Happy end of the year trauma-informed innovators! As we approach the end of the year, we’re going to take a break from our usual blogs to honor the time we are in right now. This will be the last blog of 2024. They will resume after the new year. 

I don’t know about all of you, but something strange happens to me during the last couple weeks of December every year. Even though it’s one of the busiest times of the year for many of us, I tend to have renewed energy and enthusiasm to clear out the past year and prepare for the new one. Usually this looks like me taking on obscene projects during the last week of December – cleaning out closets, re-painting some walls, organizing the pantry, you get it. I know, it doesn’t make sense with everything I have on my plate (and it frustrates my husband who would like to see me relax when I can!), but I still do it anyway. I’m not sure what it’s about, but if I’d hazard a guess, it’s about the divine prospect of a blank slate, of going into the new year with my ducks in a row and starting things off in the best way possible. 

In all honesty, this time of year seems sacred to me. I’m not talking about the holidays (although for many of us it’s a sacred time), I’m talking about the quiet and stillness that comes during the “in-between”, the time when we say goodbye to the past, yet we still haven’t embarked on the future. The last week of December has always felt a bit mystical and special, a time to honor what we’ve accomplished over the past year while preparing for the future and all the opportunities that it holds. 

As we approach this end of year, it’s my hope that we can all take a moment to appreciate this stillness and do some self-reflection on 2024 while also setting some goals for 2025. When you have a moment, I encourage you to take about 20-30 minutes to sit down and do the following exercise: 

• Find a moment of stillness and quiet. Silence notifications on your phone and block out this time on your calendar. It’s as important (or more important!) than many of the meetings that you might have scheduled. 

• Find a comfortable seating arrangement. This might be at your office desk with your feet slightly elevated, on the floor with your legs crossed, or any other comfortable seated position. 

• If you like, put on some calming music or even just some brown noise. 

• Close your eyes (if you’re comfortable with that) and take 3 deep breaths. Try to count to 8 on your inhale and 4 on your exhale. Alternatively, you could do a 5-minute breathing mediation (you can find free ones on Insight Timer) to help calm your nervous system. I don’t care how you do it, just find a way that works for you. 

• Now that you are relaxed, take a moment to reflect on your past year. Ask yourself the following questions. I'd recommend that you journal your responses by writing them in a journal or in a document on your computer so you can refer to them in the future: 

• As a leader, what are you most proud of this year? How have you successfully supported your team while also taking care of yourself? 

• What are some team successes that have emerged this year? Think about those “big wins” or things that you just didn’t think were possible. 

• How have you facilitated opportunities to create psychological safety and trust this year? 

• What positive feedback have you heard from your team this year?  

• What positive feedback have you heard ABOUT your team from others this year? 

• In what ways have you taken care of yourself as a leader? This might be setting new boundaries (and sticking to them!), becoming more aware of the times you’re activated doing this work, or anything else you can identify. 

• What new trauma-informed leadership strategy or tool have you learned that you implemented this year? 

• What challenging situations in the workplace have you successfully overcome this year?   

• Anything else that you’d like to highlight over the past year?  

• Take some time to really take in these positive things that you have identified. It’s okay to feel proud of yourself and give yourself kudos for all you have accomplished! 

• Now that you have reflected on 2024, it’s time to think about 2025. Feel free to journal your responses to the following questions: 

• What area of growth have you identified that you’d like to improve in the new year?  

• What are 3-5 things that you can do to better support yourself as a leader this coming year? This may include planning out your vacations now, identifying some boundaries that you can strengthen, developing a mindfulness practice, etc. 

• What are some strategies that you can implement to cultivate safety and trust in your teams? If you’re looking for ideas, feel free to review any of our previous trauma-informed leadership blogs – there are lots of great strategies in those!   

• Pretend it’s December 2025, and you are doing this exercise again. What would you like to highlight as your successes? What would make 2025 a good one professionally and personally as a leader for you? 

• Take a couple of minutes to close your eyes and visualize all the above happening for you in 2025. What would it look like (be specific!)? What would it feel like in your body to achieve all of this success? Really feel it. 

• You’re done! If you wrote your responses somewhere, put them somewhere you can see and refer to throughout the year. 

As I did this exercise and reflected on the past year, I identified some things that I was proud of as well. The big one was what you see here – creating this blog and taking a leap of faith to put my ideas into the world. While it’s certainly not perfect (every week I identify opportunities for improvement or ways I might do things differently), but the important thing was that I started. After thinking and planning this work for so long, I was in danger of too much “planning to plan” without taking the leap. I’m proud of myself for finally doing it. 

I’m also VERY excited about what’s coming for Trauma-Informed Innovations in 2025! The following are some highlights that I wanted to share with all of you: 

• Website Updates: I’m thrilled to share that I’m re-vamping my website (www.lisaconradi.com). It will be far more user-friendly and will include links to all the opportunities that we’re rolling out in 2025. 

• Trauma-Informed Leadership Blog: You are reading the FINAL blog of 2024. The blogs will resume after the new year and will be available EXCLUSIVELY on my website. If you are reading this on my website or are on my mailing list, there’s nothing for you to do.

• Trauma-Informed Insights Newsletter: Currently, the Trauma-Informed Insights newsletter and the Trauma-Informed Leadership blog include the same content. After the new year, the Trauma-Informed Insights newsletter will be re-vamped and will include exciting updates on upcoming Trauma-Informed Innovations opportunities, summaries of the Trauma-Informed Leadership blog, and any relevant resources and updates. If you are on my mailing list, you will already receive it monthly delivered directly to your inbox. 

• Trauma-Informed Leadership Coaching: I will be launching group and individual coaching for trauma-informed leadership starting in early 2025! Updates will be shared through the newsletter, so join my mailing list if you haven’t already.  

• Trauma-Informed Leadership Online Training: For everyone who has asked whether there was an online training for trauma-informed leaders, we heard you! The course is currently in development and will launch during the second quarter of 2025. It will be a self-paced course that will include several tips and activities to support you every step of the way in becoming a trauma-informed leader.  

Trust me when I say that we are just getting started! There is so much great content and so many opportunities coming up to support you in becoming a trauma-informed leader.  

In the meantime, it is my sincerest hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday season filled with time to reflect and connect with those you love. May this be a time that is energizing and motivating to jump into 2025. 

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all of you! 

Lisa