The end of the year never comes like any other time on the calendar. It appears calmer on the surface, but internally, for many leaders, it is anything but restful. Calendars become empty, teams slow down, customers become rarer… and the mind begins to make noise.
It is often there, between two closed files and a few days of breathing, that a strange phenomenon occurs: the mental assessment. Not the one in Excel tables, nor the one presented to the board of directors. A more intimate, more vague, sometimes uncomfortable assessment. A sort of internal quiz that few leaders formalize, but that almost all go through.
What if the end of the year was not so much a time to “plan” as to ask the right questions?
Question 1: Was this year like me?
This is a seemingly simple question. However, it touches on something deep. Many managers end the year with decent results, sometimes excellent, but with a diffuse feeling of lag.
The project is progressing, the company is holding up, the indicators are green… but is this really the company you wanted to build?
According to a Bpifrance study published in 2024, nearly 60% of SME managers say they feel a form of moral fatigue at the end of the year, even when activity is stable. It’s not the workload itself that weighs on you, but the feeling of having sometimes lost the thread.
The end of the year acts like a mirror: it reflects the image of what we have done, but also of what we have left aside.
Question 2: Did I spend more time managing than deciding?
Many entrepreneurs recognize this precise moment when they stopped “choosing” and simply “holding”. Manage emergencies, put out fires, respond to constraints. The year then unfolds like a series of reactions.
This is neither a failure nor a mistake. This is often the reality for SMEs, particularly in an unstable economic context. But the end of the year is one of the rare times when this question can be asked without judgment: do I still have control over my decisions?
This inner quiz does not require a perfect answer. It is mainly used to identify what, next year, deserves to be taken back in hand.
Question 3: What really exhausted me this year?
We talk a lot about work overload, but little about what really tires managers. It’s not always the hours, or even the financial pressure. These are often the invisible tensions: things left unsaid with an associate, recruitment that doesn’t work, a blurred vision that forces you to constantly improvise.
The end of the year sometimes allows us to put words where, the rest of the time, we only grit our teeth. This is not a comfortable exercise, but it is a useful exercise.
Identifying what cost the most energy is often more strategic than analyzing what brought in the most money.
Question 4: Did I leave space for others…and for myself?
In managerial discourse, we often talk about balance, delegation and trust. In reality, many leaders end the year feeling like they have carried too much on their own.
An end-of-year quiz is also that: honestly asking yourself if you have given your teams space to grow, to decide, to make mistakes. And, even more delicate, if you have given yourself space to breathe.
According to the Amarok Observatory, nearly one in three managers shows signs of overwork at the end of the year, without always being aware of it. The body and mind send discreet signals, which only a pause can sometimes be heard.
Question 5: What do I no longer want to repeat next year?
The end of the year is often invaded by lists of objectives, ambitious resolutions, strategic plans. However, one question is perhaps worth asking above all others: what do I not want to relive again?
A toxic client, an untenable pace, a permanent compromise with one’s values, a prolonged absence from loved ones… These are rarely elements that appear in business plans, but they profoundly shape the trajectory of a manager.
Not wanting to repeat is not giving up. It’s clarifying.
Question 6: What made me proud, even quietly?
Leaders often tend to downplay their successes. What worked becomes “normal”, what failed becomes “problematic”. The end of the year, however, offers a rare opportunity: to recognize what was done correctly, even if it did not make any noise.
A colleague who has gained confidence. A difficult but aligned decision. A project carried out to the end despite doubts. These silent victories do not always appear in the balance sheets, but they count.
Recognizing them is not self-congratulatory. It’s about giving yourself benchmarks for the future.
Question 7: What position do I want to occupy next year?
Behind growth, recruitment or transformation objectives there is often a more personal question: what place do I want to occupy in my company?
Very present leader or more in the background? Strategist or operational? Conductor or support? These choices are neither fixed nor definitive, but the end of the year is a good time to question them.
Many leaders discover, sometimes late, that they have grown faster than their role… or the opposite.
A quiz without grades, but not without impact
This end of year quiz has no score or right or wrong answer. It is not intended to be shared on social networks, nor to be validated by a consultant. It is often silent, personal, sometimes uncomfortable.
But it has an essential virtue: it restores meaning where the year has sometimes given way to automatism.
The end of the year is not just an accounting transition. It’s a moment of lucidity. A fragile, but precious space, where the manager can once again become something other than an emergency manager: a decision-maker aware of his trajectory.
What if, ultimately, the best end-of-year gift for an entrepreneur was not a new action plan, but a few well-asked questions?
