Most of us are not stuck because we lack AI tools. Perfectionism, fear, and no accountability turn every side project into “someday.” This Saturday, June 13 I am running a 2-hour online workshop where you ship something real—from idea to a live URL—with Amazon’s Working Backwards validation, Kiro specs, and hands-on support. Berlin already proved it works.

Subscribe now

Update (6/20): Komal Jadhav won the buildathon! See the details of her project here. :)
Update (6/14): The workshop happened and in just 2h we even watched demos!
If you want to join to future events, subscribe. You can already join to the next event: Free AI Accountability Session where we talk about what AI tools are actually saving time, what looked promising but flopped, and what workflows are genuinely changing how we work. Reserve your spot here.

Keep reading to learn how stop thinking and start building.

What You’ll Learn:

💡 Why most people never ship (and why it is rarely a skills problem)

💡 How WonderLead helps with perfectionism, fear, and accountability in the AI era

💡 The five-step framework for shipping and thriving.

💡 How Working Backwards avoids you building the wrong thing

💡 What Berlin proved, and how to join the online edition this weekend

Why We Collect Tools But Never Ship

Here is what I see in our community calls, in DMs, and honestly in my own calendar sometimes.

We watch the tutorial. We save the thread. We open Kiro, Cursor, or Claude on Sunday night. Then Monday arrives, and the tab stays open for three weeks.

Researchers call part of this the intention–action gap: we know what we want to do, but we don’t do it. Usually because our bias to present rewards, lack of planning, and friction. Plus nothing pulls us across the line.

In practice, three forces show up again and again:

1. Perfectionism: “It is not ready yet.” So we polish the idea instead of shipping a version someone could actually use.

2. Fear: Fear of looking foolish. Fear that AI made it “not really ours.” Fear that a senior engineer would tear it apart. I have felt this at AWS too. The tools did not remove it. Structure and team support did.

3. No accountability: No deadline. No one waiting. No gentle pressure to mark it done.

WonderLead exists to close that gap over time: self-awareness, daily practice, community, tools like RePLAN and our support so you know where you stand and where you want to go instead of guessing.

This workshop is the compressed version for builders. Two hours. One live product. A room where shipping is the default.

What Happens in Build with AI - Idea → Launch

This Saturday, I am running the online edition of the workshop Idea → Launch. Open to anyone. Two hours on Zoom. Hands-on from start to finish.

WonderLead helps tech professionals adapt, build, and thrive with emotional intelligence and intention in the AI era. When we follow the system, even in small daily steps, we move toward the vision we chose. Saturday is one big step.

Register

The framework:

1. Learn: the AI-native workflow strong builders actually use

2. Discover: find and validate your chosen problem working backwards

3. Plan: turn it into a spec with Kiro IDE (the spec-first approach I use at AWS)

4. Build: prototype live with your favorite AI coding agents

5. Launch: deploy, demo, and compete for prizes worth €1,500.

The same WonderLead framework we use to thrive. Discover → Plan → Execute → Thrive. In this workshop you will launch in order to thrive.

No experience required. There are no-code paths if you are not a developer. I have watched people with zero coding background leave with a working, deployed product. That happens when we remove friction, add a deadline, and put you in a room where everyone is building.

How the workshop meets you where you are stuck:

Perfectionism gets a hard stop when you share the deadline. V1 is the goal.
Fear gets smaller when there is someone in the room who has launched at scale and helped non-developers ship before.
Accountability is met when building along side people and there are prizes for the best.

You will leave with a real product.
Something that did not exist that morning, built by you, and live.

Share

We Start From the Customer

At Amazon we do not open with “what cool thing can we build?”.

We start with the customer and work backwards.

Who is struggling? What would make their life meaningfully better? What must be true before we write a line of code?

That is Working Backwards: sharp problem definition, then execution. It is the discipline that keeps AI from becoming expensive autocomplete and burning tokens.

In the workshop, Discover and Plan are where we do this. We validate first. Then we write a spec your agents can execute, instead of guessing our way into a prototype nobody needs.

If you have been stuck in “AI tutorial mode,” this is the bridge to builder mode.

What worked in Berlin

👉 Meet hearTTales, Berlin workshop winner

Testimonials

Komal Dhondiram Jadhav: “Overall, I found the buildathon very well structured, practical, and motivating. It pushed us to move quickly from ideas to execution, which made the experience both challenging and rewarding.”

Bhavya Tripathi: “I went there blank, got an idea, build it and I have more confidence then before.”

Linda Krueger: “It reframed how I think about working with AI entirely. Most people (including me, before this) just throw prompts at the AI. You prompt. You hope. You tweak. Spec-driven development flips that.” —One week later: “Spec development reframed the work for me: less time prompting, more time deciding. The spec is where the real engineering lives now.”

The Berlin cohort proved the format works. Saturday is your turn.

🎁 For WonderLead subscribers: 75% off

You are already on this journey with me, so you get the deepest discount.

Use code WL_SUBSCRIBER at checkout for 75% off registration. First 5 only.

