Year in Review 2025: Our Top 5 Leadership Stories
With 2025 drawing to a close, it’s worth reflecting on the forces that shaped business this year.
Tariffs and sweeping shifts in trade policy rippled through supply chains, driving up costs and testing the resilience of small and midsize businesses. Spiraling health care premiums created a new layer of financial pressure for leaders already balancing wage expectations and talent retention. And AI continued its rapid evolution — moving beyond knowledge-worker adoption into a front-line engagement tool poised to accelerate productivity and, perhaps, redefine the global workforce.
In a year defined by redefinition, one truth held steady: leadership remains the differentiator.
Leadership still sits at the center of every SMB. Sound decision-making, accountability and performance remain the lifeblood that carries CEOs and business owners through uncertainty, volatility, and opportunity alike.
With that, we look back at our top 5 leadership stories — examples of how leaders rose to the moment and set the pace for what’s next.
International Women’s Day 2025: Leadership Lessons from 6 Inspiring Women
For International Women’s Day 2025, we highlighted leadership lessons from six extraordinary women — from Angela Duckworth on the power of grit to Kat Cole on leading with curiosity and humility — showing that great leaders lead with mindset, courage, and adaptability. Their insights underscored that leadership isn’t defined by title but by resilience, focus, and a willingness to learn and support others. Read more
Perspectives: The Two Sides of a Sale
In our Winter 2025 issue, we dug into the world of business transactions with stories from members on both buying and selling, showing how trust and strategy drive successful deals. The issue also highlighted succession planning and life after selling a company, offering practical insights for leaders at any stage of a transaction. Read more
Vistage on the Hill ‘25: Members ‘Bring Brutal Facts’ to D.C.
At our annual Vistage on the Hill summit, Member Excellence Award winners joined policy experts from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., and brought real-world CEO insights on issues like tariffs, tax and AI to inform pro-business advocacy. The event underscored how leaders can influence policy and translate those conversations into strategic decisions back home. Read more
Creating Lasting Impact: Leadership Lessons from Seth Godin
As one of our featured speakers in 2025, bestselling author Seth Godin challenged Vistage members to rethink strategy and leadership for a world of rapid change, urging leaders to abandon false proxies, embrace AI, and build purpose-driven tribes. His insights reframed leadership around meaning and long-term impact, pushing CEOs to lead with intent and courage rather than chase comfort and short-term metrics. Read more
7 Things the Best CEOs Do Differently
In this post, we break down 7 key habits and mindsets that set elite CEOs apart — from crafting a clear vision and making data-driven decisions to investing in personal growth and leading with emotional intelligence. The article offers actionable leadership practices that any executive can adopt to elevate their strategy, team performance, and long-term success. Read more
About the Author: Glenn Jeffers
Glenn Jeffers is an award-winning journalist and content creator. He serves as the editorial lead for Vistage Perspectives magazine and editor and manager of the Vistage Research Centers. Previously, he was the editor of Kellogg, the alum
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