Conducting an annual life review offers numerous benefits for leaders, such as gaining clarity, spotting life patterns and setting better goals, writes leadership coach Gregg Vanourek, who lays out a process that encourages mindfulness about gratitude, identifies areas for improvement and boosts confidence. "Share your annual life review with someone you trust. Better yet, exchange reviews with that person and talk them through together," Vanourek advises.

Put it into practice: Get the most out of your annual life review by looking for patterns from last year that you can learn from them, such as focusing on forming relationships or setting boundaries, Vanourek writes. "What lessons have you learned this year? Are there take-aways that you can carry forward?"

New leaders often mistakenly believe they need to fix a broken culture when taking over struggling organizations, but executive coach Art Petty argues that culture should be respected and leveraged to evolve naturally. Petty offers nine rules for leaders, including looking for the root cause of any problems instead of assuming it's the people, the budget or the strategy.

Put it into practice: Flawed decisions and poor leadership may have damaged a company's culture, but by bringing fresh values, strategies and coaching to your people, you can foster a healthy work environment, Petty writes. "Your job as the leader is to respect and leverage the culture, not fix it."

Use one-on-one meetings to develop rapport with your direct reports, especially remote employees, by using six specific questions to uncover how they're feeling about their work, their life outside of the office and their aspirations, says Steven Rogelberg, Chancellor's Professor at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. Powerful questions center on what drains them at work, what excites them outside of the office and how you can support their goals, Rogelberg says.

Put it into practice: Ask your direct reports what would make their job more compelling over the long haul, and avoid pushing back if their answer makes you feel defensive, says Emma Seppälä, a faculty member at the Yale School of Management. "Use this as an opportunity to learn," she says, adding that "if you can't address everything, schedule a follow-up meeting."

Evin Shutt, CEO and partner at 72andSunny, discusses her journey from Neenah, Wis., to Los Angeles, highlighting the importance of resilience and diversity in the creative industry. "My constant push is to make sure we're opening up the opportunity for more diverse perspectives, which will lead to more impactful work," Shutt says.

Two genes -- Taqpep and Dkk4 -- determine the patterns of spots and stripes in cats, according to research by cat geneticist Leslie Lyons and others. Mutations in Taqpep create blotched patterns in domesticated cats and king cheetahs, and the Dkk4 gene affects the size and number of spots.

Taking the time to do an annual life review may seem like a daunting task, but the results can help you map out the next year and live more intentionally. Gregg Vanourek outlines several ways to go through this process. There is no wrong way to go about it. Any amount of reflection you do on the past year and make plans for the new year will pay off.

To begin, evaluate the key areas of your life, including your career, health, finances, relationships, personal development, spirituality and fun. Write about any success in these areas, along with what needs improvement and actionable steps you can take.

Journal about your past year, asking yourself about areas where you had the most growth and how it happened or if you could relive one moment from the past year, what would it be and why?

You can also review any books, podcasts, movies or songs that stuck with you through the year to identify inspirations or themes you can carry into the new year. I have found it helpful to pick a word for each year. This year, my word has been "reset." I retired from being the leader of a spiritual community, something that had become my identity for the past 20 years. This past year was one of resetting and discovering new passions and goals.

Try out any of these annual life reviews to reflect on your growth, celebrate your achievements and plan for the new year.

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