Everyone else can still use WONDERLEAD for 50% off.

👉 Register for June 13

We should not navigate the AI era alone. Saturday is a chance to build something real together, and you are the one shipping.

Subscribe now

Bhavya went in blank and left with more confidence than before. That is the outcome I care about more than any prize. If fear or perfectionism has been your blocker, this is the invitation. If you know someone in that stage, share this post now.

Share

💡 Why performance reviews are actually an opportunity, not a threat
💡 How to prepare so you feel confident and grounded
💡 How to receive feedback without shutting down
💡 What a growth mindset looks like in practice
💡 How to respond to hard feedback with resilience and forward-looking

Why Growth Mindset Matters More Than Ever

The environment most of us work in is changing faster than ever. AI is reshaping roles. Teams are restructuring. Layoffs are real, and so it is the uncertainty that comes with them. And the skill that will matter most through all of it isn’t technical excellence or years of experience.

It’s a growth mindset.

The ability to receive hard news and ask “What can I do with this?” instead of “Why is this happening to me?”. The ability to hear about a new AI tool and think “will this tool help my team” instead of “I’m going to be replaced by AI”.

Performance reviews are one of the clearest moments where this mindset gets tested.

At Amazon, annual reviews happened in the last months. This year, I prepared for the conversation and for what I would need after it. I built the AI app I’m sharing today.

We’ve been evaluated our whole lives; grades in school, scores in tests, and rankings at work. Our brains learned early: Being assessed = Potential rejection.

So when review season arrives, even the most successful among us can feel exposed.

I’ve seen brilliant engineers freeze when receiving critical feedback.
Leaders with incredible results struggled to articulate their own value.
Talented women in tech leaving the company not because of performance, but because the feedback they received didn’t land well. And me? When I’m in “survival mode", I may become quiet and invisible when I disagree.

This isn’t weakness. It’s being human.
And we can prepare for it!

The Mindset That Changes Everything

At WonderLead, we talked about emotional intelligence and the growth mindset.

Carol Dweck named it, but the idea shows up in many places:

• Amazon’s “Day 1”.

• The Japanese concept of “shoshin” (beginner’s mind).

And in the best leaders I’ve met.

With a growth mindset:

1. Challenges are opportunities, not problems.

2. Feedback helps you improve. It doesn’t define you.

3. Failure is part of learning, not a reflection of your worth.

4. You can always develop new skills. It’s never too late.

Without it (or when you are in survival mode):

1. Challenges become problems.

2. Feedback feels personal.

3. Failure must be avoided at all costs.

4. You’re either “good”or “not”.

Annual review or performance conversations, are perfect to practice a growth mindset.

Subscribe now

1. Weeks Before the Review: Reflect

This is one of the most powerful things you can do before any performance conversation.

Here’s what to cover in your self-reflection:

1.1. Your Wins (3–5 specific ones)

Be specific when enumerating the projects you led, the problems you solved, the risks you took, and the impact you created.

❌ Vague: “I worked on AWS customer experience org.”

✅ Specific: “I led the vision of our star tool, that led to big rock annual goals and a new AWS team.”

Ask yourself:

1. What were my most meaningful contributions?

2. Where did I take a risk?

3. What did I deliver that had impact for customers, team, or organization?

At Amazon, not every win has to succeed.
What matters is taking calculated risks, learning, and adapting.

1.2. How You Showed Up

It’s not just what you did. It’s how you did it. Ask yourself:

What does your way of working say about who you are as a leader?
Mapping your answer with your company’s principles will support your narrative.

Choose:

1. 1–3 strengths you demonstrated.

2. 1–3 areas you genuinely want to grow.

Be honest and specific again.

❌ Generic: “I’m good at Customer Obsession and Ownership. I need to work on Bias for Action.”

✅ Specific: “I demonstrated Customer Obsession and Ownership by launching a beta campaign and interviewing users about the coding agent and design system MCP I was owning. Leading to a design that covered 3 user personas and had a 100% score on satisfaction (CSAT). I could have better demonstrated Bias for Action during our launch. I spent too much time seeking consensus with a sister team stakeholder.”

1.3. What You Want Next

The best self-reflections are resilient and forward-looking. Not just backward-looking.

Ask yourself:

1. What and how will I grow into next with balance?

2. What support do I need?

3. Where and how can I increase my impact?

Share

The best reviews aren’t improvised. See the reactions in this note:

mentioned how she went to the annual reviews at Microsoft with data and how processing the feedback before reacting made all the difference.

2. Days Before: Prepare the Conversation

2.1. Gather Concrete Evidence

Our memories are not useful here. We remember stressful moments better than wins.

Before your review, write down:

1. 3–5 measurable accomplishments.

2. One dificult situation you handled well.

3. Skills you developed.

4. Relationships you built or strengthened.

Not for bragging, for groundingin reality. When we have evidence, we can discuss our performance from facts rather than feelings. We can remain rooted in humility, stability, and the reality of the present moment. Allowing us to stay connected to the purpose of learning how to do better next rather than seeking external validation.

