dumb’?
- What unnecessary steps exist in your role?
- How can we simplify what we do?
- How can we speed up our cycle time?
- What should we automate?
- Bonus: What would it take to dramatically increase our revenue or impact?
- Confidentiality encouraged more candid responses.
- “If their voice is in it, well, then they're going to be in the change and the things that we're doing differently going forward.” — Chris Goede [09:45]
5. The “Letting Go” List [10:25–11:39]
- Leaders must consciously identify projects, habits, or commitments to drop.
- “If we're going to say yes to some really, really great things, it means we have to say no to some really good things.” — Chris Goede [11:15]
- Give yourself permission to let go so you can focus on truly high-impact work.
6. Realignment around Purpose & Energy [11:39–16:24]
- Go beyond just goal-setting; reflect on the team’s core purpose and values:
- Why do we exist?
- Who do we serve?
- How can we bring our best energy to our mission?
- Frequent reaffirmation of values and mission creates clarity and connection.
- Reflection also means identifying what energizes you/the team the most, what no longer aligns with your priorities, and what deserves more focus next year.
Notable Quote:
“Burnout… wasn’t about being overworked. It was a feeling of being overwhelmed, and the overwhelm came as I'm doing a bunch of work that I'm not really sure why it matters.” — Perry Holley [13:41]
7. Helping Individuals Find Purpose in Their Role
- Reflect on whether individual tasks align with personal purpose.
- Leaders should help team members see how their own sense of purpose connects to their current role.
- “Because your purpose is not job agnostic… It's my job as a leader to try to help them figure that out.” — Chris Goede [16:12]
8. Setting Priorities and Turning Reflection Into Action [16:24–17:41]
- After reflection and realignment, identify 2–3 concrete priorities for Q1.
- Break these into actionable steps, with clear ownership and measures.
- “Over-planning… can really kill momentum, but under-planning can kill accountability.” — Perry Holley [17:21]
9. Communicating Change with Clarity [17:41–20:22]
- Leaders must clearly communicate what’s changing, why, and when—to foster buy-in and avoid confusion.
- Celebrate both what will remain the same (“the gains”) and what needs to evolve.
- Share the vision for where the team is heading next.
- “You have to communicate the change with clarity. Well, the only way to do that is for you to be clear.” — Chris Goede [17:53]
Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)
-
“Experience isn’t the best teacher—evaluated experience is.”
— Chris Goede [01:41] -
“If you don’t reflect, you potentially [risk] going into repeating bad choices, bad mistakes you may have made before. When you pause to reflect, you can start to see patterns.”
— Perry Holley [02:22] -
“If I'm not disciplined enough, I'll get distracted and not follow through.”
— Chris Goede [03:30] -
“If their voice is in it, well, then they're going to be in the change and the things that we're doing differently going forward.”
— Chris Goede [09:45] -
“If we're going to say yes to some really, really great things, it means we have to say no to some really good things.”
— Chris Goede [11:15] -
“Burnout… wasn’t about being overworked. It was a feeling of being overwhelmed, and the overwhelm came as I'm doing a bunch of work that I'm not really sure why it matters.”
— Perry Holley [13:41] -
“Because your purpose is not job agnostic… It's my job as a leader to try to help them figure that out.”
— Chris Goede [16:12] -
“Over-planning… can really kill momentum, but under-planning can kill accountability.”
— Perry Holley [17:21] -
“Make sure that you have extreme clarity and you've taken time… written out like the ‘why’ behind some of the things that we're going to be doing differently.”
— Chris Goede [18:05]
Important Segment Timestamps
- [01:09] – Why year-end reflection matters for leaders
- [04:00] – Practical reflection questions for journaling/team
- [06:30] – Team retrospectives & engaging feedback
- [08:45] – The Elon Musk-inspired strategic reflection questions
- [10:25] – Creating a “letting go” list
- [11:39] – Realignment with team/individual purpose
- [14:15] – Reflection questions around energy and alignment
- [16:00] – Helping team members connect work to their purpose
- [16:24] – Setting Q1 priorities & actionable steps
- [17:41] – The importance of clear communication about change
Actionable Takeaways for Leaders
- Set aside intentional time for year-end reflection—don’t rush into the new year.
- Facilitate both individual and team reviews: wins, lessons, and patterns.
- Engage your team by collecting their insights and reflections.
- Make a letting go list—consciously decide what not to continue.
- Revisit and realign around your team’s mission, values, and purpose.
- Identify and emphasize 2–3 key Q1 priorities, with clear plans and owners.
- Communicate any changes and new directions with utmost clarity—explain what, why, and when.
This episode is a leadership masterclass on closing the year strong—and preparing your team and yourself for a meaningful, focused, and energized start to 2026.