Cultivate Calm. Cultivate Clarity.
Cultivate Sponsorship: Activating visibility, advocacy, and advancement for underrepresented and high-potential talent to empower organisations to retain and promote leaders from within.
From the Desk of Katriina Tähkä, Founder & CEO
December invites a different kind of leadership – one rooted in restoration.
After a year defined by growth, visibility, and powerful sponsorship stories across industries, this final chapter of 2025 is your reminder that wellbeing isn’t a luxury. It’s the foundation for clarity, strength, and sustained growth for everyone involved.
This month, we celebrate calm as a strategy, rest as a reset button, and connection as a wellbeing practice.
And with the launch of Cultivate’s Social Impact Report, we can now quantify what many of our alumni have been telling us for years: when people feel seen, supported and sponsored – their wellbeing improves.
Across alumni, 83% regularly apply Cultivate wellbeing tools, 50% have changed their work habits, and 42% report improved mental health at work.
Wellbeing is not a side effect of sponsorship.
It is one of the most powerful outcomes of structured sponsorship.
Feature Topic: Wellbeing as Your Leadership Advantage
December isn’t about slowing down, it’s about resetting with intention.
This month we explore how rest, reflection and rejuvenation set you up to start 2026 with clarity and momentum.
Inside this edition:
- Why wellbeing fuels sustainable growth
- Key wellbeing insights from the 2025 Social Impact Report
- Holiday reading and podcast recommendations
- Setting aspirations for 2026
- How Cultivate can support your clarity, goals and next steps
- A celebration: Seymour Whyte’s graduation through Cultivate Sponsorship
Spotlight: Wellbeing Outcomes from the 2025 Social Impact Report
Across the 6 years of cohorts, one message is clear – wellbeing improves when people feel visible, supported, and advocated for.
Highlights from the data:
- 83% of alumni regularly apply wellbeing strategies
- 50% changed work habits: boundaries, priorities, flexibility
- 42% experienced direct mental-health improvement at work
- Sponsors also reported deeper empathy, reflection and awareness
“Removing the mental load helped my mental health and wellbeing” – Cultivate Alumni
These insights matter.
They tell us that sponsorship isn’t simply career development.
It’s culture development – shifting how organisations support, retain, and empower women.
Explore the full story:
- Download the Social Impact Report
- Watch Katriina’s Breakdown of the Key Findings
Holiday Reading to Restore Your Mind & Lift Your Energy
- The Art of Rest: How to Find Respite in the Modern Age – Claudia Hammond
A research-backed guide to the many forms of rest – and how simple, intentional pauses can restore your energy in a fast-paced world. - The Gifts of Imperfection – Brené Brown
How to cultivate courage, compassion, and connection – a helpful companion for anyone wanting to enter 2026 with self-trust and grounded confidence. - Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals – Oliver Burkeman
A gentle reality check on time, meaning, and what truly matters. Brilliant for reframing priorities during the holidays. - Year-End Isn’t the End: Re-entry Planning Starts Now – Cultivate Sponsorship
Why January’s success starts with how you close December.
Podcasts for Long Drives, Beach Walks & Quiet Mornings
Choose the mood you want to cultivate this summer:
- For Clarity: The Diary of a CEO – With Steven Bartlett (Entrepreneur, Investor and Podcaster). Episodes on purpose, mindset and leadership.
- For Calm:Ten Percent Happier – With Dan Harris (Journalist and Best-Selling Author). Grounded, practical conversations on reducing stress, finding balance, and navigating modern life with a clearer mind.
- For Motivation: The High Performance Podcast – With Jake Humphrey (Sports Presenter and Entrepreneur) and Damian Hughes (International Speaker and Best-Selling Author). Stories of resilience and reinvention.
- For Career Courage: How I Work – With Dr Amantha Imber (Organisational Psychologist). Practical, human insights into sustainable success.
Looking Ahead: Set Aspirations That Feel True to You
Before the new year begins, take a moment to ask:
- What do I want more of?
- What am I ready to release?
- Where do I want to be visible, and to whom?
- What is one courageous step I’ll take in January?
Leadership grows from clarity, and clarity grows from reflection.
If you’d like support shaping your 2026 goals, values, or next strategic step:
👉Book a Coaching Session
👉Explore Cultivate’s Additional Offerings
Celebration: Seymour Whyte Graduates
This month we congratulate the newest Seymour Whyte sponsors and sponsees on their graduation from the Cultivate Sponsorship Program.
Across the cohort, you’ve leaned into visibility, clarity, and honest, sometimes uncomfortable conversations about career, opportunity, and inclusion.
You’ve made time in the middle of project pressures to invest in each other, and that commitment is already shifting how talent is seen, supported and sponsored at Seymour Whyte.
Their reflections capture the depth of connection and intention that defined this cohort.
“My sponsor has engaged me in workshops and is actively looking for more executive-level opportunities to involve me in – it’s already expanding my visibility across the business.” – Seymour Whyte Sponsee, 2025
“If I want to be a leader, I need to act like one. That means advocating for others, challenging bias where I see it, and increasing visibility and recognition across the organisation.” – Seymour Whyte Sponsor, 2025
Quick Watch
- Cultivate Impact Snapshot – 3 key findings
- Inside the Cultivate Sponsorship Program with Richard & Paige
- Longevity of Sponsor-Sponsee Relationships
Final Thought
Rejuvenation isn’t stepping back.
It’s stepping into the new year with a full tank, a clear mind, and a centred heart.
As we close 2025, may you find the space to breathe, the permission to rest, and the clarity to lead with purpose in 2026.
Rest well.
Lead lightly.
Begin again.