2.2. Know What You´ll Ask For

It’s not just about being assessed. Advocate for yourself.

Come prepared with:

1. One growth opportunity.

2. One support request to level up.

3. One question about team or company direction.

With curiosity and intention, we signal commitment and the conversation shifts from passive to proactive.

3. During the Review: How to Receive Feedback

We have blind spots, the people who we think we are might not be the people others see. What you say or you ask others, might not be aligned with your actions. We need feedback to uncover what we don’t see and increase our self-awareness.

But we are humans and responding to feedback is where most people struggle. Including me.

I once got feedback that my cross-team work wasn’t “visible enough.”

My immediate reaction was defensive:
- Everything was documented and reviewed, I shared in the sync meetings, I did a demo, we are waiting for the other team feedback, there was nothing else to share.

But I should have paused, take a breath, and ask:

“Can you give me a specific example of what that would look like in practice?”

That one question alone changes everything.

3.1. The P.A.U.S.E. Method

When receiving feedback that triggers, follow this framework:

1. Pause. First, take a breath.

   Your nervous system needs a moment to shift from threat-response to learning-response. If breathing is not for you, try to become aware of your 5 senses.

2. Acknowledge. You don’t need to agree.

   “Thank you for sharing”. It keeps the conversation open.

3. Understand. Ask for specifics.

   “What does that look like in practice?” or “Can you give me an example?”
   Asking questions shifts your brain away from an emotional state and into a logical, problem-solving one, creating a sense of calm.

4. Separate facts from feelings.
   You are not your feedback.
   Separate what was said from what it means about you as a person.

5. Explore and engage with curiosity.

   “What would success look like here?” Curiosity signals a growth mindset and moves your manager back to support mode.

Read Why Self-Awareness is Your First Skill as an Engineering Manager for an example of this method in engineering management.

3.2. Responding to Hard Feedback

Not the easy feedback but the painful one. The one that surprises you and makes you question yourself.

First, Feel it. Don’t fake positivity.

Then, Reframe, ask yourself:

1. “How can this make me better?” or “What can I learn from this?”
   Not all feedback is right, but there is often a signal inside the noise.
   or use the 10/10/10 method

2. ”Will I care about this in 10 days? 10 weeks? 10 months?”
   Most of the time, the answer is no, and that gives you permission to process it and move forward rather than carrying it.

4. After the Review: Your Post-Reflection

Here’s something most people skip: The reflection after the meeting.

The conversation is an input. What you do next matters more than the review itself.

Before you close your laptop after the review or before letting days pass or talking about it with someone to feel better, write down:

1. What was confirmed about my strengths?

2. What surprised me? What did I learn that I didn’t expect?

3. What’s my ONE priority for growth?

4. What support do I ask for?

5. When is my next check-in? Schedule it now, while the intention is fresh.

Then schedule a follow-up.
Without this step, even great feedback becomes just another meeting.

This is the goal.
Not just to survive the review but to leave with clarity, direction, and momentum.

Conclusion

Annual reviews aren’t there to define us. They’re there to give us data.

What defines us is what we do with the feedback.

Gathering data consistently helps us to feel ready and have better outcomes.

WonderLead Career Growth Loop supports your growth at anytime.
It helps capturing your career data, structuring your reflection, preparing hard conversations, and creating growth action plans, just from chat sessions.
It identifies your wins/strengths/growth areas/risks automatically and helps you get prepared at any time for any performance review, promotion or level-up conversations, difficult 1:1s or feedback discussions, goal-setting and career planning sessions, processing feedback you are still digesting, and preparing for a new role or team change.
If you choose to save your sessions, the AI mentor remembers you between them and creates and manages for you an action plan.

Start Owning My Career

Tasks for the Week

☑️ Go to WonderLead Career Growth Loop and sign in to get full free access.
☑️ Write your self-reflection in the chat: Block focused time to self reflect and the AI mentor will automatically save your wins, strengths and growth areas, and will recommend you next steps.
☑️ Get prepared for the meeting in the Conversations tab.
☑️ Do a post-review reflection after your 1:1 if it happens this week: What was affirmed, what surprised you, and your one growth priority. Take it to a Real Plan.
☑️ Share your breakthrough moments during the review: Did you turn hard feedback into a growth moment? Share it, let’s celebrate each other’s growth! 🌟

This post opinions are my own, and may not reflect the opinions of the company I work for.

💡 How to identify if you are currently surviving and how to move back to thriving.
💡 How to create goals aligned with your vision.
💡 The power of accountability and community.

I’m scared too. We need each other.

Layoffs every 3 months at Amazon are draining me. Return To Office killed my choices. AI is deprecating my beloved job as Frontend Engineer. What else is coming?

We’re bouncing between FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out, such as on the latest tools and opportunities) and the hustle of our day to day lives. Many times there is too much. Many of us are in survival mode.

But now, more than ever, we need to thrive.
We need to be grounded and stop chasing shiny objects.
We need to just pause.

Breathe.

