It’s that time of year, with everyone’s version of Spotify Wrapped. (But do you use Granola and have you seen your Granola Crunched summary yet? We both nearly peed our pants laughing at how accurate ours were.)
Which got us thinking about our own greatest hits: the articles and posts we’ve read and saved and shared and referenced in voice notes to each other all year.
When we started The New HQ this spring, we were craving a space for independent work that felt like us. We weren’t hustle bros, we weren’t girl bosses, we weren’t ex-McKinsey consultants creating a boutique mini-McKinsey firm of our own. We are normal (that’s subjective), ambitious, creative people who wanted:
work that keeps our brains engaged
collaborators who challenge and support us
flexibility, autonomy, and a definition of success that fits our lives
…all on our own terms.
This year, we have discovered an incredible constellation of people thinking about work the way we do: critically, curiously, optimistically, prioritizing real life. We wanted to highlight a few of the amazing articles and posts that made us feel seen, made us think, and helped pave the pathway for more of us being in the drivers seat of our own careers.
As you curate your feed (a very productive way to procrastinate in December, we’d add) and surround yourself with people thinking about how to make work make sense in 2026, we highly recommend following a few (or all!) of the amazing folks below.
Makers + Builders Of Independent Careers
The practical guides, operators, and creators offering tools to build a portfolio or fractional path.
Brie Abramowicz Brie writes with such clarity about portfolio careers, and her piece The End of Professional Monogamy genuinely lit a fire for us. She unpacks the history of the corporate ladder and how it shaped our understanding of “success,” asking what we lose when we collapse complex human beings into singular job titles. “This model delivered spectacular results for capital accumulation... but at what cost?” It’s a powerful reframing for anyone expanding beyond one professional identity. Read it here.
Self Funded by Chrissie Francona We are all-in on this podcast and content brand because it stands for what we believe: more people building businesses around their expertise, experience, and point of view. Each episode offers real examples, tactical advice, and a look behind the curtain of modern independent work. (And yes, Leslie’s interview about her career journey is a great place to start!) Listen here.
Taylor Crane Fractional Jobs has become one of our always-opened newsletters, and one of our most-forwarded. Taylor curates open fractional roles every week across departments and industries, and pairs the listings with generous, well-researched resources and guides, like “How to find your first fractional client.” A great read for anyone actively building a portfolio career. Read it here.
Anna Mack's Stack Anna writes beautifully about identity, self-definition, and crafting a narrative around who you are when you work for yourself and build a portfolio career. We reference her piece Cause of death: they asked “what do you do for work?” constantly. It’s sharp, funny, and painfully accurate, and the title alone deserves its own award. Read it here.
Janel Abrahami A thoughtful, practical career coach for people building careers in the future (*cough* independent ones). Her recent post breaking down “What are consulting collectives, and should you start one?” is an insightful take on how the independent work landscape is evolving, for good. Check it out here.
Jules Fedele Julie’s content is deeply insightful and encouraging (and we are obsessed with her videos because of her magical Australian accent!). She’s one of the sharpest thinkers on the future of work being portfolio-shaped, backed by great examples, emerging research, and practical takeaways. If you want the macro view of where independent work is headed and practical tips to get you there, start here. Watch this video.
How To Go Freelance by Grace Abbott Grace brings over a decade of freelance experience, and it shows. Her content is grounded in real-life stories, candid lessons, and short, actionable video clips that make freelancing feel more approachable. Her “How to go freelance” series is especially good for anyone building confidence early in their journey. Here’s the first one in the series.
Kate Citron Kate somehow downloaded all of our millennial-woman ambition feelings into one essay. Reflecting on the girl bosses we grew up idolizing, she writes: “These women led me to believe that a successful career would bring me happiness… but I was only privy to their highlight reels.” She now works as an independent marketer, making her take even richer for those of us designing nonlinear paths. Full post here.
Iwana Johannsen We love the way Iwana breaks down the limiting beliefs that come up when transitioning into independent work. Her piece The Five Pillars of Work offers a clear, compassionate framework for understanding what actually holds people back, and what it takes to move forward with confidence. It’s one of those posts you read once and think about for weeks. This is a framework we’ll be referencing for a long time. Read it here.
