Thank you to Holger Scholz, Founder & Director of Kommunikationslotsen, for sharing this year-end circle reflection with The Circle Way blog + newsletter.
Year-End Circle "Reflection, Gratitude & Renewal" – A Gathering of Hearts
Previously posted on LinkedIn on December 10, 2025
Yesterday evening, approximately 150 people came together in our Year-End Circle via Zoom – a moment I had been looking forward to with anticipation and, honestly, goosebumps.
What unfolded over 75 minutes was more than a year-end reflection. It was a living example of what circles can hold: transitions, gratitude, vulnerability, and the courage to look ahead together.
Special Guests and Deep Transitions
We were honored to have Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea, the founders of The Circle Way, with us. Their work has shaped our circle practice at Kommunikationslotsen for many years, and their presence was a gift. Christina and Ann shared news about their own transitions – about legacy, about what's next for The Circle Way, and about Circle as a Wizard for staying in relationship and community.
Circle is a wizard for staying in relationship and community.
We also witnessed transitions closer to home. Roswitha Vesper, who has been my business partner for many years, is stepping aside (not "back") from her role as co-managing director. Roswitha's clarity, commitment, and steady hand have shaped the Kommunikationslotsen in countless ways. We carry forward what we've built together.
And we welcomed Ines Wimmer as our new partner and managing director. Ines brings depth, experience, and fresh perspective to our work. Having both Roswitha and Ines present in this circle felt like witnessing the natural rhythm of transitions – not as rupture, but as flow.
Year-End Circle with 100+ companions of this work.
Voices from the Circle
Throughout the evening, we heard voices that stayed with me:
"Do what you feel, not what you should." Roswitha offered this notion from her time on the mountain.
"This moment and words are very touching," another person shared, naming what many of us felt.
Christina quoted a leader who once said: "There they go, and I have to hurry to catch up with them, because I am their leader." A beautiful inversion of traditional leadership – following what wants to emerge rather than forcing direction.
Mary Alice Arthur reminded us powerfully: "Maybe this is one of the most important things we can do for and with each other—to remind each other who we truly are and to accompany each other during these challenging times." In a world that often feels fractured, this felt like an anchor.
The Eagles and the Crows
Toward the end of the circle, Christina and Ann told us the Eagles and Crows story. They had told us (Roswitha and me) this true story years ago when we were walking together on the beach with the waves of Puget Sound crashing in the background. It is a moving tale about a family of eagles protecting their nest from attacking crows. The eagles defend fiercely, but they are outnumbered. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, an entire armada of eagles appears from the west, chasing the crows in all directions.
Christina Baldwin
In our Check-out we asked: What is your "eagle" for the upcoming time? What force, what support, what clarity will you call in when you need it most? The responses in the chat were beautiful – people naming their eagles: courage, community, trust, silence, fierce compassion, Mother Earth, the circle itself, the fire in the center of every circle.
A Container That Holds
As I close this reflection, I'm reminded that circles don't solve everything. But they create a container where we can be present to what is – the transitions, the unknowns, the gratitude, the questions - our humanity.
Thank you to everyone who showed up yesterday. Thank you to Christina and Ann for your wisdom and generosity. Thank you to Roswitha for everything we've built together. Thank you to Ines for stepping in with courage and heart. Thanks to Lara and Michael, who were unable to connect without WiFi between the thick walls of a monastery, but who were in the spirit of this work that evening.
This is what it means to accompany each other – to remind each other who we truly are, especially in challenging times.
Scribing gifted by Sabine Gressel-Soeder, cocreativeflow.com
What is your eagle?
P.S. The next gathering: Lotsentage 2026, May 10-11. We celebrate 25 Years. https://kommunikationslotsen.de/training/lotsentage-2026/