Urgency Vs. Senioritis: How To Support Your Team During Q4 And Set Everyone Up For Success

The end of a year tends to cause different reactions in people. 

For some, watching December 31st creep closer and closer creates a sense of urgency to get everything done. So many goals, so little time. 

But for others, senioritis sets in. The end of the year is a time to exhale and relax, which leads to a lull in work and motivation. 

As the leader of a team, you have to be aware of these different working dynamics within your company. If your team veers too far one way or the other—too anxious or too laid back—your business can become dysfunctional. But if you recognize the dynamics within your own team, you can foster an environment that supports both types of people. 

Here’s how to manage it, and make sure Q4 is as productive as possible:

People who develop a sense of urgency need help managing anxiety.

A sense of urgency is great—until it turns into real anxiety that places unnecessary pressure on yourself and the people around you. If you're like me, you naturally start to think, “Wow, we still have so many goals to hit and not enough time.” 

But a lot of that anxiety comes from a surplus of choices. When people are confronted with a plethora of options and a limited amount of time, making the “right” choice feels incredibly important and increasingly difficult.

A good way to counter that anxiety for your team is to make sure your objectives and key results for Q4 are clear to everyone. Update what you want to accomplish based on what you can realistically achieve by the end of the year, and communicate that agenda to across the company. Then, work backward to set micro-goals each team and each individual needs to achieve week-by-week. 

By setting clear objectives for your team, you reduce the sense of an overwhelming number of to-dos—and the ensuing anxiety.

For leadership, one way to deal with the anxiety of finishing a year strong is to set aside time to plan for both the next 100 days and the next year. At Edvo, my co-founders and I typically take a weeklong retreat to do a retrospective on the past year and plan for the next. We’ll figure out what we can still accomplish in the final quarter and set both our reach goals and must-haves for the upcoming year. 

It’s a good way of taking a step back and recognizing that even though it’s the end of the year, it isn’t the end of days. Come January 1st, we’ll have an entirely new year to work with. 

People with senioritis may need help with accountability.

I want to be clear that “senioritis” is a natural psychological response for a lot of people—even incredibly talented ones. Just because someone goes into a lull near the end of the year doesn’t mean they’re lacking skill.

Often, senioritis develops because the office gets a little lonely during the holidays. Some people are out on vacation, while others may be working remotely. If one or two people are holding down the office by themselves, it’s natural for them to feel they’re the only ones working—and that makes it difficult to stay motivated. 

Tackling senioritis as a leader comes down to meticulous communication and accountability. You don’t need to hold anyone’s feet to the fire, but you should establish mechanisms to hold your team accountable. For one thing, let the team know you want everyone to make a conscious effort to check in with each other, be active on Slack, and keep communication from falling by the wayside during the holidays. It’s very easy for people to lose motivation around this time of year if they feel isolated from their coworkers. 

You can also try instituting a company-wide standup where everyone talks about what they’re working on, what they’re struggling with, and what they accomplished last week. Hearing about other team members’ progress can be motivating. And knowing they’ll have to talk about what they’re working on is often the nudge people need to meet those weekly goals, rather than procrastinate. 

Everyone reacts a little differently to the end of the year. Some look ahead to a fresh start, while others feel the urgency of finishing strong. You’re going to encounter both reactions in your company, so foster an environment that supports both. As long as you’re prepared, there’s no reason you can’t knock out your Q4 goals—and still have time to plan for next year.