7 Leadership Principles From 2024 to Help You in 2025

I hope you had a Merry Christmas and are gearing up for an exciting start to 2025.

The amount of replies I received about the 2025 Growth Audit was humbling. It showed me you care about pausing prior to progressing.

To build upon pausing prior to progressing, I have compiled seven of my favorite and most popular principles from this year’s newsletters.

So whether you add them to your 64-Day Excellence Planner or not, I hope you can use them to help you be a more effective leader and person in 2025.

What it means:

Bad leaders are so concerned about their egos that they focus on delivering results at the expense of their people. It’s a “use for my gain” mentality. Conversely, the best leaders take a different approach. They think about the impact on their people and how the team is affected over what’s in their best interest.

This might seem obvious, but it’s far from. It’s easy to look through your lens rather than from the lens of others. This is one of the stark differences between servant and selfish leadership.

What it means:

Inspection evaluates results and process adherence at the macro level, ensuring that standards are maintained and outcomes are delivered.

Proper inspection requires clarity around standards (Policy, Process, or Performance) and allowing team members the freedom to meet or exceed those standards with frequent inspection points to ensure alignment with team priorities.

What it means:

You can do almost anything. You have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do nearly anything you put your mind and commitment towards. However, just because you can doesn’t mean you should. More often than not, more is less, and less is more.

What it means:

I was delivering a keynote to a group of 300 construction professionals when I said, “Your leadership is temporary, but your impact is lasting.” You can watch the clip here. 

It was one of those quotes that was more for me than it was for them. I needed to be reminded during that season of my life that I only get to be (insert title) for so long. However, the impact on the people I got the opportunity to lead would be lasting.

A mentor told me early in my career, "As a leader, you can be a great example or a horrible warning. Be careful because people learn from both.”

What it means:

You desire and might even expect positive outcomes. There is nothing wrong with that; however, if you can learn to be patient with outcomes and impatient with progress, you are more likely to deliver the outcomes you desire.

Instead of looking for big wins and monster outcomes, turn your attention to small areas of progress. There is a good chance you have made more progress than you think you have; all you have to do is look.

What it means:

What does Ted Lasso, Deion Sanders, and Dabo Swinney have in common? They are relentless in transferring belief to others. They understand that all belief is transferred through a source. To be a source of belief for those around you, turn your attention to a central idea from my keynote talk, “Bound By Belief.”

1. What you consume provides thoughts

2. Thoughts become beliefs

3. Beliefs dictate behavior

4. Behaviors become habits

5. Habits become your results

What it means:

72% of people are more likely to trust someone who displays genuine confidence. Confidence is the belief in oneself and one ability to succeed. It’s been said that “confidence is the memory of success,” and it’s built through consistent daily repetition.

The old model of confidence focuses on the external; the modern model focuses on the internal. Genuine confidence must come from within.

See you in 2025!

John Eades | CEO LearnLoft

Peaks and Valleys

During a particularly challenging moment this year, a good friend texted me two words that felt like a lifeline: “Peaks and valleys.” It was a powerful reminder that what I was going through was for now, not forever.

In times like these, I remember that the “long way” is almost always the real shortcut because shortcuts don’t usually get you where you need to be. The hard truth is that people tend to quit when things get tough because they imagine it’ll stay that way forever, which feels unbearable. But it’s a lie. Nothing stays hard forever. You’ll either quit, it’ll get easier, or you’ll become stronger. No matter what, the hardship ends eventually.

The only real way to lose is quitting before you see it through. So the next time you are in a tough spot, remember: peaks and valleys are both part of the journey, and if you are in a valley, it’s just for now, not forever.

Leadership Poll

Here Are Some Ways We Could Partner:

Leadership Development Done Differently - Did you know that 83% of organizations have some form of a leadership development program in place? This highlights the widespread recognition of cultivating leadership skills within teams. It seems like most executives recognize that: “Leadership doesn’t guarantee success, but a lack of leadership guarantees there won’t be success.”

However, despite the high percentage of companies with leadership development initiatives, the effectiveness and scope of these programs vary significantly. This is why I wanted to invite you to explore the Accelerate Leadership Program for your organization.

It’s a done-for-you program customized to your managers and their situations. If you’re in HR, L&D or an Executive with managers in your organization, why not let us take the development of your leaders off your plate?

Speaking and Workshops- We’re now booking keynotes and Workshops for Q1 2025. Reply to this note or fill out the form here, and our team will be in touch to discuss topics, availability, and pricing.

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