A new year is staring down you and your organization.
Some leaders will make a grave mistake: they’ll look at the past year, sigh, and then hope the new year is just as good. Hope is not a strategy. Repeating the same steps you took last year will not lead to growth in the next one.
You must set goals.
Goals that matter.
Goals that challenge and stretch you and your team.
And once those goals are set, you must innovate in how you achieve them.
French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry famously said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” He’s right.
You need goals.
You need plans.
But announcing goals alone won’t achieve them.
Setting goals is fun.
Announcing them is exciting.
Achieving them is hard — and that’s where leadership matters most.
Gather your direct reports and have honest conversations. Examine what’s working and what isn’t. Identify the hurdles that slowed progress last year. Then challenge the group to turn those hurdles into opportunities for growth.
Be honest.
Use candor.
Be radical in the conversation.
You’ll find that these discussions accelerate solutions and open multiple paths forward. As the leader, your job is to listen — not to respond, but to learn. Let your team bring ideas. Let the discussion refine those ideas until they’re stronger.
Trust your team.
Once a strategy is chosen, put your full voice and support behind it.
Communicate the plan relentlessly.
The entire organization needs to know where it’s going. At this stage, you become the chief evangelizer.
Walk the halls.
Talk to people one-on-one.
Send emails outlining next steps.
Hold a company-wide meeting where you clearly define the goals — and the first five steps toward achieving them.
After the company-wide meeting, each department must meet to define their role in achieving the goals. Assign ownership. Set due dates. Then meet weekly for accountability.
Most organizations stop here.
They hold the meetings.
They document the outcomes.
They distribute the plans.
And that’s where goals quietly go to die.
If you want your goals to succeed in 2026, you must lead unlike others.
Keep talking about the goals.
Be excited about where the organization is going.
Ask for weekly updates.
Never forget this: if you don’t take the goals seriously, your team won’t either.
2026 can be an extraordinary year for your organization — but only if you lead it there. Stay focused. Stay passionate. Keep setting benchmarks and moving people forward.
You can look back in one year celebrating goals achieved — or frustrated that nothing changed.
The choice is yours.
Creating unparalleled experiences,
Chris Adams
Ellis Adams Group is always updating our blogs with the latest and greatest, view more below.
View all Blogs
