What 2025 Taught Me About Inclusive Leadership, DEI, and Building Workplace Culture That Lasts

2025 reminded me that life and leadership both move in seasons.  There were moments of momentum such as new ideas, meaningful client work, and deep community connection. And there were moments that asked for steadiness: parenting on little sleep, business decisions that required realistic honesty, and an external landscape shaped by shifting politics and a changing economy.

At Curated Leadership, we often say that workplace culture is built in little day-to-day moments: how you respond under pressure, how you treat people when priorities may collide, and how you protect psychological safety when it would be easier to just avoid the discomfort. 

Here are the little moments and lessons I’m carrying into 2026.  They’re personal and also deeply connected to DEI, leadership, and workplace culture.

1) Life and business have ebbs and flows. Ride the waves.

Not everything is a sign. Not every dip means you’re doing it wrong. Sometimes it’s just a season.

Workplace culture takeaway: steadiness is a leadership skill—especially when teams feel uncertain. Recognize you’re on a wave, and demonstrate your stability.

2) Resilience is a practice, especially in a shifting world.

When the environment changes, leaders have to adapt without abandoning their values.

DEI + leadership takeaway: resilience isn’t powering through; it’s adjusting with integrity and communicating clearly so people feel grounded. It’s okay to let your team know you’re facing a moment that may need support.

3) Sticking to your values may mean losing people.

This year reminded me that alignment can mean loss.

Workplace culture takeaway: clear values create psychological safety, while ambiguity invites misinterpretation and weakens trust.

4) Success looks different for everyone.

There are many valid definitions of success: growth, sustainability, impact, rest, time with family, community.

Leadership takeaway: in healthy workplace cultures, stop measuring worth by one narrow standard and start designing for belonging, different needs, and various realities.

5) Comparison is the thief of joy.

The fastest way to lose yourself is to live inside someone else’s metrics.

Workplace culture takeaway: comparison culture kills psychological safety. People stop taking risks, stop speaking up, and start performing instead of collaborating. Understand team realities for future planning.

6) Parenting is hard and it’s reshaped how I lead.

Parenting stretched my patience, deepened my empathy, and forced me to be honest about capacity.

Leadership takeaway: compassion and accountability can coexist. You can hold standards and recognize people as humans.

7) The right people in the right seats change everything.

Talent matters! But so does fit, trust, role clarity, and shared values.

Workplace culture takeaway: misalignment shows up as conflict, burnout, and breakdowns in communication. The “people puzzle” is culture work. Start asking questions and being an active listener.

8) We tried things. We learned. Experimentation beats perfection.

2025 was a year of iteration where we tested, refined, noticed what landed, and let go of what didn’t.

Leadership takeaway: learning cultures outperform perfection cultures. Psychological safety grows when experimentation is normal, not punished.

9) It’s okay to pivot. When one door closes, another opens.

Some pivots are strategic. Some are necessary. All of them require humility.

DEI takeaway: staying committed to inclusive workplace culture means staying responsive to what’s real and not what used to be.

10) Community, loyalty, networking, mentorship, and soulful connections matter more than ever.

This year, I connected with incredible women founders and executives, felt deep gratitude for loyal clients, and was reminded that networking matters most when it’s sincere rather than transactional.

And mentorship? Mentorship is leadership! Giving back is part of how I want to move through the world.

Workplace culture takeaway: community is where we practice belonging. It’s also where we build the courage to lead differently.

If you’re in a moment of reset (personally, professionally, or as an organization), try these:

• Where do I need to pivot (not from fear, but from alignment)?

• What would it look like to protect psychological safety more intentionally this year?

• What relationships - clients, colleagues, community - do I want to nurture for the long haul?

I’m always seeking soulful connections with grounded, honest, mutual spaces where I can be fully human. If 2025 taught you something about leadership, DEI, workplace culture, or what it means to build with integrity, I’d love to hear it! What are you carrying into 2026?

Interested to learn more? Curated Leadership can help you with you and your organization with an inclusive workplace journey in 2026.

Check out our new workshop and training offerings or book a free discovery call to learn more. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter!

Listen to Episode 11, Curated Leadership in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, of Curated Conversations to learn more from our Executive Director, Sheliza Jamal!