Biggest Lessons I Learned in 2024
To doing better in year ahead...
As we enter 2025, I found that I wanted to share the biggest lessons I learned this year as a leader, manager, individual and father. Overall, it’s as good as any, for a first post in Substack.
Lesson 1: Hire or Develop Experts
I learned that as you progress in your leadership journey, it becomes less about your contribution and more about the strength of the team you lead. As a leader, you can’t be an expert anymore in a field. Hire experts in your team or if you already have an existing team develop the team fast as experts (even hiring experts to train your team). This needs to be done, no exceptions! You need to build your Dream Team.
Experts bring essential knowledge and innovation while investing in your team’s growth, which fosters confidence and long-term excellence. Not doing this as a leader leads you to burning out, bottlenecks and low team morale. Overall, really hating your job.
Lesson 2: Avoid the day-to-day
The biggest trap I got myself into last year was getting caught in the day-to-day grind. It’s easy to focus on tasks with immediate tangible results as it gives us more of the dopamine hit. It’s great from an operational contribution, but this pulls you away from your true priorities as a leader: setting strategy, refining processes and driving team performance.
When you spend too much time on the nitty-gritty, the bigger picture suffers. You're a leader, you're supposed to look ahead and steer the ship. When you do the hard, bigger picture things, the day-to-day often takes care of itself as an outcome of a well-aligned system, so stay focused.
Lesson 3: You will F*ck up, but that’s ok.
If there is one thing I have embraced in the past year, is that you will make mistakes. Let’s be real whether at work or at home nobody is perfect (my wife will agree to this big time). What’s important is what we do about it: own it, learn from it and then improve.
But it’s also important that you are in an environment that allows you to grow from these mistakes. Whether at work at home the people around you should support and give you room to reflect and encourage you to do better, turning your mistakes to lessons instead of roadblocks. Make sure you do the same for the people around you when possible.
Overall cut yourself some slack. F*ck ups happen, just make sure you learn from them.
Lesson 4: Prioritise yourself (Health and Happiness)
Near the end of last year, I learned something important: you can’t pour from an empty cup (I know right better late than never). It’s not I didn’t know this but it’s easy to get caught up in being productive—working late, skipping sleep, and pushing through—leading to neglect of my own health. It wasn’t intentional, but over time, I realised how much it was affecting me.
Taking care of my health—both physical and mental—isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.
I had to prioritise good sleep, exercise, and moments that made me happy, I wasn’t being selfish. It’s what lets me show my best for people who matter and my roles in my life (father, leader, friend, etc.)
Lesson 5: A Positive Mindset Makes a Big Difference
Sometimes it’s as simple as saying “I have to..” to “I get to.”
Possibly when I started to get burnt out and negative about the things I had to do at work or at home. It made things hard to get things done or even find the motivation to to start. Then I came across this technique (can’t remember either podcast or a newsletter - will update when I remember), basically you approach tasks with a sense of gratitude and opportunity, it reframes it making the day-to-day seem lighter. But more than anything I think it helps put privileges and opportunities front of mind.
It won’t make the tasks or challenges easier but it will definitely a positive perspective and purpose to it. “I have to lead my team today…” to “I get to make big changes today and help develop talented people’s careers” OR “I have to go to work today” to “I get to do something I enjoy while getting paid”.
Bonus Lesson: Don’t Forget to Enjoy the Now
Often in our rush to achieve our goals, it’s easy to fall into the grind—working day after day, always chasing the next milestone. But this year reminded me of something important: don’t lose sight of the reasons why I was doing it all in the first place; family, flexibility and fun.
We need to sometimes learn taking a step back doesn’t mean we are not passionate about what we do. Often it’s good to just breathe, and appreciate what you’ve already built. Enjoy the small wins, the time with loved ones, and the freedoms you’ve worked so hard for.
Overall at the end of the day, these lessons boil down to a simple truth: life isn’t about perfection—they’re about progress. Build a team you’re excited about, focus on what truly matters, own your mistakes, take care of yourself, and don’t forget to enjoy the ride. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. Here’s to doing it better in the year ahead.