Lululemon Athletica‘s founder Chip Wilson said on Monday he had launched a proxy fight by nominating three independent directors to the company’s board, just over two weeks after the apparel maker announced the exit of CEO Calvin McDonald without a clear successor.
Lululemon shares have shed nearly half their value this year as the company struggles to find its footing with younger and affluent shoppers, while battling stiff competition from fast-growing newer rivals such as Alo Yoga and Vuori, as well as pressure from activist investor Elliott Management.
Wilson has nominated three director candidates to Lululemon’s board, including former On Running co-CEO Marc Maurer, former ESPN Chief Marketing Officer Laura Gentile and former Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg.
The board installed Chief Financial Officer Meghan Frank and Chief Commercial Officer André Maestrini as interim co-CEOs while they search for a permanent replacement.
Reuters had reported that Elliott Management, which disclosed a $1 billion stake in the company earlier this month, had been working closely for months with former Ralph Lauren executive Jane Nielsen for a potential CEO role.
When asked whether Wilson was teaming up with activist investor Elliott in pushing for the board change, a person familiar with Wilson’s thinking said he was not working with any other investor. At the same time, Elliott’s campaign for a new CEO would not interfere with his plans, the person added, asking not to be named.
Wilson had spoken to Nielsen, but any CEO selected by the company before board changes would not have Wilson’s support, the source said.
“The recent CEO change announcement was the third total failure of board oversight, with no clear succession plan in place. Shareholders have no faith that this board can select and support the next CEO without input from a board with stronger product experience,” Wilson said in a statement.
Lululemon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The company’s shares rose about 1% in morning trading.
“Adding three new board members seems like something that Lululemon would be willing to do. It might keep Wilson from constantly attacking the board, at least. The nominees appear to be fine, although only one of the three (Maurer) has direct experience in Lululemon’s industry,” Morningstar analyst David Swartz said.
Wilson likely did not ask for a board seat for himself as he owns a significant stake in Lululemon’s competitor Amer Sports, Swartz added.
The Wall Street Journal first reported about Wilson launching a proxy fight against Lululemon’s board earlier in the day.
Wilson’s history with Lululemon
Wilson is one of the biggest independent shareholders of Lululemon, with a 4.27% stake as of December 2025, according to LSEG data.
The yogawear maker’s founder had previously called for an urgent search for a CEO to replace McDonald, led by new, independent directors with a deep knowledge of the company to restore a “product-first” mindset at the company.
This is not the first time Wilson has pushed for changes at Lululemon’s board.
After founding the apparel company in 1998, Wilson withdrew from daily operations in 2012 and resigned as chairman a year later following a recall of see-through yoga pants that led to the departures of top executives amid a public-relations storm.
He also quit the director post in 2015 after clashing with the board over strategy. However, a proxy fight was averted after Wilson agreed to sell about half of his 27% stake to private-equity firm Advent International for $845 million in return for two additional director positions.
Juveria Tabassum, Sanskriti Shekhar, and Anuja Bharat Mistry, Reuters
The start of a new year usually brings new motivation to achieve goals like eating healthier or finally cleaning your basement. Many resolutions also focus on financial goals, such as paying off credit card debt, saving for a new house, or simply getting more educated about money.
New Years is a really good time to review and realign your financial goals overall, said Erica Grundza, certified financial planner at Betterment, an investing and savings app.
When building your goals for 2026, Grundza recommends focusing less on the past and more on an optimistic, yet realistic, vision for the future. She recommends that you focus on reestablishing the why behind your approach to money and how you want to make it work for your life. This can be as simple as saving $10 each week in a savings account, or a bigger goal like saving to buy a house in the coming years. Its all about your own journey.
The Associated Press spoke with people who are making financial resolutions for 2026. Heres a look at what theyre planning and how you can draw inspiration for your own resolutions:
Making achievable plans
Resolutions can easily turn into unattainable goals that feel more like a dream, said MarieYolaine Toms, a coach and founder of Focused Fire, a financial coaching company. To avoid setting unrealistic expectations, Toms follows a no resolutions mindset and instead focuses on making an actionable plan.
What I say every year is that I am not making resolutions, Im making plans that can be tracked forward, traced back, and tweaked until completion, Toms said.
Recently, Toms encouraged her clients to check their credit report with the three credit bureaus and, based on their credit reports, make an attainable plan to start a savings account. For example, adding $25 to their savings account every week.
