The way you end one thing shapes the way you begin the next.
This is a consistent blind spot that I see in most leaders today. They think momentum and success come from plowing ahead – close the books, complete the project, hit the targets. But speed without conscious completion doesn’t ensure a safe landing: It creates a slow leak in the fuel line.
That leak shows up most clearly in Q4. Carrying unresolved tensions, unspoken gratitudes, and unlearned lessons forward is like flying with a hidden fuel leak. You’re still moving, but you’ve compromised your journey. The plane may stay in the air for now, but it won’t have what it needs to reach the next destination whole.
And yet—year after year—leaders repeat the same move. They send their teams off with a logoed tote bag or a branded hoodie and call it a “thank you.” It’s easier to buy swag than to create space for reflection. But no gift will ever replace what people most want: to be seen, to be appreciated, and to be connected to the vision, the mission, and each other.
One leader I talked with recently said it this way when remembering her year-end experiences:
“I’ve been at companies that spent a fortune on year-end parties—fancy venues, open bars, expensive swag. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of us would fly in just to hear the same leaders we saw every day, only now on a stage.
The best year-end moments, though, were the simple ones. Small groups reflecting on the highs and lows, or appreciation circles where people named what they valued in themselves and each other. As a leader, my favorite gatherings were all about joy and play—we set up games to build trust, shared reflections and visions for the year ahead, and even once had a house band of teammates showing off their hidden musical skills.”
Humans are meaning-making creatures. We aren’t machines that can power down and restart. When you don’t complete consciously, part of you remains fragmented in your past. Completion is how we gather ourselves back together. It is how teams reclaim the energy they’ve lost across a year of turbulence. Without it, you are unconsciously committed to recreating your team’s same patterns all over again.
Conscious rituals—whether a half-day gathering, a virtual reflection, or a simple team circle—help us:
- Acknowledge reality (what worked, what didn’t).
- Celebrate wins and appreciate each other.
- Learn from the year’s patterns.
- Reset for the year ahead with clarity and alignment.
Most leaders don’t think about how to close the year until the holidays are staring them in the face. By then, energy is low and options are limited.
Completion doesn’t require complexity. It requires presence. Here are a few ways to land well with your team:
- Look back:What were the highlights? Lowlights?
- Team appreciations: Invite every voice to name what they appreciate about themselves and about others on the team.
- Looking ahead: What theme, intention, or experiment do we want to carry into 2026? What challenges do we anticipate in the next half?
- Learning as ritual: Uplevel your gathering—whether in person or virtual—by weaving in a learning practice. Some of my favorites include integrity, candor, or exploring each person’s zone of genius. This signals that learning is integral to leadership and helps teams embody conscious practices.
To land the plane is to honor the reality of what is. To consciously close what is incomplete. To refuel with gratitude and clarity so the journey ahead begins with a reservoir of trust and energy, not depletion.
So before you race into the new year, pause, don’t buy more reusable tote bags with company logos. Don’t just send out another generic survey. Don’t throw all your budget into an expensive holiday party. Design the moment. This is an invitation to come back to presence, to remember that we are not just operators of a business but human beings in relationship. The more leaders honor that truth, the more performance flourishes.
Land the plane. Because how you end this year will shape everything about how you begin the next.
