The Lessons that shaped How I Lead and Consult this year
This year didn’t just move my career forward
It reshaped how I see success, leadership and growth.
As a founder, consultant and coach, I spent this year building, deciding and unlearning.
Sometimes fast, sometimes painfully slow.
What surprised me most wasn’t what worked. It was why it worked.
Here are five lessons that quietly but deeply changed my perspective and continue to shape the way I build my company and coach others:
1. From KPIs → OKRs → Impact
This year, we moved beyond measuring results and numbers.
We’re now focused on impact-based results the way top leaders and companies operate globally.
Not:
“Did we post enough?”
“Did we hit the number?”
But:
“Did this move someone forward?”
“Did this create meaningful growth?”
Impact is the metric that matters. Everything else is just another number.
2. Be careful what you wish for. Clarity makes it happen.
Magic doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when vision, clarity and consistent hard work meet.
I’ve learned that everything is connected:
Thoughts become direction
Direction becomes decisions
Decisions become businesses
That’s why I don’t set financial goals.
Instead, I focus on the conditions that make them inevitable:
Building a strong team
Cultivating a healthy company culture
Nourishing relationships (with clients, partners, friends)
Protecting mental and physical wellbeing
When the foundation is right, clients and revenue follow naturally.
3. When clarity fades, return to your vision, not your goals
Whenever I feel tired, foggy, or unmotivated, I don’t look at my goals.
I go back to my vision and values.
Goals can feel heavy. Vision feels natural.
As Simon Sinek reminds us (and over time proves right): everything flows from your why.
When I reconnect with it:
Decisions feel simpler
Direction becomes clear
Momentum returns
Clarity doesn’t come from pushing harder, it comes from remembering why you started.
4. Protect your culture, even if it means slowing down
Hiring and team-building are some of the hardest parts of running a company.
One lesson became non-negotiable for me: Protect your culture. Protect your people.
If someone doesn’t align with your values or way of working, it’s okay to let go. It’s okay to do less. It’s okay to slow down.
What’s not okay is building something that no longer feels like you.
5. Building a company isn’t about building a fan club
It’s not about likes. It’s not about visibility for the sake of it.
It’s about serving, sharing value and solving real problems.
Your true KPIs aren’t engagement metrics. They’re the conversations you change, the clarity you create, the impact you leave in peoples’ lives.
That shift alone changes how you show up every day.
How These Lessons Shape the Way I Consult and Coach today
These lessons didn’t stay on paper.
They shape how I work with leaders, founders and professionals every day:
We focus on clarity before strategy
Vision before execution
Impact before performance
Because sustainable success isn’t built by chasing numbers. It’s built by alignment.
Sometimes, progress doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from seeing things differently.
Love, Iliana Tzanaki