Whether youre trying to pay off debt or save for a vacation abroad, the first step towards making a plan can be creating a budget. When making a budget, its best to find a technique that works for you, whether its the classic 50/30/20 plan or another budgeting style.
If youre building a budget for the first time, you can find some expert recommendations here.
Paying off debt
After losing her job as a magazine editor in September, Rachel Pelovitz, 33, had to take a closer look at her finances. Having acquired a significant amount of debt over the last few years due to her husbands year-and-a-half-long unemployment, Pelovitz explored several options to pay it off. Ultimately, Pelovitz and her husband chose to sell their house and work with a debt consolidation organization.
Rather than rely on getting more debt, we are currently selling our house, Pelovitz said.
Pelovitzs main goal for 2026 is to pay off half of her credit card debt. And, with some of the money from selling the house, start investing moderately.
If youve also experienced a layoff, you can read expert recommendations to help you take care of your finances and your mental health here.
Building a savings account
For Jenni Lee, 27, this is going to be the year when she gets strict about building her savings account. While Lee considers herself generally good with money, over the last six months she has overspent and wants to rein it in. The long-term goal for her savings journey is for Lee to buy a house.
Im now in my late 20s, Im starting to really think about where I pinch now so it wont hurt later when I finally decide to purchase and own a place, said Lee, a tech worker and lifestyle TikTok creator based in Chicago.
As she saves for her future home and possibly a trip to South Korea, Lee wants to cut unnecessary spending on clothing items and eating out.
Social media microtrends are a common influence on peoples shopping decisions, and this can lead to overspending. If youre looking to avoid spending money on microtrends, you can find experts recommendations here.
Building an emergency fund
If you are in a position to do so, having multiple financial goals youre working towards at the same time can be a great way to speed up your progress. For Worcester resident Melanie Duarte, 23, her New Years money goals include paying off her student loans and credit card debt while building an emergency fund.
I made sure to include it in my budget, even if its something as small as like $50. I just want to make sure I still put something in (my emergency fund) so that it eventually multiplies, said Duarte, who owns a marketing agency.
Duartes family didnt speak openly about finances when she was growing up. But, since she opened her own business, Duarte has been slowly working on rewriting her relationship with money.
If youre looking to start an emergency fund or create better habits while you save, you can read some experts recommendations here.
Finding balance
Finding a balance between saving for your long-term goals while also making sure you enjoy your money is important, but it can also be challenging. After the death of her grandfather just a few years after retirement, Tiana Stewart, 26, felt that he didnt get to enjoy the fruits of his labor. So, this past year, Stewart decided to enjoy her life and travel.
I do understand saving for retirement is important, but I also want to enjoy my life and the money that I work for at this time, especially being in my 20s, said Stewart, who lives in Maryland.
But now, as she reflects on her financial future, Stewart wants to focus on paying off debt, saving, and investing. Having a healthy balance between enjoying life and saving for the future is what she wants to work toward.
For some, participating in budgeting challenges such as the no-buy year can be a great way to set boundaries on your spending and set aside money towards your financial goals. Many people start such challenges at the beginning of the year and commit to keep going until the end, but others start with a no-buy month.
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The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.
The Trump administration will award each U.S. state between $147 million and $281 million in 2026 under a new rural health transformation program aimed at improving access to care and service quality, a senior White House aide said on Monday.
The initiative, authorized under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will provide $50 billion over five fiscal years. It will make $10 billion available each year from fiscal 2026 through fiscal 2030 for all 50 states.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz said the fund is intended to improve rural health outcomes that have worsened over decades, while avoiding costly new construction.
“This is a massive effort to change the unfortunate reality that has overtaken rural healthcare in America, which is that your ZIP code has started to predict your life expectancy,” Oz told reporters. He said the money will also support other pilot projects across the country.
Officials said they will allocate half the funding equally among states, with the remaining $25 billion distributed based on factors tied to rural health systems, state policy actions, and initiatives states propose in their applications.
Administration officials also said they will recoup funds if states fail to meet certain criteria or do not carry out pledged actions.
“The purpose of this $50 billion investment in rural healthcare is not to pay off bills,” Oz said. “The purpose of this $50 billion investment is to allow us to right-size the system and to deal with the fundamental hindrances of improvement in rural healthcare.”
The rollout comes as President Donald Trump faces weak approval ratings, with inflation and cost-of-living concerns dominating voters’ minds ahead of next year’s congressional elections.
