End of Year Detachment

Are your year-end priorities helping your team—or just adding to their stress?

As leaders, it’s our responsibility to set the tone for how the year closes and the new one begins. During the holidays, it’s vital to help your team feel like they can genuinely disconnect. Achieving this requires intentional planning, prioritization, and leading by example. Here’s how you can approach it:

1. Conduct an Eisenhower Matrix Audit

Take stock of your team’s current workload and categorize tasks:

• Urgent and Important: Focus here first—these must be completed before year-end.

• Important but Not Urgent: Schedule these for the new year.

• Urgent but Not Important: Delegate these where possible.

• Not Urgent, Not Important: Let these rest.

This audit not only reduces stress but also helps your team clearly see what’s truly essential.

2. Role Model Detachment

Show your team what it looks like to step away.

• Set a clear out-of-office message and stick to it.

• Avoid sending non-critical emails during the break—schedule them for after the holidays.

• Share your plan for disconnecting and invite others to do the same.

3. Celebrate Successes

Before everyone logs off, take time to acknowledge what’s been accomplished:

• Host a team meeting or send a thoughtful message highlighting key wins.

• Share metrics or stories that reflect their hard work and innovation.

For example, in my work developing cross-cultural design strategies with global brands, celebrating milestones was a key motivator for my teams, driving both morale and creativity.

4. Plan for the New Year

Give your team a clear roadmap for January:

• Identify top priorities for the first quarter, so the return to work feels focused, not overwhelming.

• Communicate any key changes or initiatives to ensure alignment.

• Build in a buffer week for reorientation before launching into major projects.

Thought leaders like Arianna Huffington have emphasized the importance of rest and renewal as foundational to innovation and productivity. Companies like LinkedIn even implement “shutdown weeks” to encourage genuine breaks.

By helping your team prioritize, celebrate, and recharge, you’re not just supporting their well-being—you’re strengthening your organization’s ability to innovate and thrive in the long term. What strategies have worked for you in helping your team disconnect for the holidays?