Well, we’ve made it to December. Now is when we start to see the dance that many leaders find themselves in this time of year. Half of you are already mentally in 2026, ready for green-lit projects to start, new budgets to get released, and embarking on the new Q1 goals – while the other half are frantically scrambling to finish out this year, cleaning up the still incomplete projects and ideas from the summer. Whichever camp you find yourself in, don’t let this get lost in the shuffle:

December isn’t just the transition month, it’s the last chance to demonstrate the kind of leader you actually are – not just the kind you talk about being.

The Completion Paradox

My 15 years as a flight paramedic taught me something that every athlete knows intuitively: championships aren't won in the first quarter. Watch any elite athlete or team, and you'll notice something—they train specifically for finishing strong. The quarterback practices the Hail Mary. The basketball team drills end-of-game scenarios. The swimmer builds their final sprint. Why? Because when fatigue sets in and pressure mounts, that's when the real competition begins.

The same principle shaped everything we did in emergency medicine. Our training focused relentlessly on maintaining excellence through the entire call—especially those final critical moments of patient handoff and documentation when adrenaline was fading and fatigue was real, attention to detail and acting with intention are paramount.

This is the paradox I see in leadership: The kickoff is easy to celebrate, but things get hard after that – teams change, budgets collapse, and attention to this new project wanes before it crosses the finish line. What I’ve found is the executives who treat completion like an elite athlete treats the fourth quarter are the ones who constantly deliver results. They understand that in any high-performance arena—whether it's the field, the ambulance, or the boardroom—how you finish is what actually goes on the scoreboard.

Think about your own leadership this year. How many initiatives did you launch with energy and optimism? Now, how many reached meaningful completion? If there's a gap between those numbers, you're not alone. But that gap is costing you more than you think.

Why We Struggle with Finishing

Let's be honest about why completion is so hard. It's not usually about resources or time. The real culprits are more subtle: 

The Dopamine of the New: Starting something new gives us a hit of dopamine to the brain when we start. Finishing requires pushing through the messy middle where that initial enthusiasm has worn off.

The Vulnerability of Commitment: When you complete something, it can be judged. When it stays in progress, it remains full of potential. People often avoid completing projects when they aren’t up to their standards.

The Myth of Perpetual Motion: Somewhere along the way, we've confused being busy with being effective. Having 20 initiatives in flight feels more impressive than having 5 completed ones.

But here's what I’ve experienced: in critical situations, the wrong interventions can be worse than no intervention at all. The same is true in leadership.

The Trust Account

Every incomplete initiative, every promise not kept, and every scraped project make a withdrawal from what I call your "trust account" with your team. They may not say it directly, but they're keeping score. When you announce the next big initiative, they're not thinking about its potential. They're thinking about the last three that fizzled out. 

This pattern shows up in every organization I've worked with. Teams develop a wait-and-see approach to new announcements. The enthusiasm in the room becomes performative rather than genuine. People nod along but don't fully invest because experience has taught them that this too shall pass.

The cost? Your best people stop bringing their full creativity and commitment to new initiatives. They hedge their bets, keeping one foot out the door. Not because they don't care, but because they've learned to protect themselves from the disappointment of another abandoned project.

Some leaders might be wise enough to see it, but many have a blind spot – they see what they want to see. They mistake compliance for agreeance, action for buy-in. Meanwhile, the organization develops initiative fatigue—a collective exhaustion, not from doing too much but from starting too much, and finishing too little.

The Art of Strategic Abandonment

Completion doesn't always mean pushing everything through to the original vision. Sometimes the most powerful act of leadership is officially closing something down.

Peter Drucker called this "systematic abandonment." It's the discipline of regularly reviewing your initiatives and making conscious decisions about what to stop. The key is making it systematic and transparent, not just letting things quietly fade away.

When you need to abandon an initiative:

• Call it out explicitly
• Share what you learned
• Explain how priorities have shifted
• Thank those who contributed

This transforms potential failure into organizational learning and shows your team that you make thoughtful decisions rather than simply losing interest.