Trump performed strongly with rural voters, who made up about 36% of his voters in the 2024 presidential election, compared with 16% for his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, according to the Pew Research Center.
Moderate Republicans, who are pivotal to maintaining the party’s razor-thin majority in Congress, face added pressure as the House has not extended enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, leaving many marketplace enrollees projected to see higher premiums starting January 1.
Andrea Shalal and Sriparna Roy, Reuters
Robots have long been seen as a bad bet for Silicon Valley investors too complicated, capital-intensive, and boring, honestly, says venture capitalist Modar Alaoui.
But the commercial boom in artificial intelligence has lit a spark under long-simmering visions to build humanoid robots that can move their mechanical bodies like humans and do things that people do.
Alaoui, founder of the Humanoids Summit, gathered more than 2,000 people this week, including top robotics engineers from Disney, Google, and dozens of startups, to showcase their technology and debate what it will take to accelerate a nascent industry.
Alaoui says many researchers now believe humanoids or some other kind of physical embodiment of AI are going to become the norm.”
The question is really just how long it will take, he said.
Disney’s contribution to the field, a walking robotic version of Frozen character Olaf, will be roaming on its own through Disneyland theme parks in Hong Kong and Paris early next year. Entertaining and highly complex robots that resemble a human or a snowman are already here, but the timeline for general purpose robots that are a productive member of a workplace or household is farther away.
Even at a conference designed to build enthusiasm for the technology, held at a Computer History Museum that’s a temple to Silicon Valley’s previous breakthroughs, skepticism remained high that truly humanlike robots will take root anytime soon.
The humanoid space has a very, very big hill to climb, said Cosima du Pasquier, co-founder of Haptica Robotics, which works to give robots a sense of touch. There’s a lot of research that still needs to be solved.
The Stanford University postdoctoral researcher came to the conference in Mountain View, California, just a week after incorporating her startup.
The first customers are really the people here, she said.
Researchers at the consultancy McKinsey & Company have counted about 50 companies around the world that have raised at least $100 million to develop humanoids, led by about 20 in China and 15 in North America.
China is leading in part due to government incentives for component production and robot adoption and a mandate last year to have a humanoid ecosystem established by 2025, said McKinsey partner Ani Kelkar. Displays by Chinese firms dominated the expo section of this week’s summit, held Thursday and Friday. The conference’s most prevalent humanoids were those made by China’s Unitree, in part because researchers in the U.S. buy the relatively cheap model to test their own software.
In the U.S., the advent of generative AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini has jolted the decades-old robotics industry in different ways. Investor excitement has poured money into ambitious startups aiming to build hardware that will bring a physical presence to the latest AI.
But it’s not just crossover hype the same technical advances that made AI chatbots so good at language have played a role in teaching robots how to get better at performing tasks. Paired with computer vision, robots powered by visual-language models are trained to learn about their surroundings.
One of the most prominent skeptics is robotics pioneer Rodney Brooks, a co-founder of Roomba vacuum maker iRobot who wrote in September that todays humanoid robots will not learn how to be dexterous despite the hundreds of millions, or perhaps many billions of dollars, being donated by VCs and major tech companies to pay for their training. Brooks didn’t attend but his essay was frequently mentioned.
Also missing was anyone speaking for Tesla CEO Elon Musks development of a humanoid called Optimus, a project that the billionaire is designing to be extremely capable and sold in high volumes. Musk said three years ago that people can probably buy an Optimus within three to five years.
The conference’s organizer, Alaoui, founder and general partner of ALM Ventures, previously worked on driver attention systems for the automotive industry and sees parallels between humanoids and the early years of self-driving cars.
Near the entrance to the summit venue, just blocks from Google’s headquarters, is a museum exhibit showing Google’s bubble-shaped 2014 prototype of a self-driving car. Eleven years later, robotaxis operated by Google affiliate Waymo are constantly plying the streets nearby.
Some robots with human elements are already being tested in workplaces. Oregon-based Agility Robotics announced shortly before the conference that it is bringing its tote-carrying warehouse robot Digit to a Texas distribution facility run by Mercado Libre, the Latin American e-commerce giant. Much like the Olaf robot, it has inverted legs that are more birdlike than human.
Industrial robots performing single tasks are already commonplace in car assembly and other manufacturing. They work with a level of speed and precision thats difficult for todays humanoids or humans themselves to match.
