If you stripped away every HR process, every tool, every system, what's the one lesson you'd keep? For me, it's this: people don't always burn out because they're doing too much. Sometimes they burn out because they're doing too much that doesn't make sense. When work feels unclear, inconsistent, or disconnected from purpose, even good people lose their drive. As we wrap up another year of small business chaos, this episode isn't a checklist or a plan; it's one simple reflection and one question I want you to carry forward into next year. Welcome to The HR Connection, the podcast proving that small business growth happens through people, and HR is how you make it happen. I'm your host, Sabrina Baker, CEO of Acacia HR Solutions. After more than a decade helping small employers build people strategies that actually drive results, I've seen one truth hold steady: growth doesn't start with your business plan; it starts with your people. Every week we unpack how HR, when done right, becomes the engine behind every great small business. So whether you're the one-person HR department, a founder figuring it out, or someone who just got HR added to your job description, this show is for you. I learned this lesson years ago working with a small business that was growing fast, maybe honestly too fast. They were hiring left and right, but roles overlapped, priorities shifted weekly, and every employee had a different idea of what success looked like. At first, it looked like burnout. People were exhausted, turnover was creeping up, and leaders were convinced they just needed more staff. But when we dug in, it wasn't the workload; it was the whiplash. No clarity, no alignment, no idea what mattered most. One employee said to me, "I'm not tired because I'm working hard; I'm tired because every week I feel like I'm running in a different direction." That line stuck with me because that's what happens when people don't see the why behind the what. In small businesses, we're always moving. Everyone's wearing multiple hats, making quick calls, reacting to whatever's urgent. But when that becomes normal, when that pace becomes normal, it creates an environment where clarity takes a back seat. Here's the truth about that: most employees don't need perfect systems; they need context. They need to know what success looks like this month, not in a five-year plan that sits in a binder. As HR or as leaders, our real job is to remove confusion, to make sure people understand the business priorities and how their work connects to them. It's not glamorous; you won't see a viral post about clarity champions, but every high-performing team I've seen in small companies in 14 years has this one thing in common: they talk about priorities constantly, and they're not afraid to say what's not a priority right now. That's leadership; that's people strategy. So the question I'd want every HR professional, business owner, or leader to carry forward is this: are my people clear on what actually matters? Not kind of clear, not we mentioned it at the staff meeting clear, crystal clear. If the answer is no, that's your first project of the new year. Not a new system, not a new program, clarity. If I had to take one HR lesson into any year, it's this: when people understand the why, they'll figure out the how. When they don't, even your best intentions turn into confusion and frustration. The next time you feel tempted to add more, like another initiative, another program, another meeting, please pause and ask, do people already understand what we're doing and why we're doing it? Because growth doesn't come from piling more on the plate. It comes from making sure what's already there has meaning. That's it. One lesson I'd carry into any year. If this hit home, here's something to take with you: spend 10 minutes this week asking a few team members what they think the company's top priorities are right now. If you get five different answers and none of them are correct, that's your roadmap for clarity in the new year. Thanks for listening to The HR Connection. If you've been tuning in this whole season, thank you for being part of this growing community of small business leaders proving that small business growth happens through its people. If you found this helpful, please like, subscribe, and follow, or forward it to another small business leader who might find it helpful. I'm Sabrina Baker. Thanks so much for listening.