Share

From AI Excitement to Surviving

At the end of last quarter, I got very sick. And without realizing, I went into survival mode again. Even though over two years ago, I created a framework for staying in thriving at my team in AWS, I ended up surviving.

I was too excited about my new AWS AI goal and role. I needed to meet the deadline. I needed to deliver asap so that hundreds of internal non-tech users would become more productive. Then, I didn’t care about my body signals, my health. I was sick and had stress at home and at work, but I needed to execute. So I stopped pausing.

When the only thing I needed was:
Stop overthinking and keep following the framework.

In survival mode, you don’t see when you’re in it. Tunnel vision takes over. You skip the reviews and don’t self-correct.

After self-reflecting, I believe I didn’t have the right tools to help me stay on track:

1. WonderLead Obsidian Vault? The UX was too complex. Too many plugins, too much friction to reflect when I was sick.

2. WonderLead Digital/Printable Planner? Got lost. No tracking. No accountability.

3. AI Assistants? Hard to see patterns or prioritize by myself and at a glance. Not designed for deep, emotional reflection.

I needed something that would force me to pause, reflect, prioritize, and stay aligned with what matters.

So I started building it with AI. Not as any other product. As the WonderLead Thriving tool.

But this post isn’t about what I’m building. It’s about the year reflection and plan I executed that drove me into this decision and that through the years helped me thrive.

You can use it right now, with whatever tools you have following the guidance in this post. Or you can reply this post with the word THRIVE and I will give you access to the beta version. Feel free to ask me also any questions about it.

🌟 The WonderLead Thriving Framework

Before setting any goal, we need to understand what happened with reviews and where we are through self assesssments. Then, we are able to realistically plan our top priority goals (Big Rocks) aligned with our values and current situation. Finally, we need to execute within an accountability system that helps us stay thriving.

Review → Assess → Plan → Thrive

Here it is in summary:

• Step 1: Review to Discover: Look back to understand what happened.

• Step 2: Assess: Understand where you are right now

• Step 3: Plan: Set goals aligned with your values and current reality and self-manage yourself to achieve them.

• Step 4: Execute: Take action with curiosity, emotional intelligence, and agency using productivity and AI tools that allow you to thrive.

This framework helped me to go out of survival mode. But even if your team, health, and family are in amazing shape, stI recommend you to still follow this framework. Because when we identify that we’re surviving, it’s usually too late. And right now, it is not the time to survive.

Last month, I published the Step 1 which includes how I reviewed last year:

The next step is to assess and plan. But it’s not enough with just setting goals. Instead, I am improving my system for succeeding during the execution. The system and an accountability community that will enable your goals success!

What to do After your Year Review

Step 2: Assess Your Current State to Adapt Your Plan

Your values and situation change over time. Your unmet goals from 2025 might no longer be aligned, nor might be achievable today.

Use your year review to identify patterns. Then dive deep to understand where you are right now, based on your circunstances, energy, alignment, and emotional state.

Ask yourself:

1. Your Energy: What energizes you? What drains you? When are you at your peak? Identify your Chronotype (Lark, Owl, or Third Bird) to answer better.

2. Your Values: What matters most to you? What must be present for you to thrive?

3. Your Thriving Score (1-10): You can rate it considering your 1) physical energy, 2) emotional energy, 3) mental clarity, and 4) alignment with your values. You can also consider the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. If basic and psychological needs are unmet or you are misaligned with your values, you likely are surviving.

Remember to dive deep or use the 5 Whys to identify the root causes and understand yourself better. At this point, you will identify which areas of emotional intelligence you should prioritize developing in order to thrive.

My Assessment:

I’m energized and at my pick when helping others and get drained when I identify lack of inclussion. My values are kindness, family, achievement, and integrity. My thriving score now is sometimes 5 because of low physical energy and values alignment. But I’m working on it. The most important is to be resilient.

Step 3. Plan Your Path - From Vision to Intentional Goals

Vision changes overtime too. Unfortunately, today it might be influenced by fear (FOMO) more than our values. So we might end up doing projects not aligned with ourselves if we let FOMO take control. When these fears appear, we must name and carry them forward with curiosity and courage. Accepting them. Then you will be able to identify your real purpose.

Ask yourself:

1. Who do you want to BE by December 2026? What will you accomplish? What is different?

2. What are your 3-5 Big Rocks goals aligned with your core values? Pick 3-5 that matter most. Make them (1) specific but independent of how you will achieve them, (2) measurable considering what you can control, (3) achievable but ambitious so that if you achieve 80% it will be a success, (4) relevant for your purpose, and (5) time bounded to make progress with balance.

3. What milestones, tasks, and habits do you need to achieve your Big Rocks?
   Use AI to scale but make sure to use critical thinking. Prioritize based on the impact, cost, and how aligned each task is with your values and your energy level.

My Vision

I want to inspire and develop others, create large products, and foster emotional intelligence through my own products.

