As 2025 comes to a close, many of us feel the familiar mix of gratitude, exhaustion, and anticipation. The year has given us moments we are proud of, and moments that remind us how imperfect, human and evolving we are. Before we rush into 2026, this is a valuable moment to pause, to breathe, and to reflect on how purposefully we lived and led this year.

Over the years, through the Purposeful Leadership series, I have written about the importance of aligning who we are, how the quality of our leadership begins with the quality of our inner world and how we lead. As I look back on 2025, I am reminded again that purposefulness is not a grand concept; it is a daily practice.

A simple way to explore your own experience of purposeful leadership is through three lenses: purposeful self, purposeful team, and purposeful organisation.

Purposeful Self

Think back to the moments in 2025 when you were at your best: steady, centred and aligned with what truly matters to you. And then recall the moments when you drifted, reacted or felt disconnected.

Ask yourself:

• What nourished me and what drained me this year?
• How did I use my talent and passion to make a positive impact to my world?
• What did I learn about myself that I must carry forward?
• What must I let go of before stepping into 2026?

Purposeful self-leadership is the anchor for everything that follows.

Purposeful Team

Teams do not remember the tasks we completed as much as how we made them feel. Leadership influence is built in the small, everyday interactions: the tone we bring to a meeting, the curiosity we show when listening, the courage we demonstrate when addressing difficult moments.

Reflect on 2025:

• Did I bring clarity, empathy and presence to my team?
• Did I create space for others to contribute in line with their purpose m?
• Did I deepen trust, or did I unintentionally erode it at times?
• What kind of energy did I consistently bring into the room?

Purposefulness becomes visible in the way we show up for others.

Purposeful Organisation

Every leader, regardless of role, shapes their organisation. Whether through decisions, behaviours or conversations, we each influence the culture more than we realise.

Consider your contribution this year:

• Did I influence decisions that made our organisation more purpose-driven?
• Did I act in alignment with the values we aspire to?
• Did I reinforce a culture of growth, fairness and responsibility?
• What difference did my leadership make to the system I am part of?

Purposeful organisations emerge from purposeful everyday actions.

A Simple Step to Begin 2026

Before the new year begins, take 30 uninterrupted minutes to sit quietly with these three questions:

1. What is one thing I want to strengthen in myself in 2026?
2. What is one way I want to show up differently for my team?
3. What purposeful contribution do I want to make to my organisation?

Capture your answers, choose one small action for January, return to it every month, and see how your life transforms to be more successful, peaceful, and joyous.

Purposefulness is created not through dramatic shifts but through consistent, conscious choices.
And 2026 is a fresh opportunity to lead with more clarity, humanity, intention and purpose.

Wish you Purposeful Living

Dr Ranjan L G De Silva