2025 Leadership Reflections: Growth, lessons, and the road to 2026

In this final episode of 2025, Lee Whitmore reflects on the rapid growth of the LevelUp Leadership Podcast: moving from a simple LinkedIn page to a platform with over 6,000 views across Spotify, YouTube, and Substack. Lee recaps the essential lessons shared by a wide range of expert guests throughout the year and provides a first look at the focus for 2026, including the launch of his new book on AI and leadership.00:00:00 – The journey from zero to 6,000 views in six months.00:01:12 – A note of thanks to listeners, supporters, and guests.00:01:54 – Recapping 2025: Key guests and their unique perspectives.00:02:50 – Universal themes: Personal agency and 'Act Like You Own It'.00:03:15 – Looking ahead to 2026: AI, new guests, and 'Enhanced Leadership'.This year featured a diverse group of leadership experts and practitioners:Tamara Myles: Specialist in meaningful work and productivity.Jon Rosemberg: Expert on moving from survival mode to thriving.Fred Miller: Consultant focused on unleashing agency and visible leadership.Jennifer Riel: Global strategy expert and author on integrative thinking.Mercedes Martin: Advisor on the complex experiences of modern leaders.Chris March: Executive coach specialising in the 'Mamba Mentality' and coaching mindsets.Ian Stringer: Award-winning broadcaster and expert in public speaking.Nick Shackleton-Jones: Pioneer in human-centred learning and performance.Resources MentionedLevelUp Leadership Hub: levelupleadership.ukSolo Episode: 'Act Like You Own It' (Available in the archives).Upcoming Book: 'Enhanced Leadership' by Lee Whitmore (Releasing February 2026).Key TakeawaysCultivate Agency: The most effective leaders encourage a culture where individuals take ownership of their outcomes.Embrace Evolution: Growth often requires moving from a purely operational focus to a strategic, audio-visual, or partnership-driven approach.Prepare for AI: 2026 will require leaders to move beyond experimentation and into the strategic integration of AI within their organisations.Simplify the Landscape: While leadership challenges are complex, the solutions often reside in simple, human-centric principles.Resources Over Courses: Support development by providing staff with the specific information and tools they need at the moment of challenge.Build Communities: The success of coaching and content depends on a supportive network that shares advice and encouragement.#ad Editing my podcast used to be the most time-consuming part of my week. I now use Descript to edit my audio and video by simply deleting words from a transcript. It allows me to create my YouTube Shorts and TikTok clips in a fraction of the time.If you want to try it for your own projects, you can sign up here: https://get.descript.com/LevelUpUsing this link costs you nothing extra, but the small commission I receive helps support the work I do on my podcast and articles. Paid plans start at around £12 / $16 per month (billed annually) for the Hobbyist tier.Thank you for watching/ listening.Follow LevelUp!https://www.levelupleadership.uk/Music, jingles, and images - attribution.Podcast Background Track: https://pixabay.com/users/poorartistt-45918667/Guitar Jingle: https://pixabay.com/music/introoutro-guitar-intro-ident-151972/Swoosh Sound Effect: https://pixabay.com/users/universfield-28281460/Images: https://gemini.google/overview/image-generation/ & https://www.perplexity.ai/© 2025 LevelUp.This episode is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/