In this special crossover episode with my mate Shelley Johnson from This Is Work, we sat down with printed lists and compared notes on 25 things that 2025 taught us. Along the way, patterns emerged around how we show up, where our energy gets spent, and the ways our work is changing beneath us.  

Shelley and I discuss: 

• Why energy has become the most useful lens for thinking about performance, focus and resilience 

• How boundaries, rest and creating margin changed the way I worked this year 

• Why embarrassment can be an unexpected teacher and a healthy check on the ego 

• The difference between psychological safety and psychological comfort at work 

• Why connection matters more than charisma when it comes to influence 

• How AI has shifted from being a tool to something closer to a coworker 

• Why deadlines, postmortems and focusing on the problem instead of the person improve team dynamics 

• Small posture and workflow changes that made a big difference to how I felt at work 

KEY QUOTES 

“Energy is the new KPI.” 

“The wins are never as good as you think, and the losses are never as bad as you think. Keep going.” 

Connect with Shelley Johnson on Boldside HR’s Instagram, LinkedIn, and listen to her podcast This Is Work.