The head of a robotics trade group founded in 1974 is now lobbying the U.S. government to develop a stronger national strategy to advance the development of homegrown robots, be they humanoids or otherwise.
We have a lot of strong technology, we have the AI expertise here in the U.S., said Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation, after touring the expo. So I think it remains to be seen who is the ultimate leader in this. But right now, China has certainly a lot more momentum on humanoids.
Matt O’Brien, AP technology writer
Associated Press journalist Terry Chea contributed to this report.
Roughly 75 million Americans will receive a 2.8% boost to their income in 2026, thanks to the upcoming cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. But other changes afoot to the program will affect people who are still working, without a glint of retirement yet in their eyes.
The annual COLA update, as its known, is often the main change to Social Security we hear about because its a useful gauge to see how your pay increase compares. But because workers pay into the system, some of the annual changes also affect your paycheck.
Heres what to know.
HIGHER INCOMES TO BE TAXED
As part of its annual inflation-related update to the program, the Social Security Administration also adjusts the taxable maximum for wagesthe primary source of funding for this program.
While these changes affect high earners, it could mean that youll see some more money taken from your paycheck in taxes. Employees are taxed 6.2% of their earnings up to a certain limit for Social Security, while employers are required to chip in the same amount.
In 2026, people earning up to $184,500 will pay Social Security taxes, up from 176,100 in 2025.
HIGHER EARNING LIMITS FOR COLLECTING BENEFITS
While many people may think of Social Security as a program thats reserved solely for retirees, you can continue working while simultaneously receiving these benefits. And the federal agency has likewise increased the amount of income that people can earn before benefits are withheld.
You can start receiving Social Security as early as 62 and in 2026, you can earn up to $24,480 without having any of these benefits withheld. For earnings beyond this amount, $1 in benefits will be deducted for every $2 earned. This earnings limit increased from $23,400 in 2025.
Meanwhile, people who will reach full retirement age in 2026a few months short of 67then you can earn up to $65,160 in earnings before your benefits are withheld. Beyond that amount, $1 in benefits will be deducted for every $3 earned. That amount has increased from $62,160 in 2025.
This may sound unfair, but withheld benefits come back to you lateryoull receive larger monthly Social Security checks once you reach full retirement age, though claiming Social Security before full retirement age will reduce your monthly benefits for life.
PART-TIME WORK CREDITS
In order to eventually collect Social Security benefits, you must accrue a minimum 40 work credits in your lifetimeroughly equivalent to 10 years of work. But the amount of benefit you will be paid each month depends on your highest 35 years of earnings.
For people who work especially part-time roles, it could become a little bit more challenging to earn those work credits starting in 2026. Thats because the value of each work credit is increasing from $1,810 to $1,890, which means that you need a total annual income of $7,560 to be eligible for the maximum of four credits.
CHANGES FOR RETIREES
Not surprisingly, the biggest changes to Social Security will affect those people who are collecting benefits. Whats new in 2026 may or may not be welcomed news.
Take the COLA increase, for example. While its slightly above a 25-year average of about 2.6%, this increase may not be sufficient for many retirees, according to AARP. Even a 3% COLA for 2026 wouldnt be enough, according to 77% of older adults surveyed by the organization in September.
While retirees are getting some relief on one front, theyll be paying more for healthcare.
One provision in the tax bill known as the One Big Beautiful Bill means that people 65 and older could reduce or fully offset taxes on Social Security incomeby up to $6,000 for eligible taxpayers.
But retirees will be paying more to access healthcare. In November, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that the standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B, will increase 9.7% to $202.90 in January.
All of the changes, both for retirees and workers, will go into effect beginning January 1.
In a record weird year for the economy, the price of silver is the latest thing to behave strangely.
The price of the second fiddle precious metal has soared over the last month, hitting record highs and outpacing the growth of gold. After hovering between $15 and $25 an ounce for much of the last decade, the price of silver topped $40 an ounce this fall before spiking to a record high of $82 at the end of December. After topping $80 on Monday, silver fell back closer to $70 an ounce still more than double what the metal was worth only a year ago.
Precious metals like silver tend to do well in times of economic uncertainty and 2025 has fit that bill and then some. Investors looking to insulate themselves from the Trump administrations chaotic economic choices turned to gold as a safe haven asset in 2025, sending the price of the top dog precious metal up. Like silver, golds price growth outstripped the stock market this year and hit new record highs.
