Leaders rarely enter January with the clean slate they think they do. Oh no. Instead, they enter it with a head full of assumptions, unresolved tensions, and unhelpful leadership patterns and habits from the previous year.

Because at the end of the day, or year, we all pick up momentum whether we know it or not. Some of it is energizing, which is great, but some of it is incredibly unhelpful.

Let’s unpack what that invisible momentum might look like for you, the leadership habits that could be a hidden burden, and how to ditch unhelpful leadership patterns in favor of stronger ones for the new year.

What Happens When You Stop Questioning Your Habits

A leadership pattern or habit isn’t something out of your control. It forms because repeating a behavior if often easier than leading with intention. These patterns show up everywhere, from how you take charge when a meeting goes in an unexpected direction to how you provide feedback to avoid tension. They may even appear in how you manage time, prioritize tasks, or motivate your team.

The thing is, leadership patterns, good or bad, tend to cement themselves during your busiest months, because, in the moment they feel necessary to keep the ship moving. But they also gather momentum quickly, and before long they become your default way of leading.

This becomes a problem when you stop questioning them or noticing the damage they may be causing. And it’s never just a you problem. It’s an everyone-around-you problem, too.

Your Leadership Patterns Are Contagious

If you want to understand a leadership pattern that isn’t serving you or your team, start by watching how they respond to you. You might not realize it, but your team quickly learns to read your cues and adjust their behavior accordingly, often prioritizing alignment with you over independent thinking and speaking up.

If you avoid conflict, they might begin to walk on eggshells around you. If you move fast, they might sacrifice depth and detail to keep pace. And if you change your mind frequently, they’ll likely become less committed and stop offering genuine opinions altogether.

These are leadership patterns playing out through those around you. Left unchecked, they do not just affect your immediate team. They quietly shape habits across your wider organization.

The real challenge is recognizing these patterns before they begin to limit your impact and making that invisible momentum visible. That starts with honest self-reflection and close observation of those who work closely with you.

And, while negative patterns can certainly cause damage, the opposite is also true. When you build positive leadership patterns, you instill confidence, ownership, and progress throughout your organization. Remember, your habits don’t just shape how you lead. They shape how others learn to lead because of you.

How to Own Your Momentum

Momentum simply means movement, but not all momentum is good momentum. When your leadership habits are grounded in calm, clarity, and trust, the momentum you carry into 2026 will strengthen your team. If you are level-headed in your decisions, you build confidence. If you listen well and respond thoughtfully, you create stability and positive energy. If that sounds familiar, you’ve earned real credit for the foundations you’ve laid in 2025.

But momentum also forms around pressure, fear, and urgency. We are all guilty of letting that version creep in at times, and it only takes a lapse in self-awareness before you find yourself moving at full speed in the wrong direction.

For example, you may have stepped in to take tighter control during a hectic quarter when things truly were urgent. That decision most likely made sense in the moment, but if you never fully stepped back out, that temporary intensity can quietly turn into a permanent state of urgency. Before long, everything feels critical even when it isn’t.

That is when momentum turns negative. It creates anxiety, exhausts you, and slowly erodes trust. And it’s exactly the kind of invisible force you don’t want to carry with you into the new year.

So, the question is not whether you have momentum. It is whether you’re consciously shaping it or being carried by it. Which one will you be known for next year?  

Spotting Your Unhelpful Leadership Pattern(s)

As we wave goodbye to 2025, this is the moment to look honestly at the habits that may have quietly shaped your year. Which of the following sound uncomfortably familiar?

• Trying to solve everything because you believe you know best
• Delegating tasks but holding onto emotional ownership
• Calling for innovation while reward predictability
• Saying your door is open but rarely making time when someone walks through it

None of these behaviors make you a bad leader. But they are clear signals of negative momentum that may have crept in under pressure. The opportunity lies in noticing them without defensiveness. Because once a pattern is named, it can be changed. By changing it now, you give yourself the chance to enter 2026 lighter, clearer and far more intentional in how you lead.

Final Thoughts: Beating Negative Invisible Momentum

Good or bad, invisible momentum and leadership patterns are built through repetition. They are not always chosen consciously, but they are reinforced through your actions over time. Bringing together what you intend to do and what you actually do should be high on your leadership priorities, because that alignment creates clarity and builds trust across your organization.

The end of the year gives you a rare opportunity to identify the patterns that may be holding you back and set the tone for a more intentional 2026. So, get your leadership journal out, reflect honestly, and put yourself back in control instead of becoming a prisoner to unconscious leadership habits in the new year ahead.

Find Out More

If this article has highlighted patterns you want to understand more deeply or habits you think you need to change, our Leadership Assessments help turn insight into intentional change by identifying the habits, beliefs and responses currently driving your leadership.

When you’re ready to go further, our Elite Leadership Development Program is a powerful and proven results-driven experience for leaders wanting to develop the habits, beliefs, and competencies observable in top-tier leaders but are unsure how to begin.

As part of this program, you’ll have access to our unique and bespoke daily leadership journals, which provide a clear and powerful guide to unlock your full potential through self-reflection, self-coaching and self-analysis. You will strengthen your thinking, decision-making, and leadership capability to higher levels of competence and success in 2026.