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Action Step – Celebrating Progress & Designing What’s Next

DFA’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies to humanize the workplace, empower people, and foster innovation. Members can access full versions the Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.

As we close out the year and look ahead to a new one, reflection often comes with a familiar tension. We want to celebrate what went well, but our attention naturally gravitates toward what didn’t work, what felt unfinished, or what still feels heavy. Even in years filled with progress, our instinct is to zoom in on gaps, missteps, and unresolved challenges.

This tendency is human. Our brains are wired to scan for risk and problems to solve. In fast-moving, high-pressure workplaces, that wiring gets reinforced. What’s broken demands attention. What’s incomplete feels urgent. And before we know it, a year that included meaningful progress can start to feel defined by everything that didn’t go according to plan.

But reflection doesn’t have to work that way.

At DFA, we believe reflection isn’t about perfection or performance. It’s about awareness of patterns and where intention and impact may not yet be aligned.

And awareness is what allows real change to take root.

By slowing down long enough to reflect with honesty and curiosity, organizations can move into the new year with greater clarity, stronger priorities, and a renewed sense of agency.

This Action Step is designed to help you do exactly that.

The 10 Key Drivers of a Human-Centered Organization

Over time, through our research, advisory work, and ongoing collaboration with members, DFA has identified ten interconnected drivers that consistently shape human-centered, high-performing organizations. Together, they create the conditions where people and organizations are better equipped to thrive.

Below, you’ll find each driver alongside a featured resource from our work in 2025 designed to help you reflect, prioritize, and take action. You can find these resources and many more in the Member Resource Center.

CULTURE
The shared norms, values, and behaviors that define how work gets done and how people experience belonging.

Featured resource: Action Step on the Culture Transformation Process

CHANGE MANAGEMENT
How organizations navigate uncertainty, transformation, and disruption with clarity, communication, and care.

Featured resource: Action Step on the S.P.A.R.K. Framework for Change

Members: Read the full version of this Action Step in the Member Resource Center.

To read this entire Action Step become a DFA member.

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Action Step – The Evolving Leadership Framework

DFA’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies to humanize the workplace, empower people, and foster innovation. Members can access full versions the Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.

The workplace has transformed at a speed few could have imagined. Teams look different. Expectations have shifted. The pace of change has accelerated. Yet the leadership models many organizations rely on were designed for a different era. This gap between new realities and legacy approaches is shaping how people feel about work today.

We are living through what many call a super cycle of change. Technology, geopolitics, climate issues, and economic forces are reshaping the world at a rapid pace. Yet these external forces only tell part of the story. The emotional landscape within organizations is just as influential.

Employees are navigating rising workloads, tighter resources, and shifting expectations. Burnout is increasing, trust is declining, and the sense of connection that supports thriving organizations is harder to maintain.

Leaders today have already done an incredible amount to support their people. This work continues with an opportunity to evolve. The shifting workplace and world invite leaders to build on what is already working and thoughtfully expand their mindset, practices, and approach. Those who embrace this evolution are helping define the future with confidence and care.

At DFA, we have designed a new leadership model. This evolving approach to leadership lives at three levels: Me, We, and Us. Each level invites reflection, responsibility, and action.

The Me Level – How Do I Lead Myself?

Leadership begins with the inner work. The Me Level focuses on self-awareness, self-regulation, and intentionality. It asks leaders to pause and reflect before they react, especially during times of stress or uncertainty. When leaders are overwhelmed, reactive, or depleted, it reverberates throughout a team or organization. A grounded leader creates stability. A clear leader creates confidence. A reflective leader creates trust.

At the Me Level, leaders practice centering themselves. The simple act of pausing to notice what is happening internally can shift the outcome of a conversation or decision. Leaders strengthen their resourcefulness through the ability to choose how they show up…

Members: Read the full version of this Action Step in the Member Resource Center.

To read this entire Action Step become a DFA member.