Preparing for the Year-End Review: How to Showcase Your Leadership Growth and Set New Goals
With the year coming to a close, performance review season is around the corner. Although reviews can be nerve-wracking, they’re an excellent opportunity to showcase your growth, celebrate your accomplishments, and set the stage for new goals in 2025. Think of your year-end review as more than a summary of past work—it’s a chance to demonstrate your leadership skills and outline an exciting path for future growth.
Here’s a straightforward guide to help you put your best foot forward, showcase your leadership qualities, and set yourself up for success in the year ahead.
Framing Your Leadership Achievements
Rather than listing every task or project you completed, focus on the achievements that best highlight your leadership abilities. To confidently frame your accomplishments, consider these three angles:
Initiative: Think of times when you stepped up to lead, made decisions, or solved problems that positively impacted your team or department. Describe how you took action and what difference it made.
Impact: Whenever possible, link your work to measurable results. Mention if you contributed to revenue growth, customer satisfaction, or team productivity. Including metrics—like percentages or project milestones—adds concrete value to your achievements.
Growth: Reflect on how you’ve developed as a leader since your last review. Did you improve in specific areas, gain new skills, or take on more responsibility? Sharing how you’ve grown shows your commitment to continuous improvement.
Tip: List three to five of your most meaningful accomplishments, then jot down a sentence explaining how each showcases your leadership. Practicing this beforehand will make it easier to confidently present your achievements during your review.
Showcasing Leadership Beyond Titles and Projects
Leadership is about more than holding a title or leading high-profile projects—it’s about how you show up and make an impact every day. Here are some ways to highlight your leadership that go beyond formal roles or specific projects:
Mentorship and Support: If you helped a coworker adjust, mentored a teammate, or guided someone through a challenge, you demonstrated valuable leadership skills. Be sure to mention how you supported others and how it positively affected the team.
Problem-Solving and Adaptability: Think about times you helped resolve conflicts, took on unexpected responsibilities, or adapted to changes. Examples of problem-solving or quick adaptability show your resilience and ability to lead under pressure.
Collaboration: Emphasize any collaboration you’ve done with other teams or departments. Leadership often means connecting with others to solve complex issues. Describe how you built relationships, shared ideas, or fostered teamwork across different areas.
Pro Tip: Leadership includes your everyday actions to help others and strengthen the team. Don’t overlook these smaller moments—they’re powerful examples of how you contribute to a positive and productive work culture.
Setting SMART Goals for Next Year’s Leadership Growth
Goal-setting is one of the most valuable parts of a review. Consider using the SMART framework to ensure your goals are both impactful and achievable. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Here are some SMART goal examples focused on leadership growth:
Develop Communication Skills: If becoming a better communicator is a priority, set a goal to lead monthly team meetings or consistently give project feedback. Regularly taking on these communication moments will help you build confidence and clarity in your messaging.
Expand Strategic Thinking: If you want to work on strategic thinking, aim to participate in three strategy meetings in the coming year or lead a small strategic project. Take notes on how senior leaders make decisions and contribute your own insights.
Support Team Development: If your focus is on team development, set a goal to identify one area where the team could benefit from additional training or resources. Commit to addressing this need within the first quarter.
Setting clear, actionable goals shows you’re ambitious about growth and ready to align your development with the team’s needs.
Three Steps to Prepare for Your Year-End Review
To put yourself in the best position for your review, follow this simple three-step approach:
Reflect on Key Achievements and Gather Data: Choose three to five standout accomplishments from the year, and whenever possible, back them up with measurable data (like sales figures, client feedback, or timelines).
Connect Your Growth to Company Goals: Show how your achievements fit the company’s big-picture goals. For example, if your company is focused on improving customer experience, explain how your work contributed to better customer interactions or streamlined processes.
Prepare for Feedback: Remember that a review is a two-way conversation. Be open to feedback, and show you’re invested in growth by asking questions like, “What are some areas where I could focus to prepare for greater responsibilities?”
Aligning Personal Goals with Company Objectives
Aligning your goals with your company’s objectives is one of the best ways to show that you’re focused on the big picture. Before your review, understand the company’s priorities and consider how your skills can support those objectives.
For example, if your company is committed to building stronger team collaboration, set a personal goal to strengthen relationships with cross-functional teams. If the organization is focused on efficiency, consider a goal to improve a process that saves time or resources. Aligning your goals shows you’re both strategic and committed to the company’s mission.
Challenge Yourself to Grow as a Leader
Your year-end review is more than a reflection on the past year—it’s a valuable moment to plan for the future. Take advantage of this opportunity to communicate your growth, set new challenges, and outline goals that will help make 2025 your most impactful year yet.
Ready to dive deeper? Download our “Year-End Leadership Reflection Guide” worksheet (Download here)—a practical tool with prompts to help you reflect on achievements, gather feedback, and set goals for 2025. This guide will help you create a more meaningful review experience and prepare for even more success in the year ahead.
Want more actionable tips and resources on leadership, management, and personal growth? Subscribe to the EXCEL2WIN Leadership Newsletter to get insights delivered to your inbox. Let’s make 2025 the year you take your career to the next level!
Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well
In a world where year-end reviews and performance feedback are crucial for professional growth, Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen's groundbreaking book provides invaluable insights into effectively mastering the art of receiving feedback. Just as preparing for feedback is a vital part of the review process, this book equips readers with practical tools to transform challenging feedback conversations into opportunities for growth.
The authors break down feedback into three key types: appreciation, coaching, and evaluation. They expertly explain why receiving feedback can be emotionally challenging and provide practical strategies to overcome our natural defensive reactions. The book's approach, which aligns perfectly with the idea that reviews should be viewed as two-way conversations focused on growth and development, will reassure and instill confidence in the audience's approach to feedback.
This book's emphasis on the receiver's role in feedback conversations makes it particularly powerful. Just as we need to prepare to showcase our achievements and set goals, the book teaches us how to actively engage with feedback to make it more useful and actionable. The authors provide practical frameworks for sorting through feedback, managing emotional triggers, and transforming even harsh criticism into opportunities for learning, making the audience feel guided and supported in their feedback journey.
Ready to transform how you handle feedback and prepare for your following performance review? Grab your copy of "Thanks for the Feedback" today. Remember to subscribe to the EXCEL2WIN Leadership Newsletter for more professional growth and leadership development insights.
