Progress Over Perfection: A Better Way to Start the New Year

January has a way of hinting that we should be better by now.

More focused. More disciplined. More polished.

Somehow fully transformed by the calendar turning a page.

But perfection has never been a reliable strategy — for people or for organizations.

What does work?

Progress. Quiet, steady, imperfect pr

ogress.

In the work I do, I see this play out constantly. Teams don’t struggle because they aren’t capable. They struggle because they’re waiting for the “right” moment, the flawless plan, or the perfect rollout. Meanwhile, momentum stalls and confidence will dissipate.

Progress doesn’t ask for perfection. It asks for movement.

It looks like:

• A manager who starts having better conversations, even if they stumble through the first few

• A team that experiments with new ways of working, instead of clinging to what’s familiar

• A leader who admits they don’t have all the answers — and invites collaboration anyway

Progress is less glamorous than perfection, but it’s far more powerful. It builds trust. It creates learning. And over time, it compounds into meaningful change.

As we step into a new year, this is an invitation to let go of the pressure to get everything right and focus instead on getting something moving. One improvement. One conversation. One decision that brings clarity where there was confusion before.

Organizations grow the same way people do — not through flawless execution, but through consistent effort, reflection, and adjustment.

So, if you’re setting intentions this year, consider this one: Choose progress. Choose learning. Choose forward motion — even when it’s messy.

That’s where real transformation lives.