The Final Push: How to Lead Your Team Through the Last Quarter of the Year

Last week I sat down with my team. It wasn’t another spreadsheet session. It wasn’t another pipeline review. It was one of those conversations where you strip everything down and ask the only question that matters: How are we going to finish this year?

We looked at each other and admitted the truth. It’s been a long road. Nine months of pushing, creating, fixing, serving. Nine months of highs and lows. And as I looked around the table, I could see it. The shoulders a little heavier. The smiles a little slower. The bandwidth stretched.

I said to them what I will say to you now. This last quarter is not about crawling to December and praying for rest. It is about resetting the fire. It is about proving to ourselves that we can close strong, not just for the sake of the numbers, but for the sake of our culture, our resilience, and our growth. Because the way we finish these ninety days will echo through the next three hundred and sixty-five.

Why Q4 Feels So Heavy

Tell me if this sounds familiar. By September, energy has dipped. Meetings that once sparked ideas now drag. People show up, but they are not fully present. Some are already counting the days to December leave.

Gallup calls it disengagement. I call it exhaustion. Their 2024 report showed that less than one in four employees worldwide describe themselves as engaged. That means three out of four are simply showing up. Think about that. Three out of four of your people might be there in body, but not in spirit.

And here’s the danger. When exhaustion collides with pressure, mistakes multiply. Deadlines slip. Innovation stalls. Culture frays.

If you’re a leader, you can’t ignore this. Because your people are not just carrying tasks. They’re carrying the weight of the year. And right now, they need you more than ever.

The Paradox of AI and Trust

As if fatigue wasn’t enough, this year comes with a new kind of pressure. Artificial Intelligence.

Every boardroom I step into is buzzing about AI. Gartner says over 80 percent of executives are investing in it. The World Economic Forum calls it the great disruptor of our decade.

But here’s the paradox. While leaders celebrate AI’s potential, employees fear its presence. The Edelman Trust Barometer shows CEO trust levels dropping, and much of that has to do with technology. People wonder: Is this tool here to help me, or is it here to replace me?

This is what I call the Trust–AI Paradox. Leaders see a solution. Teams feel a threat. If you roll out AI in Q4 without clarity, without empathy, you don’t boost performance. You break trust.

McKinsey proved it in their 2023 research. Companies that integrate AI with cultural support are twice as likely to see results. Twice. Why? Because tools don’t build momentum. Trust does.

So if you are stepping into the last quarter thinking AI will save you, let me challenge you. AI is not the fire. You are. Culture is. Trust is.

The Ninety-Day Reset

This is what I told my team. Don’t think of Q4 as a slow crawl to the finish. Think of it as a sprint. Ninety days of focus.

Why ninety? Because ninety days is long enough to make progress, yet short enough to keep clarity. It is manageable. It is urgent. It creates rhythm.

Harvard Business Review has written about this. Companies that work in ninety-day cycles are far more likely to hit long-term goals and it makes sense. An annual target in September feels impossible but a ninety-day target? That feels doable. That feels energising.

So the reset is this: Q4 is not a burden. Q4 is a button. Press it, and you shift from fatigue to focus.

Whatever It Takes

Here’s the truth. A strategy means nothing without a mindset.

I live by the words Whatever It Takes. Not as a slogan, but as a way of being. It’s not about reckless hustle. It’s about resilience. It’s about courage when you’re tired. It’s about commitment when it’s easier to quit.

When I guide firewalking, I see it every time. People stand at the edge of the coals. Their body screams no. They’re afraid. They’re uncertain but then they take a step. Not because the fire changed but because they decided.

That is leadership in Q4. The fire hasn’t changed. The targets are still there. The fatigue is still real but the decision to step, to finish strong, to inspire your people that decision changes everything.

What Leaders Must Do in Q4

So let’s get practical. What should leaders actually do in these last ninety days?

Start with energy. Ask yourself, what is draining my people right now? Is it endless meetings? Is it unclear priorities? Is it the sense that we’re just grinding without meaning? Because if you don’t manage energy, you lose performance. Think like an athlete. No one can sprint for twelve months. They need cycles. Sprint. Breathe. Reset. Then sprint again.

Next is recognition. I’ve seen leaders wait until December to celebrate. Too late. By then, the tank is empty. Recognition must be weekly. Daily, if possible. Not fake praise, but real acknowledgment. Tell your people, “I see you. I see the effort, not just the outcome. I see the resilience you’re showing.” Recognition is not a bonus. It’s oxygen.

Then comes visibility. This is not the quarter to hide in your office, buried in reports. This is the quarter to be seen. Presence is leadership. Walk the floor. Join the call. Ask questions that show you care, not just about performance, but about people. Because when leaders are visible, teams feel carried, not abandoned.

Finally, belonging. Fatigue isolates. People feel like they’re just individuals pushing tasks. Your job is to rebuild the tribe. Create rituals. Share stories. Remind them of the bigger mission because people will endure pressure if they believe they’re part of something meaningful.

Resilience is the Advantage

For years, resilience was treated as a soft skill. Now it’s a boardroom requirement. The European Union has written resilience into law with regulations like DORA. Boards are being asked not just if their systems can withstand shocks, but if their people can.

This is where South African leaders have an edge. We know resilience. We live it. Load shedding. Political shifts. Economic storms. We’ve learned how to adapt when the ground shakes but here’s the difference. Survival is not enough. Thriving requires resilience as a system, not just a story.

The companies that will scale in 2026 are the ones that practice resilience like a muscle. They build recovery into their culture. They create safety without comfort. They treat pressure not as something to fear, but as something to train for.

Closing the Year with Fire

So here we are. September. The fire of the last quarter is in front of you.

You can look at it and see a burden. Or you can see a chance. You can limp toward December, or you can sprint. You can coast, or you can choose courage.

Let me ask you this: when your people look back on this year, what story will they tell about you? Did you hide when they were tired? Did you push without care? Or did you lead them through fire with clarity, compassion, and courage? Because the way you finish these ninety days will shape how you start the 365.

The fire is here. Step into it. Finish strong. Begin stronger.