annual review 2025 - a year of connection

I’ve been missing it.

I think our industry has been missing it.

But we’re bringing it back.

Connection is absolutely core to what it means to be human and so it was that I set this as my word for the year for You Burn Bright 2025, and I am very glad I did.

I realised I needed more human connection. Screens and working from home are efficient, but in overusing these tools I was morphing into heads down, silo-ed, ‘busy’ ways of working that felt distinctly un-me. 

So I got out more.

• Less zoom, more coffee: I met existing and potential clients face to face at least once a month. I attended events, conferences and did over 75% of my 121 and group coaching face to face.

• Hot-desking: I work in my lovely client See’s offices 1 day a month - thank you See for letting me have a desk for the day. 

• Group Dinners: Dinner in Soho with the attendees of my first Leadership Development Programme & we have another planned for January 2026. 

I believed the industry needed more human connection. Leadership skills are not learnt in a vacuum. I learnt the art of leadership from seeing those who went before me do it - from watching how the carried themselves, communicated to the business and dealt with unhappy clients. With more hybrid working I felt I needed to help businesses plug this gap.

I brought together groups of new managers and leaders.

• I ran my first X-industry group leadership development programme. Bringing together people from both the agency world AND the client side for 3 months was a real 2025 highlight. I am proud that lasting connections have been made as the community continues to support one another. Thank you to Marisa, Jo, Chris, Lizzie & Jess for being the inaugural participants. 

  
  

• I am bringing more cohorts of managers and leaders within agencies together, from across disciplines. At Watch Me Think and C Space, we have managers joining the coaching programmes from video & creative teams, to marketing and project management. Spending time together in person with people you don’t work with day-to-day builds empathy, a common language & joint purpose. 

  
  

• And perhaps what I am most proud of is making a Future Leaders Summit happen. I had the idea at the back end of 2024 and pitched it to James Endersby who suggested I work with Tara and The Research Club. With Tara’s brilliant support on the events & marketing side, we created an evening of real impact & connection that was joined by over 75 people working across the insight industry. Thank you to Jack Tadman, Lucy Davison, McKenzie Davis and Clare Woodward for giving your time & enthusiasm to the event. I loved chairing the panel and the roundtable.

To focus on group and in person work takes more time, but the pay-off is substantial. As the incredibly wise Margaret Heffernan said, it’s not the bricks that count, it's the mortar. I am proud that the work I do doesn’t build individual stars, but high performing teams & agencies.

Outside of work I directed a lot of energy into helping my oldest daughter regulate her emotions. I used to walk away when she was having a meltdown. Now I do the opposite. I stay connected. Whatever she’s going through, I am there (unless she tells me she needs space). 

Sometimes, when business is slow and the balance sheet looks quite feeble I do question what I am doing… but I always come back to why I chose this path. I didn’t choose it for financial reward, I chose it because bringing groups of new managers and leaders together brings me great satisfaction & joy. When we do it together we celebrate all that’s brilliant about one other, are honest and open about challenges, then build strategies together for hitting their aspirations. 

So what lies ahead?

It's been a busy end to the year, so I'd be lying if I said I had 2026 all mapped out.

What I do know is that I want to make what I do even more valuable to businesses and its people. With the rise of the machines, I am confident that our competitive advantage lies less in our technical capabilities and more in our soft skills - our ability to persuade, influence, empower, motivate and inspire will be key for the managers and leaders of the future. 

I think our industry needs to challenge itself. And I need to challenge myself too.

The world is changing fast. What's worked before isn't going to get us where we want to go. There's lots we CAN do, but what is it that we NEED to do differently that will really support our ambitions.

I think I need to challenge myself to:

• Let go of how I've done things.

• Be hyper-focused on creating value for my clients.

• Be brave about my voice, my offer, my value.

So there it is. My word and my rallying cry for 2026 is CHALLENGE.

What will you challenge yourself to let go of and do differently in 2026?

Thank you for reading. Your support is invaluable. 

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If you want to set your managers & leaders up for success in 2026, then let’s chat. I run workshops, 121 and group programmes that help talented insight professionals become effective managers and leaders.

zoe@youburnbright.com