The Rules That Kept You Small in 2025, And the Rules That Will Move You Forward in 2026

The Unfiltered Leader

No spin. No fluff. Just what actually works.

January always kicks off with fresh goals and shiny new routines. Then reality hits in week one: as the pace picks up, fires start, and in no time at all, you're back to your old ways. Here's the thing most leaders miss: it's not actually about the goals themselves. It's rather the hidden rules you're running when the pressure's on. Change those rules, and you'll actually change your year. Here's the download...

3 Defaults

There are three sneaky defaults that quietly drain you and your team's momentum:

Stay agreeable. You water down your message and say yes to keep everyone moving. What happens? People learn they can drop vague requests on your desk and walk away while you figure it out.

Be the reliable one. You just do it yourself because explaining takes too long. Before you know it, you've become the bottleneck for everything.

Stay available. You pride yourself (like many) on quick replies and being easy to reach. But it keeps you constantly reacting instead of actually thinking, and your real work gets shoved into evenings and weekends.

The "bonus" real cost isn't just your time either. It's also your clarity, your team's ownership, and your ability to actually lead with direction.

Those old rules? Yes, they probably helped you get promoted. But under the weight you're carrying now, they're what's holding you back from scaling up.

We need to get real

Let's get real: you're not paid to carry everything on your shoulders. You're paid to make the right things happen, quickly. All those "yes, sure", those fuzzy asks, being constantly available, can look professional. But it's slowing down decisions and hiding the real risks lurking underneath. It's time to swap out those default settings for operating principles that won't crumble when your calendar explodes.

Old Rules → New Rules

Old: Stay agreeable → New: Stay clear

Say what you actually mean. Lay out the trade-offs. Ask for a real decision.

Old: Be the reliable one → New: Build ownership

Put the work where it belongs, with the person who should own it. Define what "done" and "good" look like. Set a date.

Old: Stay available → New: Protect focus

Block out time for deep work. Batch your responses. Move status updates to async channels.

60-Second Meeting Reset

Try this framework in your very next meeting:

1. What decision are we actually making today?

2. Who owns the next step, and when will it be done?

3. What does success look like? Specifically.

That's it. One minute. Way less rework. Faster results.

Micro-Scripts You Can Use This Week

These are conversation starters you can drop into any discussion:

• "I can take this on if we agree upfront what 'done' looks like."

• "I can do X by Friday or Y today, which one matters more right now?"

• "Before I say yes, who's ultimately owning the outcome here?"

• "If this decision is reversible, let's empower the team to decide within 48 hours."

Create your January

Here's what to lock into your calendar this month:

Weekly: Block two 90-minute focus sessions. No recurring meetings allowed inside them.

Weekly: Run a quick ten-minute decision stand-up where each lead shares one outcome and one specific ask.

Fortnightly: Kill one low-value meeting or move it to async communication.

Monthly: Raise one decision threshold, so your team can act without you, and eliminate one approval step that's just slowing things down.

3 Practical Steps You Can Take Today

1. Swap one rule. Pick the default behaviour that's hurting you most. Replace it with the matching new rule and commit to it for seven days.

2. Publish one boundary. Tell your team when your focus windows are and when they can expect responses from you. Then... stick to it.

3. Send one outcome note. Keep it to five lines: what moved forward, who drove it, what the risks are, what's next, and one specific ask with an owner and due date.

Here's the Brief

Don't start by setting a new goal, a bigger goal, a shinier goal. Start by identifying one rule that's not going to survive this quarter. Being clear beats being agreeable every time. Building ownership beats being the hero who does everything. Protecting your focus beats being available 24/7.

20-Second January Check

Answer yes or no to these:

• My last update ended with one clear owner, one date, and one line about the upside.

• Reversible decisions have a 48-hour decision window with the team.

• I actually protected two focus blocks this week.

• I removed one approval step in the last two weeks.

• At least one senior peer has reused my outcome note format without me even being in the room.

Three or more "yes" answers? You're set up to win. Fewer than three? You've got some avoidable drag slowing you down. Start with the meeting reset.

Ready to Make the Shift?

If you want help replacing those default rules with operating principles that actually fit your real life, let's talk.

One conversation to build a clean, actionable plan.