As the leader of your organization, how are you preparing yourself to grow and lead with intention in 2025?

In our CEO Collective meetings, members engage in candid conversations to uncover truths, challenge one another, and collaboratively elevate the performance of everyone around the table. A core part of these discussions is an exercise in self-reflection: defining your personal development goals as CEO.

Here are six themes we consistently hear from CEOs leading profitable, growing companies—those navigating the complexities of leadership while striving for meaningful impact. These goals typically begin with, “I need to…”:

1. Shift My Focus to Strategy

Spend more time driving strategic initiatives—refining your business model, deeply understanding your customers, and fostering innovation. Your leadership should guide the organization’s trajectory, not get lost in operational minutiae. This role falls on your shoulders because there is no one else in the organization who has the broad perspective or span of authority to redirect the business.

2. Help My Leadership Team Break Out of Silos

Break down departmental barriers by implementing disciplined governance structures. Create a cadence of tightly coordinated high-impact strategy meetings distinct from operational discussions to foster alignment and cross-functional collaboration.

3. Be More Strategically Involved in Sales

Your role in sales should focus on unlocking strategic opportunities. You can’t—and shouldn’t—be the sole rainmaker. Instead, guide the team to scale the process while staying involved in critical, high-leverage moments. For example, with critical customers, or inspecting the pipeline to ensure you are on track with the right target customers.

4. Reconnect with My Customers

Dive back into the heart of your customer experience. Understand what’s working, identify areas for improvement, and engage with customer feedback to stay grounded in the realities of the market.

5. Make Better, Faster People Decisions

Many CEOs cite regrets about keeping the wrong people in key roles for too long. Elevate your talent assessment process and act decisively to ensure you have the right people in the right seats.

6. Take a Vacation

Even the most driven leaders need time to recharge. Plan meaningful time off to maintain your energy, creativity, and resilience—it’s not a luxury, it’s a leadership necessity.

Reflect on Your 2025 Goals

As you set your personal development goals for 2025, ask yourself:

• How do you spend your time? Are you investing enough in strategy, leadership, and culture?
• What do you want to do more of? What should you do less of?
• Are you leveraging your strengths? Or are you inadvertently acting as a bottleneck?
• Are you empowering your team? Do they have the support, clarity, and alignment they need to thrive?
• How’s your energy? What recharges you and fuels your best leadership?
• How is your health? This job can be a killer. What do you need to do differently this year to take care of your mind/body?

As the CEO, you are the highest leverage point in your organization. Your ability to focus on what truly matters—your time, energy, and talent decisions—will profoundly shape the success of your company.

Take this moment to reflect: What one or two shifts could you make this year that would elevate both your personal fulfillment and the performance of your business?

Small, intentional changes can create real results. As you move into the new year, commit to leading with clarity and purpose. Your organization—and your own enjoyment of the role—depend on it.

____________________________________________________

Learn more about the CEO Collective where you receive direct, unbiased feedback from your CEO peers and the accountability to stay on track.

‍