Long-awaited cuts to the federal interest rate, and future cuts on the near horizon, are also pushing the price of precious metals higher. Small time investors are getting in on the silver action, with amateur traders organizing on Reddit and plotting their moves like they did in the early heyday of meme stocks.
Silvers price was already on the rise, but a looming change to Chinese trade policy may be sending silver even higher. At the start of the year, China will implement a new set of rules on its metal exports designed to step up the protection of resources and the environment in the country a change that is sowing concerns about silvers supply. China also plans to place more stringent restrictions on exports of steel and other metals in the coming year to address what it calls an insufficient supply-demand balance in the steel trade.
Silver isnt just an investment
Investors have flocked to silver over the course of the year, but the precious metal has many uses beyond holding its value over time. Silver has a wide range of applications and is used heavily in electric vehicles and solar panels two areas that have boomed in recent years.
Given those applications, any change to the global silver supply is a cause for concern for Elon Musk, who leads EV maker Tesla. This is not good. Silver is needed in many industrial processes, Musk posted in a reply to a post about Chinas policy change on X. After Mexico, China is the worlds second largest supplier of mined silver.
Silver features prominently in solar technology, where it is converted into a paste that coats solar cells. When light strikes the silicon, electrons are set free and the silver the worlds best conductor carries the electricity for immediate use or stores it in batteries for later consumption, global silver association The Silver Institute explains. In 2014, the solar industry accounted for only around 5% of global silver demand, a percentage that basically tripled a decade later. Data centers, currently an explosive area of investment for many major tech and AI companies, also rely heavily on silver and other metals.
Trade changes aside, silver is known as a riskier bet than its more valuable sibling metal. In October, analysts at Goldman Sachs warned that silvers big 2025 rally might fizzle out and wasnt likely to stay as steady as gold through its gains.
In the near term, we see significantly more volatility and downside price risk for silver than for gold, which is the only commodity supported by a structural central-bank bid,” Goldmans analysts wrote. “Silver lacks the institutional and economic profile that supports gold Without a central bank bid to anchor silver prices, even a temporary pullback in investment flows could trigger a disproportionate correction.
Safe haven-seekers counting on silvers winning streak may want to take note.
SoftBank Group will acquire digital infrastructure investor DigitalBridge Group in a deal valued at $4 billion, the companies said on Monday, as the Japanese investment firm looks to deepen its AI-related portfolio.
The acquisition would expand SoftBank’s exposure to digital infrastructure as the Japanese conglomerate is positioning its portfolio to focus on artificial intelligence.
DigitalBridge shares rose about 9.7% to $15.27 on Monday, following a 45% rise earlier this month after Bloomberg News first reported the acquisition talks.
The $16 per share offer represents a 15% premium over DigitalBridge’s closing price on Friday and values the company at $2.92 billion, with the deal expected to close in the second half of next year.
SoftBank’s billionaire founder Masayoshi Son is seeking to capitalize on surging demand for the computing capacity that underpins artificial intelligence applications.
The acquisition “is certainly a milestone in solving critical infrastructure issues,” said Jacob Yahiayan, CEO at DigitalBridge investor Urban Logistic Advisory Services, but noted SoftBank is still far from controlling 10% of the global hardware- and software-as-a-service market.
DigitalBridge invests in digital infrastructure sectors such as data centers, cell towers, fiber networks, small-cell systems and edge infrastructure, with a portfolio including companies such as Vantage Data Centers, Zayo, Switch, and AtlasEdge.
Founded in 1991 as real estate-focused Colony Capital, the firm pivoted under CEO Marc Ganzi into digital infrastructure and rebranded as DigitalBridge in 2021 after shedding most of its legacy property assets.
Ganzi will continue leading DigitalBridge as a separately managed platform, the companies said.
As of September 30, DigitalBridge managed around $108 billion in assets, making it one of the largest dedicated investors in the digital ecosystem.
The company, along with OpenAI, Oracle and Abu Dhabi-based tech investor MGX, is investing billions of dollars in the Stargate project, a large-scale computing and infrastructure initiative aimed at supporting advanced AI development.
OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank said in September they plan to build five new computing sites across Texas, New Mexico, and Ohio, which are expected to have a combined power capacity of about seven gigawatts when in operation.
Akash Sriram and Mihika Sharma, Reuters
Wall Street’s main indexes kicked off the final week of the year on a softer note on Monday, as heavyweight technology stocks retreated from last week’s gains that had pushed the S&P 500 to record highs.