December's Hidden Advantage

While your competitors are coasting toward the holidays, December offers a unique opportunity. With many external pressures reduced and a natural deadline approaching, it's the perfect time to close loops.

But it requires being strategic. You can't complete everything, so the question becomes: what would create the most value if completed?

Making December Count

Instead of another audit or assessment (because who needs one more framework in December?), let's get real about what matters. You already know what's unfinished. It's taking up mental real estate every time you look at your project list or run into that team member who's waiting for direction.

The question isn't what's incomplete—it's what incompletion is costing you.

Take 20 minutes this week. Not to make another list, but to have an honest conversation with yourself:

• Which unfinished initiatives are actively draining energy from your team?
• What would completing even one meaningful project signal to your organization?
• If you could only finish three things before year-end, which ones would actually matter in February?

This isn't about perfectionism or checking boxes. It's about integrity. When you say something matters, does your follow-through prove it? When you ask your team to invest their energy, do you honor that investment by seeing things through?

The Discipline of Choosing

Here's what I've learned: completion isn't about superhuman effort in December. It's about making peace with reality. You can't finish everything, so what deserves your focus?

Some things need to be completed because they're genuinely valuable. Others need to be officially closed because they're zombies—not dead, not alive, just shambling along consuming resources. And some things? They need to be redefined so that "done" becomes achievable rather than aspirational.

The leaders who finish strong don't try to complete everything. They choose. They communicate. They follow through on the choices they make.

Your IAP Framework for Completion

Let's make this practical with specific Inquiries, Actions, and Practices:

Inquiries for Deep Reflection:

1. What story am I telling myself about why things remain incomplete? Is it really about resources, or is it about my relationship with commitment?
2. What would change if my team knew that when I commit to something, it will be completed? How would that shift impact our culture? What capabilities would I need to strengthen?

Actions for Immediate Implementation:

1. Block 90 minutes this week for a completion conversation with yourself. Which 2-3 unfinished initiatives are genuinely worth completing by December 31st? Not the easiest ones—the ones that matter. Write down what "done" looks like for each.
2. Pick one zombie initiative to officially close. You know the one—it's been "in progress" for months but everyone knows it's dead. Call a brief meeting, acknowledge what was learned, thank those who contributed, and formally close it. Notice how much energy this frees up.

Practices for Sustained Success:

Daily Completion: At the end of each workday, set a timer for 7 minutes. During those seven minutes:

1. Review your calendar and task list for anything that is still waiting on you (email replies, decisions, follow-ups, commitments).
2. Choose one micro-completion you can finish immediately (a two-minute email, a confirmation, a quick note, a small decision).
3. Complete it before the timer ends.

Weekly Completion: Every Friday at 2:00 p.m., block 15 minutes.

1. Make a list of every verbal or informal promise you made this week (e.g., “I’ll get that to you,” “Let me follow up,” “I’ll think about it”).
2. Choose one promise you will bring back into alignment before the end of the day.
• Either complete it,
• Or communicate honestly about where it stands

The Compound Effect of Completion

Here's what happens when you master the discipline of completion: You stop needing January to feel like a fresh start. Every completion creates its own momentum. Every finished project clears mental and organizational space for what's next.

More importantly, you model something essential for your team. In a world of perpetual motion and constant pivots, you show them that commitment still matters. That finishing what you start is not old-fashioned—it's revolutionary.

Your December Declaration

As we move through December, I challenge you to make a different choice than most leaders. Instead of coasting toward the holidays or frantically planning for next year, commit to completion.

Choose one thing—just one—that you'll see through to the end before this year closes. Not because it's easy, but because how you finish this year will set the tone for how you lead next year. 

December isn't too late. In fact, it might be exactly the right time to show yourself and your team what you're capable of when you commit to completion.

What will you finish before this year ends?

Alex Bednar is an Executive Coach specializing in Leadership Development. Connect with Alex at www.AndreaBednar.com for more insights on conscious leadership and operational excellence.