My Goals for WonderLead.tech

1. Grow WonderLead in Tech newsletter to 10,000 Subscribers with Balance.

2. Launch WonderLead Thrive tool and community to support others careers.

3. Strengthen Executive Presence Skills While Supporting Others.

Step 4: Thrive with an Accountability System

In WonderLead, we don’t sail our careers alone. We achieve our goals together.

Create a Personalized System

1. Build Your Habits

2. Schedule Reviews

3. Use Tools that Fit Your Needs

4. Make it Enjoyable

When I check in weekly, I stay on track. When I celebrate wins with others, it’s more fun and easier to keep progressing. And I want to do it with wonderleaders in tech.
That’s why I launched mentorship, coaching, and monthly free workshops.

Connect It to Community

When we connect with others who share similar goals, we build trust, exchange insights, and hold each other accountable. Seeing others’ progress inspires our own journey.

Community amplifies individual practice and turns isolated efforts into collective momentum.

🌟Own Your Growth

This post is about taking ownership of your growth and be ing intentional with your goals. It’s about moving from reacting to life to proactively shaping your future.

When we:

1. Set goals aligned with our values.

2. Break them into actionable steps.

3. Build systems that support us.

4. Share them with our community.

We move from surviving to thriving.

How am I going to achieve my Big Rocks? The same way you’ll achieve yours if you subscribe and join: One intentional step at a time, with community support, and with a system that makes it visible and sustainable.

If You are Not Ready to Review and Start Planning

A year ago, we did the Thriving Challenge with 5-20 minutes activities for 7 days. If you follow it, it will help you to get started. You can sign up here.

Remember, you don’t need to be ready or ask for permission to start.

You don’t need to wait for the perfect moment.

Start today. With a small step. Be intentional. Own your growth.

Tasks for the Week:

☑️ Review and Plan 2026: Wins, challenges, lessons learned.
☑️ Do the first task of one Big Rock: Ask yourself how you feel afterwards.
☑️ Schedule your first monthly check-in: Mark it recurrently in your calendar.

Share in the comments: 💬

• Who do you want to BE by December 2026?

• What is your #1 Big Rock?

• What change are you going to make this week?

Leave a comment

Let’s move in this AI era from surviving to thriving. Together. 💛

🎁Bonus: Free Monthly Workshop and Beta App

I created a solution to the friction that caused my own survival. A Monthly Review & Plan with Accountability Workshop and a tool designed to make this “Thriving Framework” automatic. I’ll be sharing a full walkthrough of the WonderLead Thriving Tool once I validate it with users. supported the first testing round. Now, I’m looking for volunteers to test it live with an interview!

1. Want to be at the front of the line for the beta? Just reply THRIVE to this email.

2. Want to join the monthly workshop? Register here.

3. Want to start thriving right now? Sign up for the 7 days Thriving Challenge email course and start meeting your goals!

Recommended Resources:

1. The Power of Moments — Chip Heath & Dan Heath
   (For understanding what makes experiences meaningful)

2. Think Again — Adam Grant
   (To question your own beliefs, embrace being wrong, and become a "scientist")

3. Atomic Habits — James Clear
   (For building sustainable practices)

(*) By purchasing affiliated books, you will be contributing to WonderLead in Tech.

Subscribe now

If you enjoyed this post, please tap the Like button below ♥️ Thank you!

This post opinions are my own, and may not reflect the opinions of the company I work for.

Hi! 🙋🏻‍♀️ Can you believe we’ve already ended 2025?
I prepared for you three things: 1) Career Plan template, 2) AI Prompts, and 3) Workshop with me to fill it. I wish you had a Merry Christmas and Happy new Year! 🎄

What You’ll Learn:

💡 Why year review and planning matter for your career
💡 What to include in your professional review (with templates!)
💡 How to acknowledge mistakes and set improvement actions

From Reactive to Intentional Career

For years, I dedicated a few minutes each December to review my personal goals and set new ones for the coming year. But I never did this professionally. I treated my career like something that just happened to me. Rather than something I could intentionally shape.

Everything changed when I started managing my career the same way I manage AWS projects. I began by setting clear professional goals, success metrics, I tracked progress, and reviewed frequently. That’s when I added intentionality to my career. Suddenly, I wasn’t just reacting or just going towards a single end goal, I was leading all my own journey.

Last year at this time, I set two clear goals: (1) improve my networking and (2) strengthen my communication skills. To achieve my big rock of moving to Spain and likely leaving Amazon, I defined milestones for each. But they were not just vague wishes. I actually drafted measurable goals with planned milestones to achieve them.

Life happened, and I had to reprioritize things, but I made progress on both goals! 🎉 I haven’t moved to Spain yet, but I feel more prepared!

I didn’t do it alone, and I didn’t just “try harder.” I used a structured system that I developed. I tracked my progress in Obsidian, reviewed the progress, and adjusted monthly. I improved my communication skills with the help of a mentor, and I held myself accountable by sharing my goals with people who cared about my growth.

This year, I want to share that system with you. Because we shouldn’t drive the journey of our careers alone.