Inspiration, Identity & Mindset
The emotional fuel: belonging, bravery, identity-shaping, and finding your rhythm.
Lindsey Lerner Lindsey models bravery in a way that feels both bold and completely human. After following her Substack for a while, she casually wrote, “Anyone interested in teaming up?”, breaking the fourth wall of Substack in the most disarming, generous way. We emoji-hearted it instantly. Lindsey shows up with vulnerability and authenticity everywhere she goes, and we’re excited to keep following her work into next year. Read more here.
David Nebinski David is prolific across podcasting and Substack, and he radiates generosity in both. This summer he ran a bold LinkedIn experiment that prompted us to rethink how we curate our chosen colleagues: be true to yourself, extend the invitation, and trust that the right connections will come toward you. A superconnector in the truest sense. See the post here.
Ashley Rudolph and Cydnee DeToy Individually, they each write thoughtful, grounded Substacks. But their co-written piece on the emotional reality of stepping away from traditional career paths? One of our favorites this year. It names the messy middle (the fear, the hope, the confusion, the relief) with clarity and compassion. Not to mention, it was cool to follow each of these two individually and then realize they are also “chosen colleagues” to each other! Read it here.
Rachel Linder Stevens Part work, part life, all grounded inspiration. Rachel works fractionally and shares about her “4% method” for making small, meaningful shifts toward a better-feeling life. Her reminder “Life gets a lot better when you stop trading joy for productivity” was the exact note we needed at the exact moment we needed it. This post in particular is one of our favorites: less optimizing, more enjoying. Find it here.
Working Parents Navigating Ambition
Real talk about caregiving, identity, ambition, and designing work that fits actual life.
Kaleana Quibell Kaleana is reshaping the narrative for working parents with honesty, clarity, and a little fire. The Both& website tagline “Boardrooms or bedtimes? It’s okay to want both.” deserves to be embroidered on a pillow. Her video addressing women who say “I’m a stay-at-home mom; I just consult on the side” struck such a chord. “You are all working! If you’re not stressed and burnt out, the system doesn’t know how to categorize you.” We sent it to more people than our kids can count. Watch it here.
Reshma Saujani We devour everything Reshma puts into the world, but her recent response to that New York Times piece? We were nodding so hard we nearly gave ourselves whiplash. She names what’s really happening in the workplace with honesty and bite, and articulates why so many women are choosing to reshape work entirely. Read it here.
Neha Ruch Neha’s book The Power Pause reframed taking a step back from full-time work as a strategic, identity-building choice, not a detour. She continues to champion the skills and insights gained through parenting and caregiving, and she regularly shares encouragement for parents building businesses in the margins: “Small businesses, the kind built from a kitchen table or a nap-time window, are often the ones creating the deepest impact.” More from her here.
Cameron Oaks Rogers We’ve had so many behind-the-scenes conversations this year about childcare and what it really takes to work for yourself while raising kids. Cameron’s episode about choosing to hire a nanny is one we returned to again and again. Tender, honest, and a needed reminder: independent work still requires a village. Listen here.
Brigid Schulte Brigid runs The Better Life Lab (truly the best name for the work she does) and writes often about what it takes to create workplaces that support modern families. She advocates for flexibility, remote work, childcare benefits, and — importantly — evidence-based policy change. Her feature on the 4-day workweek is a standout, and it makes a compelling case for why workplaces that work for families work better for everyone. Read it here.
Thank You for Shaping Our Year
A huge thank you to everyone on this list for putting your ideas, your stories, and your bold thinking into the world this year. You’ve helped us imagine new possibilities for how work can work, and we are so grateful. We’ll be cheering you on (and reading everything you write and share) in 2026.
Who else should we follow? We are sure we’ve missed some great reads and amazing creators. We’d love for you to share your go-to voices in the comments so we can keep discovering people reimagining work in thoughtful, human ways.
Wow I’m so honored. And also I need to follow all of these new people that look like such amazing humans!!!!
What a phenomenal list! Thank you so much for thinking of me, and for the honor of being included.