*NEWSLETTER* Looking Back To Move Forward: The Stories, Lessons and Themes Shaping the Year Ahead
Dear friends, colleagues and wonderful community,
As we step into a new year, I’ve been reflecting on what 2025 taught me about leadership, humanity, creativity, and the extraordinary power of connection.
This platform has become one of my great joys, a place where ideas travel further than I ever imagined and where your reflections, comments and quiet private messages often spark the next piece I write.
So for this first newsletter of 2026, I wanted to do three things:
Look back at the five most-read posts of the past year
Resurface five pieces that deserved more air time
Share the big themes I’ll be exploring with you in 2026
It is, in many ways, a conversation between past and future; I’m grateful you’re here for both.
Top Five Most-Read Posts of 2025
These were the posts that reached the highest number of readers globally and ignited the strongest engagement. It’s always fascinating to see what resonates most widely and often it’s the stories that are closest to the heart.
1. The Transformative Power of Travel
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Thomas Cook once wrote in Cook’s Excursionist back in 1854:
"Travel provides food for the mind; it contributes to the strength and enjoyment of the intellect; it helps to pull men out of the mire and pollution of old corrupt customs... it accelerates the march of peace, and virtue, and love."
Over a century later, his words still ring true. Travel isn’t just about ticking destinations off a list or snapping Insta-worthy shots. It’s about expanding your perspective, challenging your assumptions, and embracing the beauty of difference.
It’s about that feeling of walking through the streets of a foreign city and hearing a dozen different languages, or standing in nature so vast and untouched that it makes you feel small yet deeply connected to something greater.
Travel feeds the mind, recharges the body, and opens the heart. It reminds us that despite our differences, we all share the same planet and the same desire to connect, grow, and live fully.
Where will your next journey take you? What will it teach you about the world, and about yourself? 🌟
Let’s keep exploring. Together.
2. As I Write My Book. What Leadership Really Feels Like
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As I write my book - and pull back the curtain on what it's really like to lead - I keep circling back to two big truths:
👉Decision-making is relentless.
👉And it can feel incredibly lonely.
A few realities from my own path:
1️⃣Decide, decide, decide.
Make the best decision you can - with the time and data you have. Then move. Regret is wasted energy; momentum matters more.
2️⃣Leave people better than you found them.
Every interaction should uplift: more clarity, more confidence, more calm. It's the hidden art of leadership.
3️⃣It's lonely at the top.
Yes, there are teams, boards, and experts - but ultimately, the calls are yours.
This piece (https://lnkd.in/etMCbRxu) explores it beautifully.
4️⃣Hold space for the big picture.
Think strategically while driving day-to-day brilliance. The juggling act no one really warns you about.
5️⃣Keep a life outside the role.
Easier said than done - but it's possible. And necessary.
So here's my honest question, for those leading or aspiring to lead:
How do you handle tough calls and the loneliness that can follow?
I'd love to hear your insights.
3. My TEDx Talk: Intergenerational Wisdom
Ahead of my TEDx “Rising Through Life” talk, I wrote about the underestimated power of generational learning. This post struck a powerful chord.
Intergenerational Wisdom and Collaboration
In this first post, I reflect on the heart of my TEDx talk on intergenerational learning. Too often, generations are seen as competing forces. What I’ve learned through real experience is that the greatest innovations and breakthroughs happen when we combine the curiosity of youth with the wisdom of experience. This piece explores how meaningful collaboration across age groups unleashes creativity and connection in teams and organisations.
Culture, Listening and Leadership
This post digs into culture and the invisible forces that shape how teams operate. It originated from another part of the TEDx conversation on why culture cannot simply be announced and must be lived. I share insights on how leaders can build trust by listening deeply, acting consistently and embedding values into everyday behaviour, not just words. If you’ve ever wondered why culture feels hard to change, this will resonate.
Innovation, Leadership and Future-Ready Thinking
Here I explore innovation as a timeless force that brings optimism to difficult times and lifts organisations forward. Drawing from the TEDx theme and wider leadership experience, this post looks at why human imagination and structured thinking go hand in hand, especially as technology evolves rapidly. We discuss how leaders can cultivate environments where innovation thrives and why empathy remains a strategic advantage.
A small but exciting update to share. My TED Talk has now been approved by the TEDx youtube channel and will be shared more widely. I will say more about this in January, including a link, once everything is live.
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to bring conversations about intergenerational wisdom, leadership and lived experience to a wider audience.
4. Celebrating 150 Years of Bold Beginnings
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I had the great privilege of speaking at the 150th anniversary of Norwich High School for Girls GDST-an evening that was part celebration, part call to action.
We came together to reflect, to honour, and to fundraise-for five transformational bursaries that will open doors for the next generation of curious, courageous, and brilliant young women.
I spoke about the power of purpose. Of what happens when we stop waiting for permission and start trusting in our own voice, our own path.
To everyone who attended, supported, and gave generously-thank you.