Why Year Review and Planning Matter

We plan product launches, sprints, and project milestones with incredible detail. We track metrics, analyze data, and adjust our approach based on results.

Why don’t we do the same for our careers?

A proper year review helps us:

✨ Celebrate real wins, not just the big ones; the small victories matter too!
✨ Identify patterns in what worked and what didn’t.
✨ Learn from setbacks without shame or judgment.
✨ Align our actions with our values and long-term vision.
✨ Set intentional goals based on data, not just wishes.
✨ Build momentum by seeing how far we’ve actually come.

Without this reflection, we risk repeating the same mistakes and missing opportunities for growth. Additionally, doing it at the beginning of the year allows you to restart with more positivity. Everyone is planning their resolutions, and starting a new year feels like a fresh start.

With the WonderLead Framework, we’ll continuously refine our approach with accountability to ensure we keep working on our goals through the year.

What to Include in Your Year Review

Based on the WonderLead framework and my experience at AWS, here’s how I do it:

1. Highlights and Wins

List your top 5-10 achievements:

• Projects delivered successfully

• Promotions or role changes

• Positive feedback received

• Problems solved

• Team impact created

• Communities built or joined

Tip: Include both work achievements and personal development wins. Your personal development wins outside your job may impact your professional identity.

Action item: Share them with your manager.

2. Goals Review

Look back at the goals you set (or meant to set) for 2025:

• Which goals did you achieve? Celebrate them! 🎉

• Which goals are still in progress? That’s okay too.

• Which goals did you miss? Let’s learn from them.

• Which goals changed? That’s good; adaptation is growth.

For each goal, ask yourself:

• What specific actions led to success or challenges?

• How did you feel about them? What causes those feelings?

• What people or resources made a difference?

• What would you do differently next year?

Tip: If you didn’t have goals, think about 2025 and assess themes through the year.

3. Challenges and Lessons Learned

This is the most valuable part. What didn’t go as planned? Think in technical, interpersonal, personal, and organizational challenges and ask for each challenge:

• What was within your control?

• What was outside your control?

• What did you learn?

• What will you do differently in 2026?

Tip: Careful with the white bears!

Cognitive distortions (White Bears) are negative or irrational patterns of thinking. There are 10 types: 1) All or Nothing Thinking, 2) Overgeneralization, 3) Mental Filter, 4) Discounting the Positive, 5) Jumping to conclusions, 6) Magnification, 7) Emotional Reasoning, 8) “Should” Statements, 9) Labeling, and 10) Personalization and Blame. Per white bear, create blue dolphins which are “Go-to” positive thoughts that you personally find inspiring, engaging, interesting, and fascinating.

4. Values Alignment Check

This is critical. Look at your core values.

• Which values did you honor consistently?

• Which values did you compromise?

• Where did you feel most aligned?

• Where did you feel misaligned?

When our actions don’t align with our values, we feel it. Burnout, resentment, and frustration are often symptoms of misalignment.

Reflection question: If you could change one thing about how you worked this year to better honor your values, what would it be? Make it a goal!

5. Strengths and Growth Reflection

What are your strengths? Have you leveraged them through the year? What new skills did you develop this year? Which growth areas became apparent?

• Technical skills (e.g. new languages, tools, frameworks)

• Leadership skills (e.g. communication, delegation, mentorship)

• Your Company Cultural Principals (e.g. Amazon Leadership Principles)

• Emotional intelligence competencies (e.g. self-awareness, empathy, compassion)

• Domain expertise (e.g. industry or business knowledge)

My example: In my annual review at Amazon I will use Amazon Leadership Principles to described how I delivered to customers this year. I will write that I demonstrated Customer Obsession and Ownership by interviewing internal customers of the MCPs I delivered internally. However, delivering the MCP was a challenge because stakeholders didn’t understand the technology and I could have demonstrated more Earn Trust by making it easier to understand. Double communicate always!

Subscribe now

Remember: Acknowledge Your Mistakes, Learn, and Plan

While reviewing, practice self-awareness and self-compassion.

Mistakes aren’t failures. They’re data and help us to grow.

In my career, I’ve made plenty of mistakes:

• Said “yes” to too many commitments and burned out

• Avoided difficult conversations, and problems grew

• Focused on perfectionism instead of progress

• Worked in isolation instead of asking for help

Each mistake taught me something. Each one shaped how I lead today.

A Framework for Processing Mistakes:

1. Name it and Own it: What actually happened? What was your part in it?

2. Learn from it: What does this teach you?

3. Plan for it: What will you do differently? How will you trigger the change?

4. Release it: Rephrase. You’re not your mistakes.

Example from my year:

Mistake: I took on too many high-level leadership responsibilities right after joining a new team, before learning the mechanics from the team and consistently building their trust.

Learning: Trust is earned through consistent delivery and understanding team dynamics first. Taking on leadership responsibilities too early can undermine credibility and team cohesion. I should have focused on earning trust from the team as early as possible before taking on multiple leadership responsibilities.

