Three Questions Worth Asking

It's a cold January morning. Snow's falling outside my window, and I'm sat here reflecting on my first full year focused on Taggart People.

Over the weekend, I was listening to a podcast about World Tour cycling teams and their winter training camps. The pros were gathering in places like Mallorca and Calpe, clocking base miles and talking about the season ahead. Different teams, different stories, different ambitions for 2026. But underneath it all, the same three questions kept surfacing:

What did we learn last season?

What are we aiming for this year?

How do we get there?

Simple questions. The kind that sound almost too obvious when you say them out loud. But there's something powerful about their simplicity, isn't there? They cut through all the noise and force you to be honest about where you've been and where you're going.

Turns out, these questions work pretty well for business too. And if I'm being truthful, they work pretty well for leadership in general.

What I learned in 2025

Running your own business gives you the chance to focus on work that actually matters to you. I knew that intellectually before I made the leap, but living it is different. When you're not fitting your work into someone else's structure, you get to ask yourself what you really want to be doing. Not what looks good on paper. Not what ticks the boxes. What actually lights you up.

But here's what surprised me: that freedom requires discipline. Probably more discipline than working for someone else, if I'm honest. The balance between working in the business and working on it needs constant attention. Some weeks I get it right. Some weeks I don't. It's a bit like riding in a group - if you're not paying attention to your position, you drift off the back without noticing.

The biggest learning, though? I needed to stop trying to be all things to all people.

For most of 2025, I was saying yes to anything that looked vaguely like an opportunity. Coaching conversations that weren't quite right. Projects that stretched beyond what I really wanted to be doing. Networking in spaces that felt more obligation than genuine connection. I was working hard, but I wasn't always working on the right things.

What makes you different is what makes you valuable. That's become my mantra as the year closed out. The cycling-integrated leadership programmes I've been developing? That's not a gimmick. It's genuinely who I am and how I see the world. The focus on leaders at career crossroads, feeling isolated in their roles? That's the work that matters to me because I've been there. The emphasis on authentic human connection over corporate frameworks? That's not positioning - it's principle.

Once I started leaning into what made me different rather than trying to appeal to everyone, something shifted. The conversations got better. The work got more satisfying. And oddly enough, the opportunities started feeling more aligned.

What I'm after in 2026

I'm not chasing scale. I'm not trying to build an empire or franchise a methodology. What I'm after is simpler than that, and probably harder to achieve:

Keep building a pipeline that's meaningful, not just busy. I want to work with people who are genuinely questioning what comes next. Senior leaders who've achieved what they set out to achieve and are now asking "what does great leadership actually feel like?" Not more clients. The right clients.

Focus on the work that brings genuine satisfaction. That means being willing to say no more often. It means protecting time for the kind of deep thinking that makes the client work better. It means not filling every gap in the diary just because it's empty.

Launch the new leadership and coaching offerings I've been developing. The cycling-integrated programmes are nearly ready. "Lessons from the Peloton" sessions that use insights from the bike to explore team dynamics, performance under pressure, and knowing when to lead versus when to support. Cycling-coaching retreats that combine countryside rides with professional development. These aren't just nice ideas anymore - they're offerings I'm ready to take to market.

How I'll get there

Structure my week properly. This sounds mundane, but it matters. Client days are client days. Development days are development days. Networking days are networking days. No more bleeding between the two. No more answering emails during time I've carved out for thinking. No more accepting "quick calls" on days I've blocked for writing.

Double down on where I add real value. I'm good at creating safe spaces for leaders to explore tensions between their role requirements and personal values. I'm good at helping people navigate the isolation that comes with senior positions. I'm good at bringing cycling metaphors into leadership conversations in ways that land. That's where I should be spending my energy.

Keep showing up in the right rooms with the right people. Not every networking event. Not every online community. Not every potential connection. The ones that feel aligned with the work I want to be doing and the people I want to be serving.

The questions that actually matter

Your feed is probably full of these lists right now. Mine too. New year, new goals, new commitments. Some of them will stick. Most won't. That's just how January works.

But here's what I'm genuinely curious about: what from 2025 actually stuck with you?

Not the wins you'll put in your annual review. Not the targets you hit or the projects you delivered. The moments that made you think differently about how you lead or what you're building. The conversations that shifted something. The realisations that changed your approach.

Because those are the things worth carrying forward, aren't they?

For me, it was the realisation that authenticity isn't just a nice-to-have in leadership work - it's the whole point. It was recognising that the cycling stuff isn't separate from the consulting work - it's integral to it. It was learning that saying no to the wrong opportunities creates space for the right ones to emerge.

What are you carrying forward into 2026?

What did last year teach you about what matters?

And what are you brave enough to stop doing so you can focus on what you're actually here for?

If you're a senior leader navigating what comes next - whether that's a career transition, a team challenge, or just the question of what great leadership could feel like in your context - I'd love to talk. Not a sales pitch. Just a conversation about where you are and where you're trying to get to.