Every January, I hear it everywhere: new year, new you.

And honestly? I hate it.

I don’t know about you, but between Christmas and now, not much actually happened. I didn’t reinvent myself. I didn’t map out a five-year plan. I didn’t suddenly wake up with crystal clarity about my next big move.

I sat on the couch.

I watched mindless Christmas romance movies — the kind where a woman quits her job, starts a small business, meets a guy at a coffee shop, bonds with his kid, and by the end they’re all magically in love in a charming town with twinkle lights.

It was feel-good. It was relaxing.
And I didn’t think about work at all.

So how, exactly, would I be a new me right now?

What did happen, though, is that I finished a certification I’ve been deep in — Becoming You, created by Suzy Welch through NYU Stern School of Business. And what I learned has stayed with me in a very grounded way.

Here’s the core idea:
When you truly know your values — not the ones you think you should have, but the ones that actually drive you — you start making different choices.

Do you know what your values are?

I thought I did. I had an inkling. But taking the Values Bridge helped me put real language around what I stand for, what feels true to me, and why certain things energize me while others drain me.

What surprised me is that I’m actually pretty aligned right now in the work I do — coaching executive women one-on-one, a few men, and working with corporate teams. And over the last couple of years, I’ve seen some real, measurable shifts happen because of this work.

Here’s one example.

An HR partner I work with told me that people used to come into his office, unload all their problems, and leave him with an energetic mess to clean up. He was the fixer. The container. The emotional dumping ground. After months of this, he was burned out.

So we worked on helping teams become more self-sufficient, more responsible, and more candid with each other. Nice is good — but not when everyone is walking on eggshells for a few people.

Now he hears conversations in the hallway like,
“Well, they’re a high D, so you might want to approach it this way,” or
“They’re more of an SC — timing matters.”

Less finger-pointing. Less gossip. More strategy.

And when people come into his office now, they don’t come empty-handed. They say, “We tried this. It didn’t work. Here’s what I think we should do next. Can you help me think it through?”

They leave owning something they created or co-created — not just dumping it and walking away.

That shift comes from awareness. From understanding values. From knowing what you’re trying to accomplish and how you want to show up.

What I see most often — especially with the women I work with — is this:

They’re smart. Responsible. Capable. They care deeply.
But they’ve been going through the motions. Busy. Productive. Checking boxes.

Over time, motivation fades. The work stops feeling meaningful. There’s a subtle misalignment — an incongruency between who they are and how they’re operating.

So instead of new year, new you, I’d offer a different question:

Have I been out of alignment?

Is there something you’re avoiding because it would require change?
Is there work you’re doing that doesn’t sit right with what you believe in?
Is someone asking something of you that you don’t feel comfortable with — or don’t feel equipped for — and you’re not saying anything?

When I took the Values Bridge and aptitude assessments myself, I realized that in my last corporate role, I was spending too much time on highly technical projects. I can do that work — I have a very analytical, math-oriented brain — but it wasn’t where I thrive.

I’m also a high-level idea generator. The upside is innovation.
The downside is that people sometimes wish I’d just land on one idea already.

Understanding that helped me put myself in roles where my strengths, values, and energy actually line up.

That’s what this Becoming You work does. It gives you language for what you already know but haven’t named yet. And that clarity changes how you lead, decide, and engage.

This week, I’m heading to New York for Suzy’s 3-day intensive at NYU to go even deeper into this work myself — because alignment isn’t a one-and-done exercise. It’s an ongoing practice.

So as you ease into this year, maybe the question isn’t how to become someone new.

Maybe it’s how to come back into alignment with who you already are.

I hope this gives you something to reflect on.