The information technology sector weighed on the S&P 500, as most tech and AI-linked stocks declined, with Nvidia down 1.8%, Broadcom off 1%, and Palantir Technologies shedding 1.4%.
“This is (not) the beginning of the end of the tech dominance, it’ll turn out to be a buying opportunity,” said Hank Smith, director and head of investment strategy at Haverford Trust.
“A big reason for that is the top tech names, excluding Tesla, do not have challenging valuations given their growth rate, the moat around their business and their financial strength, which is unparalleled.”
Tesla also fell 1.8% after hitting a record high last week and weighed on the consumer discretionary sector.
Materials slipped 1%, with precious metal miners sliding as silver dropped sharply after topping $80 per ounce for the first time, while gold also fell after back-to-back record highs last week.
Conversely, energy stocks gained the most, up 1.2%, tracking a 2% rise in oil prices.
At 11:13 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 217.14 points, or 0.45%, to 48,493.83, the S&P 500 lost 28.77 points, or 0.42%, to 6,901.26 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 150.02 points, or 0.63%, to 23,443.07.
Stocks pulled back after the S&P 500 was in the 1% range of the 7,000-point mark, and the blue-chip Dow hit a record closing high last week.
Some investors were eyeing a “Santa Claus rally”, a seasonal phenomenon where the S&P 500 typically posts gains in the last five trading days of the year and the first two in January, according to Stock Trader’s Almanac.
All three indexes are headed for firm monthly gains, with the Dow and S&P 500 on pace for their eighth consecutive month in the green.
The bull market, which began in October 2022, stayed intact despite concerns over high valuations of technology companies and market volatility, on the back of continued optimism around AI, interest-rate cuts and a resilient economy. All three main indexes are set for their third consecutive yearly gain.
On the macro front, minutes from the Fed’s previous meeting and a weekly reading of jobless claims will be on the radar in an otherwise data-light week.
The S&P 500 has added about 17% so far this year, as the frenzy to capitalize on AI helped the U.S. benchmark overtake Europe’s STOXX 600, despite investors diversifying away from U.S. stocks earlier in the year.
DigitalBridge gained 9.6%, with Japan’s SoftBank Group set to acquire the digital infrastructure investor in a deal valued at $4 billion.
Trading volumes are expected to be light in the holiday-affected week with U.S. markets shut on Thursday for New Year’s Day.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.85-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.56-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 9 new 52-week highs and one new low while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 22 new highs and 177 new lows.
Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan, Reuters
Below, Muriel Wilkins shares five key insights from her new book, Leadership Unblocked: Break Through the Beliefs That Limit Your Potential.
Muriel is the founder and CEO of the leadership advisory firm Paravis Partners. She is also an executive coach to high-performing C-suite and senior executives, as well as host of the award-winning podcast Coaching Real Leaders.
Whats the big idea?
When leaders get stuck, their first instinct is to do more and push harder. But those actions dont create lasting results because theyre focused on what they do and not on what they think. Sustainable leadership growth comes from examining the beliefs that drive our actions. Left unchecked, we risk stunting our leadership potential.
Listen to the audio version of this Book Biteread by Muriel herselfbelow, or in the Next Big Idea App.
1. Youre part of the problem.
Every leader goes through rough patches. If you havent yet, you will. Ive seen many accomplished leaders, from executives to emerging managers, eventually hit a wall. Theyre chasing results that remain out of reach, struggling to influence, or trying to find their footing in a new role. No matter their title or situation, they share one thing in common: something is standing in the way of their leadership potential.
Despite their best efforts, theyre still blocked. Usually, its because theyre focusing on whats happening around them instead of whats happening within them. Many high achievers try to hustle their way through whatever is holding them back. They double down on tactics and skills, thinking that if they just do more, theyll break through. But until you turn inward and uncover whats holding you back, youll keep repeating the same struggle and leadership will feel harder, more draining, and less rewarding than necessary.
2. Old beliefs cant create new results.
Weve all been told that if you want to change something, change your actions: work harder, build new habits, learn new skills. But a change in behavior only scratches the surface. Real change happens on the level of your beliefs.
Beliefs that helped you succeed at one stage of your career may no longer serve you during the next.
The Buddha said, What we think, we become. Modern research backs that up. Scholars of psychology like Alia Crumb, Ellen Langer, and Carol Dweck have shown that what you believe about yourself, your circumstances, and your ability to grow has a measurable impact on outcomes. Beliefs act like the internal code that drives your leadership operating system.
