Make 2026 the year of intention, not hustle
Every January, leaders feel the pressure to come out of the gate hard and fast.
But after years of conversations with exceptional leaders on How Leaders Lead, I’ve learned they don’t always heed that impulse to do more, more, more.
Instead, they get clear on what actually matters, and then they put meaningful discipline around it.
It’s an approach I used in my own career, too. I’ve honed a few strategies that have helped me do it, and today, I’m sharing them with you.
If you’re looking to start the year with clarity instead of chaos, here are five leadership practices you can use this week to bring focus to 2026.
1. Start with self-awareness: the 3×5 card
Every year, I begin with what I call my 3×5 exercise.
It just takes a simple index card. On the left side, I reflect on this question: What am I today?
Next, on the right side of the card, I write: How can I be even more effective? I consider what I need to sharpen, change, or prioritize as I head into the new year.
Then I put that card right on my refrigerator, where I’m sure to see it every day. Here’s last year’s:
It’s a small habit, but it keeps self-awareness front and center.
After all, you can’t grow others if you aren’t clear on how you need to grow yourself.
As Red Lobster CEO Damola Adamolekun said when he joined me on the podcast, “leadership is self-improvement.” And this 3×5 card exercise is a simple way to put structure to that concept.
2. Define reality, both clearly and completely
Once you’re clear on yourself, the next step is clarity about the business.
I’ve seen too many leaders stumble because they weren’t willing to be intellectually honest about realities in their organization. Without that clarity, they often end up solving the wrong problems.
So at the start of each year, I ask myself: Have I clearly defined the reality my organization is facing?
For me, that means getting grounded in three areas:
Financial reality: the economics of the business and where you truly stand
Customer reality: what customers are telling you, directly and indirectly
Team member reality: how people inside the organization are experiencing work and culture
When you can honestly assess all three areas, you’ll be able to move forward with strategies that are far more likely to work—because they’re based in reality.
3. Don’t leave communication to chance
Defining reality is important, but you can’t stop there. You’ve got to be intentional about communicating it.
If you treat communication with your team as an afterthought, you’ll end up with frustrated people who feel disconnected from your mission.
People need context. They need to hear how things are going and what you’re learning about the business. When they have that, they’re more likely to feel connected and to contribute in meaningful ways.
I’ve always liked how the late great Sam Walton put it: “The more you know, the more you care.”
That idea shaped how I approached communication when I was CEO of Yum! Brands. I used different ways to stay connected throughout the year: global webinars, updates from the road, photos and stories from restaurants around the world, and regular notes to the organization. None of it was fancy. But I had a process and a plan for it.
As you head into the year, think through the “how” and “when” of touchpoints with your team. It’s one of the simplest ways to help people stay engaged and move your biggest priorities forward.
4. Decide what you’re going to recognize
Recognition shapes culture faster than almost anything else.
People pay attention to what gets praised. Over time, those signals tell them what really matters and what excellence looks like in your organization.
There’s plenty of research backing this up. Gallup has shown that employees who feel recognized are significantly more engaged at work, and organizations that do recognition well tend to see better retention and performance.
That’s why I always asked one simple question at the start of the year: what behaviors do we most need right now?
Some years, it was customer focus. Other years, it was execution or building know-how. Once I knew the answer, I made a point to recognize people who were showing those behaviors in real ways.
When recognition is specific and genuine, it carries weight. And when you can have a little fun with it, even better.
5. Have a real coaching plan
Coaching is one of the most meaningful parts of leadership, but it’s also easy to let it slide if you don’t plan for it.
I’ve seen leaders with great instincts struggle here because they rely on off-hand comments and hallway chats to do the work. And those moments matter, but they don’t always add up to real development.
Each year, I tried to be clear about who I wanted to invest time in and how I would support their growth.
One way I did that was by asking leaders to create their own 3×5 cards. In our one-on-one conversations, we’d start there before getting into metrics and performance. Talking through how they saw themselves and where they wanted to grow helped ground everything else we discussed.
As you start the year, think about the people you want to develop and how you’ll show up for them. When coaching is intentional, people feel it. And they tend to rise to the occasion.
Wrapping things up
In your business, I bet you have process and discipline around what matters most to your success.
The same is true for you. If you want to be a better leader, put discipline around:
- knowing yourself
- defining reality
- communicating clearly
- recognizing the right behaviors
- coaching the right people
When you think about it, these practices are simple. What makes them powerful is the intention behind them.
So as you step into the year ahead, don’t focus on doing more. Focus on intention, so you do more of what really matters.
What habits and routines do you use to bring more intention to your year? Drop a comment so I can learn from you!
Want help staying focused this year?
Every week, we send a short leadership plan with one big idea to reflect on and apply to your work. It’s built to help you lead with intention, week by week. And it’s free!