Action for 2026: Focus on one major commitment at a time and prioritize earning trust from my new team. Before taking on additional leadership responsibilities, ask: “Have I earned the team’s trust through consistent delivery?” and “Does this help or distract from building strong team relationships?”

My Recommendations

Books

1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People — Stephen R. Covey
   (Especially Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind)

2. Dare to Lead — Brené Brown
   (On values and vulnerability)

AI Prompts

AI Chat (ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini) as Reflection Partner:

1. Paste your calendar/projects and ask: “What patterns do you see in how I spent my time?”

2. Upload performance reviews and ask: “What are my recurring strengths and growth areas?”

3. Share your goals and ask: “What potential obstacles should I prepare for?”

I will share more AI prompts in the chat, stay tuned!

Your Action Plan for This Week

Don’t wait to review your year and define action items from your learnings. This week, I will share how I am planning 2026 and how to define your new goals.
Start reviewing now while you have the momentum!

Let’s Do This Together

I did a year review and plan of 2026 in a working group of 9 people last Friday. and joined. This Saturday, I will do it again (this time Japan friendly ). The audience will get the career plan I use with my mentors for free. If you can’t join, you can get it from here.

I’m inviting YOU to reflect and plan 2026 with me. Join now, it is limited to 12 slots.

Get Worksheet and Workshop!

Because we shouldn’t drive the journey of our careers alone.

Share in the comments: 💬

• What’s one big win from your 2025?

• What’s one lesson you learned from a challenge?

• What’s one Big Rock you’re considering for 2026?

Let’s learn together and support each other. Let’s make 2026 the year we all thrive, not just survive. The next post will guide you to create a plan and system that will enable your success.

Join the Conversation

💬 Comment below with your reflections
🔗 Join our Chat for ongoing discussion
🌟 Subscribe to WonderLead Working Groups (coming in 2026)

Share

—If you enjoyed this post, please tap the Like button below ♥️ Thank you!

This post opinions are my own, and may not reflect the opinions of the company I work for.

Hi! 🙋🏻‍♀️ How have you been? Did you start being more self-aware since last post?
It would be great to hear your self-awareness Leadership Breakthroughs Stories!
This post I have 🎁s for you. Don’t miss to take a look to the end of the post and get your gifts.
I also created a Leaderboard! The more people who join, the more we will enjoy this journey and community. So don’t forget to click 💖 or share this newsletter with your friends!

What You'll Learn:

💡 The importance of self-management in owning your career and life.
💡 A practical framework for self-management.
💡 How to start practicing self-management today.
💡 Free productivity tools for Wonder Leaders, direct download for all subscribers.

Tasks for the Week:

☑️ Keep practicing self-awareness.
☑️ Incorporate a self-management framework for owning your career and life.
☑️ Plan and review daily your activities and habits.
☑️ Try the WonderLead Toolkit with your self-management framework.

Start Self Managing your Career and Life

(7 minutes read)

In my career, I struggled immensely with work-life balance due to my tendency towards ownership, perfectionism, and saying “yes”. Although I constantly worked on improving my effectiveness at work, I found myself in a constant state of rushing and hustle, with decreased quality. It wasn't until I introduced emotional intelligence (EI) into my productivity framework that I gained the self-control I needed to say "no" - for myself and my team. Now, I'd rather face the discomfort of setting boundaries than the resentment of not working on the highest priorities.

"Choose discomfort over resentment." My mantra reminds me that I'm making a choice that's critical for my well-being—even if it's not easy. — Brené Brown

This year, during my maternity leave, I spent the first month watching Netflix while my baby was sleeping over me. Then I realized I could use those moments to continue growing in my career. So I decided to manage my life like I do when launching a new product! First, I set up Obsidian, a note-taking app, to track my habits, feelings, and career goals, all in one app — and with a single hand! Then, I assessed my strengths and values, and defined SMART goals with the milestones and user stories to achieve them. Suddenly, everything I did had a clear purpose, and I found myself saying "no" more often to stay focused on my priorities. However, I realized that I didn’t want to do the journey alone, so I created this free Substack, WonderLead in Tech.

What is Self-Management?

Self-management is a core component of emotional intelligence, according to Daniel Goleman's model of EI. It has six key competencies: self-control, trustworthiness, conscientiousness, adaptability, achievement orientation, and initiative. The competencies involve managing disruptive emotions, upholding integrity, taking responsibility, adapting to change, striving for excellence, and seizing opportunities. Lacking strong self-management skills puts us at risk of burnout, getting stuck, and lack of fulfillment in our careers, constantly firefighting rather than focusing on priorities.

The WonderLead Framework

To help you start owning your career and life, here you have an overview of the framework I came up with based on my learning and 17+ years of experience working in consulting, startups and Big Tech. If you are missing something important, please comment. I will test it and keep this post updated so that the framework will be better and owned by all of us.

1. Manage your Career and Life: To be strategic, evaluate each activity you engage in as you do in a project. If it’s not a top priority and aligns with your goals, add it as a task or story. If not, remove it from your "inbox" to reduce noise and increase focus time. If you identify a new goal you want to focus on, consider reevaluating your goals, values, and priorities.