Beliefs that helped you succeed at one stage of your career may no longer serve you during the next. If you believe you need to have all the answers, youll struggle to empower others. If you believe your value comes from being in the details, you lose sight of leading through others. If you believe you cant make a mistake, youll avoid risk and stifle innovation. You cant lead at a new level with the same inner operating system. Until you evolve your beliefs, your results will stay the same.
3. Seven common beliefs quietly keep high performers stuck.
Most leaders share a common set of beliefs that keep them stuck. I call these hidden blockers because they keep us locked in unproductive patterns, and theyre experts at eluding detection:
I need to be involved.
I need it done now.
I know Im right.
I cant make a mistake.
If I can do it, so can you.
I cant say no.
I dont belong here.
These self-talk mantras arent character flaws. Theyre old success strategies. When you can identify the belief youre leading from, you regain choice. Awareness is the first step to unblocking.
4. Ease comes when you can uncover, unpack, and unblock.
To lead with more ease, the work is to uncover, unpack, and unblock what drives you:
Uncover: Bring your belief to awareness.
Unpack: Examine where the belief came from and how it shows up.
Unblock: Reframe the belief so that it serves how you need to lead.
This framework isnt about positive thinking; its about strategic thinking. When you align your beliefs with the present moment, you expand your range and elevate your leadership altitude.
5. Great leaders learn to coach themselves.
The ultimate goal is developing the capacity to coach yourself. When you can observe your patterns, question your beliefs, and realign in real time, you no longer need a crisis or coach to spark growth. You become your own coachgrounded, adaptive, and effectivein each moment. As you increase your capacity to coach yourself, you increase your capacity to coach others, which after all is what great leaders do.
A leader cannot transform an organization beyond their own capacity to transform themselves.
To lead differently, you must think differently. A leader cannot transform an organization beyond their own capacity to transform themselves. It can feel lonely and difficult at the top, but you dont have to suffer through your leadership challenges, nor should others suffer because of how you lead. Becoming free of your hidden blockers unlocks your potential for achieving goals, delivering results, and leading with ease.
Enjoy our full library of Book Bitesread by the authors!in the Next Big Idea App.
This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
It’s that time December’s waning days, when we prepare to turn the calendar page. Many Americans take stock, review goals accomplished and unmet, ponder hopes and plans. How’s our health? What’s up with our money? What about the country? Will the coming year look like the departing one year, or be something entirely different?
Are we ready?
It can be an overwhelming period. So The Associated Press reached out to professionals with varying expertises home organization, risk management, personal training, personal finance, and political science to talk about their perspectives on changes and transitions.And for something a little different, we gave each interviewee a chance to ask a question of one of the others.So let’s talk endings and beginnings.
The change expert: Milestones stir emotions
Transitions are professional organizer Laura Olivares’ working life. As co-founder of Silver Solutions, she works with senior adults and their families to help make sure they’re in safe environments, whether that means decluttering a lifetime of possessions, downsizing to another home, or helping families clear a house after a loved one’s passing.She offers this: Changes, even exciting ones, can unearth sadness or grief over places, things and people left behind. Acknowledging those feelings can help smooth the move from one chapter to another.“When you let go of something that was meaningful to you, it deserves a moment,” she says. “Whatever that moment is, could be a second, could just be an acknowledgement of it. Or maybe you set it on the on the mantle and you think about it for a while and when you’re ready to let it go, you let it go.”NEXT QUESTION: Certified personal trainer Keri Harvey asked: “What small weekly habits can I build that will help me stay organized during the year?” Olivares’ tips: In December, do a brain dump of thoughts, ideas, and goals. Then, before Jan. 1, schedule out tasks that move those priorities forward over the course of 2026. Olivares suggests three tasks on each of three days, so nine tasks per week.
