Year-End Leadership: How to Recharge Without Checking Out

Leaders face a unique December challenge:

You need rest, but you also need to keep your team’s standards high.

Checking out completely creates January chaos. Not resting creates resentment, burnout, and sloppy decision-making.

Here’s the middle path:

1. Clarify what matters most right now

Your team needs direction. Set three priorities for the final stretch of the year and make everything else optional.

2. Communicate the bandwidth plan

Let people know:

• when you’re available,

• when you aren’t, and

• who handles what in your absence.

Predictability beats round-the-clock access.

3. Model “disciplined rest”

This means you:

• actually take time off (admittedly this is a tough one for me),

• don’t hover online,

• and come back sharper.

People follow the standards you set, not the speeches you give.

4. Schedule your January launch week before December ends

A predictable January protects you from starting the new year in a fog.

5. Celebrate the wins

Even the gritty ones.

Your team remembers how the year felt more than how it looked on a spreadsheet.

Great leaders close the year with presence, clarity, and controlled rest.

You don’t check out, but you don’t grind yourself into the ground either.

Helping you Thrive,

Judy

Founder, Selby Strategies

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