A Christmas message about light, leadership and the power of connection
By Nicola Moore-Miller, Global Chief Executive Officer
Every December, I seem to find myself returning to the same thought: Christmas is less about the season itself and more about the meaning we choose to give it.
Over the years, we’ve shared some wonderfully reflective festive messages at Jayva: In ‘A Christmas message with a difference’, we talked about gratitude. In ‘A cracker of a Christmas message’, we celebrated kindness. And in ‘Pondering, praising and planning’, we closed the year with intention.
This year, my message feels a little more personal – rooted in a small, unexpected moment of joy in my rural Cumbrian village that has already created a ripple of warmth far beyond what I imagined.
A little church, a big feeling
You see, in October, I did something spontaneous: I bought a church.
A quiet, disused sandstone Methodist chapel in the heart of a village that has lost many of its communal spaces over time. For years it sat empty, quietly waiting for a purpose. When it fell back into reach, I followed my gut. I stepped inside, felt something shift and knew this could become something meaningful – not just for Jayva, but for the community too.
We’ll soon be transforming it into our UK headquarters: a co-working hub filled with creativity, connection and opportunity. A space that brings people together during a time when remote work has unintentionally made many of us more isolated.
But before any renovations began, we did something simple: We hung Christmas lights outside.
It was a small gesture, almost an afterthought – but what followed surprised me.
People stopped in the street. They smiled. They contacted me, happy that the building finally felt alive again. Neighbours I hadn’t spoken to for a whole sent messages. Someone said it “felt like hope”. Another called it “the best the building has looked in decades”.
A modest string of lights… and yet it sparked warmth, curiosity and community spirit in the coldest month of the year.
It reminded me how small acts – tiny symbols of life, light and possibility – can resonate deeply, especially at Christmas.
A season that holds everything at once
On LinkedIn recently, I wrote about how leadership isn’t always strategy, metrics and milestones. Some days it’s the full spectrum of human experience:
The joy of a friend’s all-clear after a terrifying health scare.
The relief of someone who felt included when they needed it most.
The ache of missing the people you love when diaries just don’t align.
The pride and excitement for the projects shaping our future.
Supporting others through difficult moments while running on empty yourself.
And, somewhere in the midst of it all, realising there are only 16 days until a three-week break.
Life doesn’t pause for leadership. Work doesn’t pause for Christmas. And emotions don’t pause just because the calendar says ‘festive’.
Christmas can be magical – but it can also be the hardest part of the year for many.
Loneliness, loss, grief, pressure and exhaustion sit quietly behind closed doors. For some, the season amplifies what’s been difficult; for others, it offers a rare moment of calm.
So, if you find yourself feeling stretched, scattered or heavy-hearted this December, you’re not alone. And you’re certainly not failing. You’re human.
Connection – the gift that matters most
At Christmas, we slow down. We stop rushing. We reconnect, reflect and breathe a little more deeply. We make time for people we care about – without an agenda, without multitasking, without a Teams call waiting.
Those moments of presence are powerful.
And what we cherish in our personal lives – true connection, face-to-face time, meaningful conversations, the chance to reset – is just as important for us at Jayva as a global team.
Next year, our Jayva retreat (along similar lines to last year’s Welsh retreat) will bring our people from around the world together in one place. Not for back-to-back sessions or endless slide decks – but for the same reason families gather at Christmas: to reconnect, refocus, share stories, imagine boldly and remember that behind the work, we’re humans first.
Because the magic of our business has never been the software, the systems or the strategy.
The magic is the people.
Looking ahead with light and purpose
As we enter this Christmas season, I keep coming back to the image of that little church – dark for so many years, glowing now with a simple string of lights, beginning a new chapter.
It’s a reminder that:
Small actions matter.
Community matters.
Being human matters.
And leadership, at its heart, is about bringing light where it’s needed most.
To our clients, colleagues, partners and friends: thank you for being part of this year’s journey – the highs, the challenges, the growth, the learning and all the moments in between.
From all of us at Jayva, we wish you peace, joy, rest and connection this Christmas season.
Here’s to a new year filled with purpose, possibility and – above all – light.