CHOICE. DEPTH. TRUST. ME

2025 was a year of intention. Or was it?

I took time out. Not disappearing but deliberately creating space. Long weekends. Breathing room. Stepping back enough to think properly.

I left. For a month.

America cracked me open in the best way. Travel and distance does that for me. Revisiting

cities, exploring new ones. Long walks. Big drives. Different energy. It gave me perspective I

didn’t realise I was craving.

I thought about work differently. About ambition differently. About how small we sometimes

make ourselves without even noticing. About how often we default to safe because it’s

familiar.

I came back clearer and maybe a bit braver and more confident.

STILL WORKING HARD, JUST DIFFERENTLY

I was never “off”.

I worked with exceptional clients and collaborated with outstanding candidates across complex, high-trust work. Nuanced briefs. New industries, some I hadn’t worked in for a while and others I know deeply.

The expectations were real.

The difference was how I approached it.

I chose when and how I worked. I created space for thinking. I protected my energy so I could show up properly, not reactively.

WHERE I SPENT MY TIME

I spent more time embedded with clients this year. Not rushing to execution, but working alongside them earlier, when decisions still had shape and options.

That work went well beyond hiring.

Optimising recruitment processes that were clunky or outdated

Negotiating supplier and partner contracts where cost and value were misaligned

Supporting system integrations so hiring, finance and operations actually spoke to each other

Cleaning up data and reporting so decisions were grounded in reality, not assumption

Working through timing, risk and capability before a role ever became a brief

Those conversations shaped outcomes long before a candidate was involved. They changed how teams planned, how risk was managed and how confident leaders felt in the decisions they were making.

That’s where I chose to spend my energy.

THE CLIENT WHO BECAME A MENTOR (WITHOUT REALISING IT)

One client this year became something else entirely, without ever setting out to be.

They saw my value before I fully owned it. They treated my judgement as expertise, not just part of the service. And they challenged something I’d been carrying quietly for a long time.

They said,

“If I get that advice from my lawyer or my accountant, I get a bill.”

That landed.

Their impact went further than they probably realise. They influenced how I scope work and how firmly I stand in what I bring to the table. I even caught myself thinking whether I could ever give up Bureau, because I’d genuinely love to work for someone like that.

I’m drawn to inspirational, entrepreneurial. People who

are sharp, kind, and deeply human.

CHALLENGES THAT STRETCHED ME

I took on challenges this year that genuinely tested me.

The 20Talk challenge was one of them. Physically demanding. Mentally confronting. At times I wasn’t sure I’d get through it.

It wasn’t symbolic. It was raw. And it reinforced something I felt across the year, not just in that challenge. It made it very clear where I was pushing myself and where I wasn’t.

I invested deeply in my health across every layer.

Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually.

Sometimes quietly.

Sometimes with feistiness.

Sometimes with sheer grit and willpower.

Other times with tears.

I tried to be honest with myself, and I tried to be consistent.

THE PEOPLE THAT MADE IT WORTH IT

The clients I worked with this year were generous, thoughtful and open to real partnership.

The candidates showed up with honesty, courage, trust. Some have become friends. Most I learned something from. All of them helped Bureau

and me exist. That’s not lost on me.

This work only works when people let you in - into decisions, careers, teams, and futures. I’m deeply grateful for the collaboration and the

shared commitment to getting it right.

Alongside that are the people closest to me. Family and friends I trust, who are exceptional at what they do. People I’ve worked with for years. People I run scenarios past when I’m thinking out loud or questioning direction. People who understand the pressure and the reality behind the decisions.

My family were a steady source of perspective and calm. Sometimes a life raft. I leaned on their experience when navigating growth, pricing, structure and the inevitable moments of self-doubt, imposter syndrome and what am I actually doing.

It’s hard to articulate what all of these individuals meant to me.

THE EXPANSION QUESTION

I’ve been asked whether I’ll expand Bureau now that we’re eighteen months in.

I miss working with a team. I always will. But I also recognise the freedom I’ve built and how carefully it’s been created.

Right now, this model allows me to work deeply, selectively, genuinely aligned.

For now, my answer is no.

And I’m comfortable with that.

THE END

I can’t predict how this year will look.

That’s the risk and the reward.

I believe in what I do and how I do it.

That’s enough