What to Unsubscribe in 2025

Gary Burnison is CEO of Korn Ferry and the author of Love, Hope & Leadership: A Special Edition.

Going to the gym? Sure. Eating healthier? No doubt, another worthy undertaking for me. Tackling those boxes that have been stacking up for years in my garage? Long overdue. 

But top of my resolution list for 2025: my personal email inbox, which has swelled to 22,572 messages and counting as of this writing. And so, in these very first few days of 2025, I’ve already embarked on the journey….

You name it and it’s made its way to that inbox over the years. Products, promotions, political fundraising—promises to reverse aging and proclamations of me winning pretty much everything.  

Now, I am on a mission—scrolling to the bottom of each missive, evaluating its destiny—and, when the fate of the unneeded and unnecessary is determined, searching the fine print and clicking on the tiniest font possible: unsubscribe. Everything is on the table for omission—including that 30-day free trial to the obscure streaming service I signed up for to watch that one movie, that one night… two years ago.

There’s no luck, hope, or chance involved anymore. Every decision I am making is deliberate—and every delete, unsubscribe, and opt-out is intentional.

And that got me thinking….

As leaders, we all have those unwanted habits and behaviors that can subtly creep in and re-emerge. It’s time to weed out the worst—and keep only the best.

It’s been the topic of many conversations I’ve had lately, as one year comes to an end and another begins. When I ask people what they want to unsubscribe from in 2025, the answers are telling.

Cancel trying to solve everything by ourselves—and create more collective leadership. Stop searching for certainty—and start navigating ambiguity with more curiosity and agility. Out with meaningless tracking—and in with meaningful context and perspective. Tune out the echo chambers—and tune in to more inclusive views.

Here we find subscribing in all its meanings—its very definitions. First, to subscribe means to sign up, putting our names on the bottom line. Second, when we subscribe to a belief or philosophy, we embrace what matters most to each of us. And that takes awareness.

So, what’s on the list to unsubscribe in 2025? Here are some considerations:

Unsubscribe from simply hearing—and subscribe to really listening. It’s a common complaint: “You aren’t listening to me.” There is a world of difference between simply hearing and really listening, and particularly to what we don’t want to hear.

Uncheck being interesting—and double click on being interested. Think of it this way, when we’re genuinely interested, we more easily relate to and connect with others. That’s how we foster new relationships. It’s Metcalfe’s Law in action, with the value of our networks growing with every connection we make—one relatable moment and conversation at a time.

Opt-out of just performing—and opt-in to transforming. It’s not enough to perform unless we simultaneously transform. Today, it’s all about an enterprise-focused approach—cascading connections, collaboration, and communication across the lattice. And it’s not as simple as leading across a matrix. It’s how we engage, innovate, and co-create with others.

Deactivate hunkering down—and activate taking risk. Given all the pressures in the world these days, it’s only natural to feel a little tempted to hunker down—or, as our firm’s psychologists call it, “reactive retreating.” The antidote? Re-engage. Yes, there are risks, but without risk, there is no growth.

Unsubscribe reliance on only what we know—and subscribe to what we don’t. Knowledge is what we know; wisdom is acknowledging what we don’t know. Learning is the bridge between the two. As our firm’s research has found, learning experiences boil down to three main ingredients: having motivation, developing abilities, and applying what’s been learned. The result is learning agility.

The irony, of course, is that you’re reading this message in an email—and with just one click, you could unsubscribe… to me!

Indeed, that’s the decision for all of us—intentional and deliberate. What to subscribe and unsubscribe in 2025.

Read more This Week in Leadership articles