Leaders, your calm is contagious, and so is your panic

Leaders, your calm is contagious… and your panic is too (and yes, I’ll be repeating that!).

Pro Tip: In the End-of-Year Panic Olympics: Leaders, Stop Entering!!

Every year, as Q4 rolls in, leaders all over suddenly lose their grip on reality. Seriously, when you step back and know what to look for, it’s weird to watch. The calendar flips to September and it’s as if the sky is falling.

Suddenly, everything feels urgent. Projects that have been sitting comfortably for months are suddenly “must-do’s”… not just now, but as if they should’ve been done yesterday.

Half-baked initiatives get tossed at teams like flaming torches.

And the typical leadership battle-cry? “We can still get it all done before the holidays!”

Sure… And Santa’s bringing a new CRM too.

Again, leaders, your calm is contagious. But your panic is too.

Let’s be clear: chaos in the last quarter isn’t leadership, it’s theater.

Bad theater.

The kind where everyone is overacting and nobody knows their lines. You don’t get credit for pushing your team into a panic sprint just to look “driven.”

That’s not strategy, that’s desperation.

Here’s what actual leadership looks like in Q4: you stay calm.

You examine what’s truly vital. You cut the noise.

You set goals that can realistically be achieved with the time and energy left in the year. And then, you support your people in closing strong without turning the last stretch into a circus.

Ask yourself this month:

• What will actually move the business before year’s end?
• What deserves the team’s energy and what belongs on next year’s slate?
• How do I keep my people engaged instead of drained?

Leaders, your job is to resist the temptation to “panic react.”

Because your panic is contagious.
And so is your calm.

The way you approach these final months sets the tone for your entire organization. Anyone can stir up chaos.

The real test of leadership is keeping your people steady when everyone else is losing their heads.

So close the year with focus, not frenzy. Your team, and your results, will thank you.

For one last time; leaders, your calm is contagious. Your panic is too.