For many of us, the end of the year brings heightened stress and emotion. In this more volatile context, leaders would be wise to adjust their expectations, manage the bandwidth for extra work and difficult conversations, and lead with care.

Let’s take a moment to reflect on what’s happening during this time of year. December and early January combine several factors that can significantly increase stress:

• End-of-year events for family members add to the workload and overall tiredness.
   
• Cultural and religious traditions, such as Christmas, often focus on family, which can bring grief and sadness when loved ones are no longer present or when family dynamics fall short of the idealised images seen on social media and in advertising.
   
• These events can also heighten tensions around cultural and religious differences, sometimes triggering unhelpful stereotypes or stereotype-based thinking.
   
• The start of the summer holiday period creates additional strain on workforce planning, leave, and cover arrangements.
   
• Hotter weather further adds stress to individuals and to health services as demand often increases.

Part of effective leadership during this period is maintaining self-awareness about how these factors may be influencing us, our teams, and our interactions. Engaging in extra self-care and self-regulation is often essential.
 

What can leaders do to navigate this period effectively?

Leaders need to recognise the elevated stress, emotions, and exhaustion that December and January bring, and adjust expectations and actions accordingly. It’s a time when cognitive and emotional limits can be reached quickly, leading to miscommunication, heightened tensions, and unproductive or conflictual conversations. To help navigate this challenging period, consider these three steps:

1. Check in on yourself and your team

• Take a moment to acknowledge the extra demands everyone is facing and use that perspective to reassess expectations and capacity.
   
• Reflect on the unique challenges of this time of year (outlined above) and consider how they may be affecting individual team members.
   

2. Set realistic expectations for the coming weeks

• Be realistic about what can be achieved during this period. Extra events, reduced workforce capacity, and heightened stress mean now is not the time to push for additional effort or unrealistic outcomes.
   
• Avoid starting new projects or initiatives, and postpone non-urgent work or meetings if appropriate.
   
• Focus on reflecting and celebrating what has been accomplished this year, even if some targets weren’t fully met. (Often, timelines are overly ambitious to begin with.)
   

3. Lead with care – avoid pushing through sensitive issues

• If possible, delay difficult conversations until after the holiday period.
   
• Communicate openly with your team about adjusted deadlines or postponed work where needed.
   
• Use team gatherings (such as meetings or group emails) to reflect on achievements, express gratitude, and acknowledge everyone’s hard work.
   
• Offer flexibility in work arrangements where feasible to support family events, personal commitments, or holiday childcare needs.

By recognising the challenges of this period and leading with care and flexibility, you can help create a more supportive environment for your team—and for yourself—during these demanding weeks.

Dr Anna Clark
 

The goal of these short 'Leadership Insights' is to share key concepts and ideas on effective leadership, along with practical tips for applying them in your own context. Look for a new insight every two weeks in the Check-up.

Dr Anna Clark is AMAVs Leadership consultant, coach and educator, currently offering individual coaching for doctors and directing the AMA’s professional development programs in leadership, the Emerging Leader Program and Middle Leader Program.

If you are navigating a leadership challenge and would like to speak with one of our leadership coaches, schedule a Leader Check-In, an exclusive benefit of membership for AMA Victoria members.