We close out another year, grateful to do work that we enjoy with people who share our mission of helping teams and leaders build relationships, get results and make workplaces better.

Even though our work is focused on the learning, development and growth of others, it’s a two-way street and we learn just as much from them.

Here are a few thoughts about things learned, or relearned, this past year.

1.   Mindset is everything.

2.  A lot of what is happening around us is a reflection of our mindset.

3.  It’s ok to stop and rest.

4. There’s no point complaining about the result we didn’t get from the action we didn’t take.

5.  When faced with a problem, the first place to look is at oneself.

6.  Most of us think we are listening better than we are.

7.  There is more common ground among us than we realize. Look for it and point it out.

8.  Learning something new is both messy and rewarding.

9.  Procrastination is rarely about time.

10.  Say yes as much as you can and still protect your time. It’s a paradox.

11.  We live with a lot of paradoxes.

12.  Curiosity is the anti-dote to judgment.

13.  Curiosity often makes a complex problem easier to solve.

14.  One way to be curious is to be genuinely interested in other people.

15.  If something doesn’t “feel” right, it’s probably not lined up with your values.

16.  There’s no safe way to try new things.

17.  We need to pay more attention to helping middle managers be successful.

18.  Wellness at work is more about creating healthy workplace systems that help teams thrive than it is about self-care.

19.  The “inner critic” can be very sly. Watch out!

20.  Everything starts with self-awareness.

21.  Sometimes you just have to make the decision and go for it.

22.  Aim for clarity. Forget about certainty and don’t confuse the two.

23.  One thing effective leaders have in common are daily acts of courage.

24.  Always remember your WHY.