Be the Energy Your Team Needs at Year End
The final weeks of the year are a wild ride, aren’t they?
Goals are closing, inboxes are full, families are juggling holiday schedules, and everyone’s trying to finish strong while running on a little less fuel than usual. And here’s the truth. Your team is feeling it. As a leader, you set the tone for how they’ll walk (no sprinting allowed) through this season. This is where leadership becomes less about strategy and more about energy.
1. Your team doesn’t need you to be perfect. Instead, they need you to be present
End of year stress shows up differently for everyone.
Some people shut down. Some speed up. Some need clarity. Some need reassurance. Some silently hope someone will just ask how they’re doing.
When you stay present, you give them permission to do the same.
Presence looks like:
Checking in without rushing.
Listening to understand, not to fix.
Making space for real conversations instead of transactional ones.
Even a simple “Hey, how’s your energy today?” can shift the entire trajectory of someone’s afternoon.
You have no idea how that simple question can mean the world to someone as just the right moment.
2. Be the emotional temperature setter, not the thermometer
Leaders don’t absorb the stress of the season. They steady the room.
Your tone becomes your team’s tone.
Your sense of calm becomes their calm.
Your clarity becomes their clarity.
Your belief becomes their belief.
You don’t need to pretend everything is easy. You just need to model what grounded looks like when things get busy. When leaders regulate their own pace, their own mindset, their own reactions, teams feel safer. And safety unlocks performance.
3. Give your team direction, encouragement & permission
As the calendar ticks down, your team needs three things from you:
Direction
Remind them what matters most right now.
End-of-year momentum comes from clarity, not chaos.
Dont think that they are mind readers. In fact, let them off at this guessing. Give them the gift of reminding them the direction you are all rowing the boat.
Encouragement
Call out their effort.
Highlight the wins they’ve forgotten about.
Tell them what you see in them that they may not see in themselves.
Your voice becomes the internal voice they carry into the final stretch.
Be their BIGGEST cheerleader! Your voice should be the loudest for them over the finish line of the year.
Permission
Permission to rest. To ask for help. To say, “I need clarity.”
To not have every answer.
To focus on what truly moves the needle.
Healthy teams don’t burn out at the finish line. They finish aligned and holding a massive list of lessons learned.
4. Celebrate the humans. Metrics come second.
Before the year ends, look your people in the eye (or screen) and tell them what they meant to the organization this year.
Don’t wait for the holiday party after a beverage or two.
Don’t wait for the performance review.
Say it now.
Tell them:
“This project doesn’t exist without you.”
“Your consistency made a difference.”
“I see your growth.”
“You made this year better for all of us.”
Recognition is not fluff. Its rocket fuel for next year.
5. Lead with hope into the New Year
Your team will remember how you made them feel at the end of this year far more than anything else. When you show up grounded, gracious, and grateful, you’re telling them: We are in this together. (One of my personal and favorite battle cries of all time!) What we’re building matters. And we’ll enter the new year not exhausted, but empowered.
This is leadership! Not the loudest voice, longest hours, or perfect plan. That is the myth of leadership. Leadership is the energy that lifts the room, the clarity that focuses the work, and the humanity that holds people together during the busiest season of the year. So as you close out these final weeks, remember this:
Your team will go as you go.
Slow down. Lead with heart. Lead with energy that strengthens. Smile often. Show gratitude. Look for the magic.
And KFG (Keep Freaking Going)!
I’m Krista Ryan
My job is to help you learn a little, laugh a lot, and get clear on action steps for your success.
It may have taken a life changing event to shake me awake and decide I no longer wanted to live a comfortable life… I wanted to embrace the discomfort and live a life of courage and intention.
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