The evening has been beautifully captured by the school:
5. The Secret to Powerful Storytelling
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This reflection on Steve Jobs’ storytelling method; simplicity, clarity, and emotional resonance travelled far and wide.
It turns out storytelling is both an art and a leadership skill. It shapes culture, inspires action, and builds community
I saw this breakdown of Steve Jobs' storytelling method and couldn't help but smile - it's exactly the structure I use when shaping stories, whether for keynotes, workshops, or now... my book.
From starting with a hook to highlighting the problem, building anticipation, making it personal, and closing with inspiration - this isn't just presentation polish. It's how you make people feel something. Remember something. Act on something.
Which of these 9 resonates most with how you tell stories?
📣 Five Posts That Deserved More Air Time
These pieces mattered deeply to me and to many of you who reached out privately but didn’t surface as widely in the algorithm. They deserve a second life.
1. Homelessness and Hidden Hardship
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This was a personal and emotional piece. Homelessness is not abstract. It is human, complex, and sitting right in front of us.
Many of you said it stayed with you for weeks and I believe we need to keep returning to it in 2026 as inequality widens globally.
Guest piece by Mile Blayden-Ryall https://www.harrietgreen.com/my-voice/homelessday-piece-by-miles-blayden-ryall
2. The Global Crisis of Domestic Violence
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
Today is a reminder of something that should never leave our collective conscience. Violence against women is not a distant issue, a headline, or a policy debate. It happens in homes, workplaces, communities and across every country.
In 2000, I trained as a domestic violence counsellor. I was, quite honestly, terrible at it. My instinct was to fix everything. I wanted to scoop victims to safety, confront aggressors, and solve the situation with force and speed. That is not how this work goes. Domestic abuse is complex, layered, and deeply rooted in power, fear, control and trauma. It cannot be rushed or rescued. It can only be supported with care, professionalism and the right structures around survivors.
What that experience taught me was profound. We need more trained specialists, more safe spaces, more listening and more long term support. We also need far more understanding that domestic violence is not a private matter but a societal failure.
A few years ago, I wrote about the global crisis of domestic violence and the outpouring of stories that followed. The piece is here for anyone who wishes to explore it again:
On this day, I want to honour the survivors who continue to rebuild their lives with strength and dignity. I want to thank the frontline workers who show up every day with patience and expertise. And I want all of us to recognise that eliminating violence requires more than awareness. It requires action, funding, education, early intervention and a societal commitment to protecting those who need it most.
If you have the capacity today, check on someone. Share a resource. Donate to a shelter. Listen without judgement.
Small actions save lives.
3. Reading the Room and the People In It
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One of the most valuable skills in leadership, and perhaps one of the least discussed, is the ability to read the room.
Every workplace has its unspoken rhythms. The informal hierarchies. The alliances that shift. The personalities that clash or quietly shape decisions. You cannot find these dynamics in an org chart. But tuning into them, understanding who holds real influence, who needs encouragement, and when to speak or stay silent, changes everything.
This is not about politics. It is about presence. It is about sensing energy, emotion and context before you act.
I learned this in real time during my earliest days at Thomas Cook. In the first major meeting of senior leaders in 2012, it became clear very quickly that the karma was wrong. As I listened, observed and held small breakouts, the truth surfaced. Cynicism was high, trust was low, and disunity was sitting at the centre of the room. No strategy could land in that environment.
So I spent the next six months on the road in small groups of ten or twelve, meeting teams country by country, business by business, breaking down barriers so they could tell me honestly what was broken and how to fix it. Those sessions became the turning point. Not because I had the answers, but because I was willing to read the room, and then rebuild it.
The leaders who thrive are the ones who can feel the temperature of a moment and adapt with empathy, humility and intelligence.
It is a skill that takes practice. And it is one that has shaped every transformation I have led since.
4. Leading Through Blind Spots
Perhaps one of my most vulnerable pieces this year.
I admitted the blind spots I had carried including unconscious biases that shaped how I saw young, overconfident men from privileged backgrounds.
Blind spots don’t disappear when we identify them. But awareness changes everything.
5. Making Change Stick
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In all my years leading transformation across industries and continents , I've learned one hard truth: Change only sticks when everyone knows what they'll do differently on Monday. Every sales rep, cabin crew member, marketer, pilot, operator, or financier must be clear about what the new value sets, tools, and behaviors look like in their world. Without that, transformation stays a memo- not a movement.
Too often, leaders treat culture change like a communications plan: roll out new values, brand empathy, or add perks. But culture doesn't shift because a narrative is launched. It shifts when systems change, power is shared, and behavior aligns with belief.
Research from 164 senior leaders shows the same pattern of superficiality
- Values are named, but not lived.
- Perks are added, while workloads stay broken.
- Feedback is invited, but people don't feel safe speaking up.
The result? Misalignment-the silent killer of momentum. Change doesn't fail from neglect; it fails from contradiction. To make change durable, we have to stop treating culture as a campaign and start treating it as infrastructure-woven into decision-making, incentives, and who gets heard.
