Your 2025 Victory Report
Back in my Intel era (the bunny suit days), one thing I dug about working with engineering teams was when they hit a project or process milestone and paused for a review. I’d get tapped to facilitate sessions that elicited what had gone well and what hadn’t, assess root causes for both the snags and successes, and decide how to adjust/adapt for the next phase of the project or sprint. The annual Victory Report is a riff on this.
How to Do it
At a minimum, do this activity for yourself. Way better – do it as a team exercise and, if you manage managers, ask them to do it with their own teams. Use part of a staff meeting in December or early January — or schedule a lunch or huddle — and ask everyone to come ready to share three things:
Victories: What are 2-4 wins (big or small) you’re proud of? Could be major – we achieved our targets for Net Profit. Enterprise system X launched on deadline due to phenomenal partnership amongst groups X, Y and Z. But small victories count too, like finally figuring out an approach to getting your inbox under control or streamlining an internal team process.
Learnings: What are 2-4 insights you gained this year? Could come from a win or a miss. Sometimes things don’t go right, but you gain plenty valuable learning along the way. Celebrate that.
Experiments/Innovations: Did you find new ways to work with clients or each other, explore AI and other new tools, or shake up old routine and processes?
Tweak the focus of this list to best suit your team.
Have Fun with It
Keep it relaxed. Not every answer has to be serious. Sometimes resilience looks like finding humor in the moments when things got maddening or wacky. With one of my teams, we had nominations for the “quirkiest” internal client of the year. End the session with some literal or metaphorical high-fives.
Leverage It
Take note of what your team shares, especially the learnings or experiments. When you’re discussing 2026 priorities after the holidays, use these notes to fine tune your plans. What to do more of/less of? Stop/start/continue? When your team sees how theirs insights shape what happens next, engagement increases. Good things follow.
Why Bother With It
Improvement and growth (individually and collectively) stems from experimentation, practice, stumbles and successes in a variety of contexts. The reflection prompted by the Victory Report helps build the “muscles” needed to amp up contribution and continue building expertise. Plus, you create team spirit along the way, and teams with strong camaraderie deliver strong results.
For many, 2025 wasn’t exactly a smooth ride. If you’re leading people, it’s probably been challenging to keep spirits up and eyes on what matters. Don’t miss this simple chance to stoke their fire.
Level Up
Want to take it further? Get in touch. I help leaders and organizations build the practices that enable top contribution from all—so your team isn’t just moving ahead but firing on all cylinders, no matter what 2026 brings.