2. Daily Check-ins: To stay focused, each day realistically choose your top 1-3 priority tasks to complete. Depending on how you feel, start with small tasks to gain momentum or take the most challenging ones first.

3. Regular Reviews and Plannings: To keep your why, do weekly and monthly reviews to assess your progress in your career and life. Based on these reviews, make adjustments as needed, and plan what comes next. Take note of your emotions.

4. Calendarize: To meet your promises, add your milestones/epics, stories, and habits to your calendar. Ensure realistic deadlines and consider risks and other priorities.

5. Journaling: To be self-aware, think about the day, write what happened, and what you felt. Record emotional triggers, identify assumptions, and reframe negative thoughts. Track the habits done to use them as KPI metrics in your reviews.

6. Practice Gratitude: To stay positive, express gratitude by saying thanks to someone at least once a day. List up to 10 things you are grateful for at the end of the day. You can enumerate them in your journal or out loud any time.

7. Take Care of Yourself: To be healthy, be empathetic and do well-being activities consistently. Every day, do exercise, walk, meditate, and connect with the people you value. Keep life-work balance, for yourself and the people who follows you.

8. Discover: To keep your strengths, stay curious and learn from your discoveries. Document what you learnt at the moment if it takes less than 2 minutes. Write them as tips or templates. Review and practice them regularly. Learn as well from feedback asked early on.

9. Celebrate Successes: To keep you motivated, be part of a community. Share your insights, motivations, and achievements with others. Celebrate your own and others’ wins, no matter how small. You can use our Chat to celebrate or ask for the help that will make you succeed!

10. Build Habits: To make this happen, write your habits as small and specific as possible with the formula “Instead of … I will do …” or “After … I will do …”. Schedule them for each type of day and, keep your schedule updated. Start with the habits that will support this framework. For instance, schedule at least i) 5 mins every morning to choose your priority tasks of the day, ii) 15 mins every night for journaling and being grateful, iii) 15 mins at the end of the week to review your career and life goals, iv) block at least 2h everyday of focus time and 30mins for unknowns, and iv) 20 mins of exercise and 2 blocks of 15 mins of meditation everyday.

Remember, this is a journey of continuous improvement. Embrace the process and adapt it to your needs, celebrate your wins with us, and don't be discouraged by setbacks. Together, we'll navigate this journey, empowering you to own your career and thrive as exceptional leaders.

How do I practice self-management?

I know, at a glance the framework seems unachievable for busy leaders. However, the discipline of building your career will give you the freedom to become the leader you want to be. Your commitment will release you from the distractions that are taking away your goals.

1. Setup yourself to execute the framework effectively. You can download the framework toolkit below and use it.

2. Be mindful. Focus on the things that actually matter for you. Enjoy the path without getting obsessed about its end. Remember to not try too hard and get more by doing less to keep the experience positive, because when trying too hard, the benefits get diminished or even inverted.

3. Start executing and owning your career NOW. You don’t need perfect goals defined from the first day. We will create them in the next post. Instead, start with tasks of 1-15 mins every day to gain momentum and confidence with the framework. Preparation tasks are already part of your path, include them in your plan.

4. Experiment with the WonderLead framework or a variant of it.
   You can adapt it to incorporate your practices or well-known techniques that already work for you, such as Pomodoro or Getting Things Done (GTD). Embrace failures, review them, and adapt the framework to your needs. Make it yours.

Setup the WonderLead Framework Toolkit — Free for Subscribers

develAGORA offers a set of tools based on the WonderLead framework to support this newsletter and community. Their tools will be updated with the new content and available at the same time new posts get published in the Own Your Career section. And they will be free for us! More tools will be free through the referral system. Having shared tools allows our community to be truly effective and scale!

Refer a friend

Get your Free tools now:

1. Automated WonderLead Framework in an Obsidian preconfigured Vault. Apply the framework at any place, even offline, within any of your devices, and with less effort than in a physical planner thanks to the automation of your plan and relationships between your notes.

2. Digital WonderLead Planner for those who prefer a more analog approach. You can print all the sheets you need and create your personalized planner. Putting it in a place that will remind you to use it will help you with your new framework habits. Alternatively, you can use apps that allow writing in PDF such as Goodnotes.

My Recommendations

Books

1. Atomic Habits — James Clear

2. Getting Things Done — David Allen

3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People — Stephen R Covey
   Discovered while writing this post, I added it to my TO READ list.

Other Substacks about Self-Management

1. On Planning and Winning the Week — By Michał Poczwardowski 

2. Perfectionism - one of the biggest productivity killers in the engineering industry — By Gregor Ojstersek and Jordan Cutler

3. Eliminate Distractions — By Ethan Evans

4. Unlearning the Lessons That No Longer Serve Us — By Deb Liu

🌻This post is dedicated to @ibesora and my colleague Oleg. Both showed interest in my productivity framework, and their curiosity gave me courage to write this post.

This post opinions are my own, and may not reflect the opinions of the company I work for.