Because the strongest signal isn't what leaders say. It's what they're willing to risk to make culture real.
Read more here:https://lnkd.in/e5tcZgkh
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6 Black History Is Not a Month. It Is the Future We Are Building.
I have been thinking a lot about Black History Month recently, and about the conversations Shia and I had back in October.
Black history matters deeply. But it does not belong neatly inside one month of the year.
If we are not careful, we risk turning something vital into something ceremonial. A moment of reflection, followed by a return to business as usual.
Black history is not only about understanding the past. It is about shaping the future.
The real question is not what we commemorate, but what we change. How we design fairer systems. How we create access, opportunity, and belonging. How we move from stories to structures.
Progress does not happen because we admire resilience. It happens because we remove barriers.
This is not about diminishing the importance of Black History Month. It is about honouring it properly. By making equality, representation, and justice part of everyday leadership, policy, and culture.
The future will not be shaped by symbolism alone. It will be shaped by sustained action, accountability, and courage.
That work cannot be seasonal. It has to be constant.
7 Living Between War and Peace. A Sobering Reminder.
The world feels increasingly fragile.
We talk often about war and peace as distant concepts, things happening elsewhere, to other people. But even here in Thailand, where I am currently spending time, there is an active conflict with Cambodia.
It is a quiet reminder that stability is never guaranteed.
When tensions rise between nations, it is rarely leaders who pay the highest price. It is families, communities, and the most vulnerable who feel the impact first.
This moment calls for more than commentary. It calls for reflection on how easily the space between peace and conflict can narrow, and how quickly rights, safety, and security can be eroded.
Leadership matters most in these moments. Not loud leadership, but steady leadership. The kind that values diplomacy over dominance, humanity over rhetoric, and long-term stability over short-term gain.
Peace is not passive. It is something that must be actively protected, nurtured, and chosen again and again.
In uncertain times, that responsibility belongs to all of us.
Key Themes For 2026: Where We’re Heading Together
As I look ahead to 2026, I sense a year of profound transformation. Technology is accelerating, societies are polarising, and many of us are quietly redefining what a meaningful life and career now look like.
There are two big forces I am particularly curious to explore more deeply.
The first is what I think of as the Triple Bubble. This is the intersection of global debt, crypto volatility, and the rapid advance of artificial intelligence. Each is significant on its own, but together they create ripple effects that will touch economies, organisations, and individuals in ways we are only beginning to understand.
The second is Quantum Economics. We are approaching a moment where advances in computing, sensory technologies, and communications converge. This will not just change business models. It will affect how we experience the world, make decisions, and relate to one another.
These are not abstract trends. They will shape leadership, work, and daily life in very real ways.
Against that backdrop, these are the themes I will be exploring with you in the year ahead.
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The Themes I Will Be Exploring in 2026
1. Technology and the Human Future
AI will reshape every industry, but the organisations and leaders who thrive will be those who invest in human capability alongside digital capability.
I will be writing about:
The skills the world now needs
How to stay human in an increasingly automated environment
The fusion of personal brand and AI literacy
Why curiosity, judgment, and empathy are becoming strategic advantages
This will be a major body of work for me across 2026.
2. Inequality, Inclusion, and Belonging
Many of the issues that surfaced repeatedly in 2025 have not gone away. In some cases, they have intensified.
I will continue to explore:
The gender pay gap
Intergenerational divides
Structural inequity
Homelessness
Mental health and burnout
Belonging and psychological safety at work
These are complex challenges, but I believe they deserve clear-eyed attention and practical optimism, not fatigue or avoidance.
3. My Book, My Third Age, and a New Kind of Stillness
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Perhaps the most personal theme of all.
2026 will be the year I finish and release my memoir. It weaves leadership, loss, reinvention, and resilience into one honest narrative, written very much from lived experience.
I will also be sharing what I learned during my December meditation retreat in Thailand, where silence became a teacher and stillness became a compass.
Alongside my time at the monastery, I also took part in a transformation retreat that challenged and stretched me in unexpected ways. It has already had a profound impact on how I think about leadership, presence, and how we show up for others.
I will share deeper reflections, and a few images, in the February newsletter once I have had time to properly integrate what I learned.
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A personal update before I close. The big edit of my memoir is now complete, just over 80,000 words, and right on schedule. It has been an intense and rewarding process, and I will share a little more colour on this next time, along with a photo.
Now comes the next chapter. Finding the right publishing home. If you know a great publisher, or are one, I would love to hear from you.
This year, I am seeking simplicity, clarity and depth and I hope to offer the same back to you.
As we step into a new year, I want to wish you all a healthy, thoughtful and hopeful start to 2026. Here in Asia, the year begins a little later with Chinese New Year on 17 February, welcoming the Year of the Fire Horse. A symbol of energy, courage and forward motion, which feels fitting for the times we are living in.
Wherever you are in the world, I hope the year ahead brings clarity, resilience and moments of real connection.
Warmest, Harriet