The actuary: Planning is important but sometimes fickle
Probably no group of people think more about the future than actuaries. Using data, statistics and probabilities, they devise models on how probable it is that certain events happen, and what it could cost to recover from them. Their work is vital to organizations like insurance companies.Listen to R. Dale Hall talk, though, and he sounds almost philosophical. He’s managing director of research at the Society of Actuaries. Asked how the general public could think about a new year, he readily brings up strategies like mapping out risk scenarios and how to respond.There’s a balance to be struck, he says: We can’t control or predict everything and must accept the possibility of something unexpected. And the past isn’t always a perfect guide; just because something happened doesn’t mean it must again.“It’s the nature of taking risk, right? That yeah, there are going to be uncontrollable things,” Hall says. “There are ways to maybe diversify those risks or mitigate those risks, but no one has that perfect crystal ball that’s going to see three, six, nine, 12 months into the future.”NEXT QUESTION: From personal finance educator Dana Miranda: “Thinking about the variables we consider when making decisions or plans, how might the juxtaposition of the holiday season with the new year affect the way people are evaluating their finances and setting goals at the beginning of each year? What do you recommend they do to ensure the holiday experience doesn’t skew financial goal-setting?”Hall’s advice: Keep ’em separate. He recommends people enjoy the holidays and hold off on financial goals until January.
The personal finance authority: Be intentional about money
In her work as a financial writer and a personal finance educator, Miranda encourages people to make conscious choices around their spending and saving, and understand that there’s no absolute rule.Miranda, author of “You Don’t Need a Budget,” says details are key. What works for one person may not work for another. And it’s something Americans should consider as another year of goals and resolutions approaches. Insisting that the same technique works for everybody can leave people feeling stuck, Miranda says.“We tend to be not good at talking about the nuances and that leaves people with, ‘Here’s the one right rule. It’s not possible for me to achieve that perfection, so I’m just going to feel ashamed of every move that I make that is not moving toward that perfect goal.'”NEXT QUESTION: From Jeanne Theoharis, a political science professor, who asked how Miranda gets people to look beyond the micro and consider the larger system of capitalism. “How does she also get people to think about more collective solutionslike union organizing, pressing City Council or Congress for changes?”Miranda is quick to make it clear she’s not an organizer but says she tries to evoke larger systemic issues when discussing personal finance. “The way that I try to move that needle just a little bit is to always bring in that political aspect to whatever conversation we’re having to make the systemic and the cultural impact visible.”
The trainer: Make goals attainable
When it comes to changes and new years, one of the most popular areas is fitness, the subject of many a (failed) resolution. Personal trainer Harvey, of Form Fitness Brooklyn, says you can make positive, lasting change in fitness (and generally) with one philosophy: Start small and build.“We want to be mindful of making sure that we’re not asking too much or trying to overcompensate for what we feel like we left behind this past year or what we feel like we left on the table this past year,” she says. “It’s very reasonable to try and have the goal of getting to the gym twice a week, maybe three times a week, and then building from there instead of saying ‘Jan. 1, I’m starting, I’m gonna be at the gym five days a week, two hours a day.’ That’s not realistic and it’s not kind to ourselves.”NEXT QUESTION: From Hall: “What advice do you have for me to transition to an even more robust workout schedule in 2026 without falling into the risk of injuring myself by doing too much too soon?”Harvey emphasized warming up and having a mobility routine, and making the goal attainable by making it fun. “Find things that you actually enjoy doing and try and fit those in as well so that the idea of starting something new or adding to it isn’t one that comes with a negative like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to have to do this,’ where you’re dragging yourself into it.”
The historian: Learn from your past
It’s not just as individuals that we think about transitions. Nations and cultures have them, too.We can learn from them if we look at our history honestly and not through the guise of trying to hide the ugly parts, says Theoharis, professor of political science and history at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center.She points to the story of Rosa Parks, remembered as the catalyst of the Montgomery bus boycotts 70 years ago. But when Parks chose to resist, she didn’t know what her arrest would mean or what the outcome would be. Theoharis sees a lesson there for people looking to make change in today’s world and even individuals wanting to evolve.“A number of us would be willing to do something brave if we knew that it would work,” Theoharis says. “And we might even be willing to have some consequences. But part of what looking at the actual history of Rosa Parks or the actual history of the Montgomery bus boycott is in fact you have to make these stands with no sense that they will work.”NEXT (AND LAST) QUESTION: From Olivares, who wanted Theoharis’ thoughts on today’s civil rights battles. Theoharis referenced voting rights, which have been eroded in recent years. At the same time, remembrances of the turmoil during the Civil Rights years have become glossed over by a mythology of America overcoming its injustices.There’s a lesson there about what it takes to make real change for individuals, too, Theoharis says: It’s difficult to move forward if you’re not honestly addressing what’s come before. “Part of how we’ve gotten here is by that lack of reckoning with ourselves, lack of reckoning with where we are, lack of reckoning with history.”
Deepti Hajela, Associated Press
