In my past life as president and COO at two different grocery chains, I would end every year with a review of all the leadership lessons I’d sent out for our teams to look back on. The value in this is keeping the lessons alive in their minds, and they were encouraged to share them with their teams again in condensed form.
As we near the end of 2025, I find myself reflecting on a year filled with stories, lessons and reminders that leadership isn’t just what we do, it’s who we are every day.
From hope and resilience to kindness and legacy, this year’s lessons formed a narrative about leading with heart, serving with purpose and building cultures that endure. 
January
We began the year with a message of hope. Not a hollow optimism, but a strategy of the heart – a commitment to face every challenge with resilience and positivity.
Grocery retail isn’t for the weak, as I’ve said many times. It’s tough, demanding work, and our teams need leaders who stay positive no matter what.
Hope, in this sense, isn’t a strategy; it’s an attitude. I encouraged leaders to become drivers, not passengers. Walk with purpose, look people in the eye, smile and model a positive, unshakable spirit. When we lead with hope, we give our teams permission to believe again.
February
In “Continual learnings from cutting firewood,” we explored how leadership mirrors the rhythm of chopping and stacking wood. We can’t cut for long with a dull chain – and we can’t lead long with a dull mind.
The lesson was simple: keep learning. Equip the team. Respect experience. And take breaks to maintain perspective. In a world of constant turnover, our greatest gift to our teams is to keep their chains “sharp” through training, mentoring and encouragement.
Leadership, like cutting wood, takes endurance, patience and constant sharpening. The sharper the leader, the stronger the organization.
March
Leadership should flow outward, not inward. In “Be a river, not a reservoir,” we examined the difference between hoarding power and sharing it. A reservoir holds, stagnates and benefits few. A river flows, nourishes and creates life.
Generous leaders give credit, share wisdom and create other leaders. Greedy leaders hoard success and ultimately lose influence.
As I wrote, “The generous person is a river – the greedy person is a reservoir.” When we give freely of our time, trust and energy, we become forces of renewal in our organizations. Great leaders don’t fear losing power; they multiply it by empowering others.
April
In “Please, please, please don’t ignore me,” I tackled one of the industry’s greatest challenges – customer connection. Advertising may drive traffic, but kindness drives loyalty.
The “See me, hear me, help me” mantra became a call to action. See every customer with eye contact and a warm greeting, hear them by listening without distraction and help them by walking them to what they need, not just pointing.
When leaders model this, the “lights come on” across the store. Customers feel seen and employees feel proud of the culture they’re part of. In the end, people don’t remember transactions, they remember how we made them feel.
May
This article was personal – a “Mother’s Day Tribute” to my mom, Polly, who taught me that the requirements of a job should be the floor.
From wrapping meat at Puckett’s Food Store in Clinton, Oklahoma, to running her own business in Arapaho, Oklahoma, she embodied what I call the do-whatever-it-takes mindset. Her sacrifices and consistency shaped my work ethic and my leadership.
I challenged readers to model that same reliability – to be someone their teams and families can depend on.
Leadership isn’t about being the boss; it’s about setting the example through hard work and unwavering standards. Our legacy is written in the consistency of our work ethic.
June
In “Leading with a culture of whispering pines,” I shared how sound travels faster than wind. We hear the whisper of the pines before the breeze.
That’s how culture works. People hear about it long before they experience it. The “sound” of leadership – tone, behavior and calmness – sets the emotional weather for the organization. We were reminded that great leaders are the calm voice in the room, bringing peace in chaos and stability in storms.
Just as the whispering pines soothe the mountain air, calm leaders nurture thriving teams. Be the leader whose voice brings peace, not panic.
July
This month took us to Mesa Verde, Colorado, in “Lead like a National Park guide.” Watching tour guides educate with passion sparked a revelation – great leadership is guided discovery.
A great guide blends knowledge with charisma, empathy with structure. They don’t just point out the path – they walk it with us.
I encouraged leaders to connect more deeply with their teams and customers by personalizing every interaction. When we lead like guides – answering questions, sharing stories, celebrating wins – we transform work into experience. As John Maxwell said, “Everyone communicates, but few connect.”
August
In “Disruptive kindness,” I revisited the second rule from ‘The 5 Rules’ – Be kind. Kindness isn’t weakness – it’s strength under control. It means telling the truth with grace, holding people accountable without cruelty and listening before reacting.
Research shows that kindness builds trust and performance. Leaders who create psychologically safe cultures retain great people and inspire better results.
My challenge was simple – be kind to all types of people, even the unkind or complicated. It’s the most disruptive force in leadership because it transforms cultures from fear-based to trust-based.
September
This piece – “If you’re going to be a bear, be a grizzly” – was a journey back to my early days at United Supermarkets of Oklahoma. The mentors of that era – Jimmy Carder, Perry Snell and Ken Gracey – taught lessons that shaped a lifetime.
These included being the calm voice in the room, doing the right thing even if it’s costly, protecting confidence because it’s fragile and building others up.
Those giants didn’t just manage, they modeled. They built legacies by investing in others. Today, it’s our turn to pass that torch and create the next generation of grizzlies – leaders who give their all, every day.
October
By October, it was time to prepare for the busiest season in grocery retail. In “The 5 Rules for winning the holidays,” we discussed the keys for surviving and thriving through the chaos.
These included clarity over chaos, leading from the floor, protecting energy, elevating the customer experience and celebrating wins. When January rolls around, our people won’t remember the sales report, they’ll remember how we made them feel.
The holidays amplify emotions and reveal leadership character. Calm, kind and visible leaders are the ones who carry their teams across the finish line. That’s how legacies are made.
November
“A legacy of gratitude and leadership” was a Thanksgiving tribute to my uncle, Charles Douglas Seigrist. His life reminded us that leadership is rooted in kindness, humility and faith.
A decorated Army officer and lifelong learner, Uncle Charles believed in giving opportunity, not guarding it. His mantra – “If you can’t be kind to your family, nothing else really matters” – summed up an entire philosophy of leadership.
He taught us that love is the highest form of leadership and family the truest measure of success. His words echo in my heart this season: “Be so intentional every day about being kind that when they think of you, kindness is their first thought.”
Closing thoughts
Looking back, 2025 was a mini-masterclass in leadership – taught not in boardrooms but in grocery aisles, store team meetings and daily one-on-ones.
Each month reminded us that leadership isn’t about titles or tenure, it’s about people. It’s about building legacies of kindness, consistency and courage.
So as we turn the page to 2026, may we be rivers that nourish, not reservoirs that hoard; guides that inspire, not bosses that intimidate; and voices that whisper calm in the noise of the storm.
And above all else, may we lead with the same hope and gratitude that carried us through 2025.
Steve Black is CEO and founder of abrighterday.life, a business and leadership coaching organization devoted to helping people and companies with personal growth and implementing simple leadership principles. A 47-year-veteran of the retail grocery arena, Black is the author of “The 5 Rules” and offers an online Masterclass.