The final week of the year carries a strange energy for leaders. Calendars thin out, inboxes slow down, and conversations shift toward what comes next. Yet beneath the surface, many leaders feel an unnamed tension. Projects remain partially complete. Conversations linger unresolved. Decisions were deferred with the promise of “next year”. Leadership moves forward, but something feels unfinished.
That feeling is not fatigue. It is unfinished leadership.
In my work with senior executives, I have noticed a consistent pattern: organisations struggle less from lack of strategy than from lack of closure. Leaders are trained to start initiatives, launch priorities, and set bold directions. Few are taught how to close cycles well. And what leaders fail to close, teams continue to carry mentally, emotionally, and operationally into the future.
Last week, we examined ownership and accountability as the engine of execution. This week, we confront what happens when accountability exists, but closure does not. Without intentional closure, even accountable teams accumulate drag. Momentum slows. Trust frays quietly. And the new year begins burdened by the unfinished business of the old one.
Research in organisational psychology shows that incomplete tasks occupy cognitive space long after activity has stopped. This phenomenon, known as the Zeigarnik effect, explains why unresolved work drains focus and increases stress. In leadership contexts, this manifests as low-grade anxiety, diminished engagement, and a sense that progress never quite feels complete. Teams may still perform, but they do so while carrying invisible weight.
Great leaders understand that closure is not about wrapping everything up neatly. It is about acknowledgement, learning, and intentional transition. Closure gives meaning to effort and clarity to outcomes. It tells teams that their work mattered enough to be concluded thoughtfully, not abandoned quietly.
Consider a regional banking executive who inherited a culture of constant initiatives and few conclusions. New priorities arrived quarterly, but old ones were rarely revisited. Over time, employees stopped fully committing, assuming today’s focus would be replaced tomorrow. The leader’s intervention was simple but profound. At the end of each quarter, he held conversations centred on three questions: What did we commit to? What did we actually deliver? What did we learn? The result was not perfection, but credibility. People reengaged because leadership demonstrated respect for closure.
Closure also requires emotional intelligence. Leaders often avoid it because it forces reflection on what did not work. Yet unresolved failures linger longer than acknowledged ones. When leaders name missteps without blame, teams release shame and reclaim trust. Closure does not weaken authority; it strengthens it.
As the year closes, many leaders rush toward the future without honouring the past. But leadership without reflection becomes repetition. The same problems reappear under new names. The same dynamics resurface in different meetings. Closure interrupts this cycle. It transforms experience into insight.
Effective closure has three quiet dimensions. It clarifies what is complete and what is intentionally unfinished. It captures lessons without assigning guilt. And it resets expectations, so teams do not carry outdated assumptions into new commitments. When leaders practise closure consistently, teams experience psychological safety and renewed focus.
This week offers a rare leadership opportunity. The calendar itself invites pause, review, and intentional transition. Rather than filling the space with planning alone, wise leaders balance preparation with reflection. They recognise that how the year ends shapes how the next one begins.
As you consider your leadership in these final days, sit with these questions.
What commitment did we make this year that deserves explicit closure, even if the outcome was imperfect?
What lesson are we at risk of losing if we move on too quickly?
What unresolved conversation or expectation might quietly undermine next year’s momentum?
Closure is not about dwelling on the past. It is about clearing the path forward. Teams that experience closure enter the new year lighter, clearer, and more willing to commit again.
One executive summarised it powerfully: “My team didn’t need a better strategy. They needed to know that the year meant something.” That sense of meaning does not emerge automatically. It is created by leaders who take the time to close well.
Leadership is not only measured by what you start but by what you finish, honour, and release. Incomplete leadership creates lingering noise. Intentional closure restores clarity.
As this year draws to a close, your leadership task is not to accelerate but to complete. To name what was achieved. To acknowledge what was learnt. To release what no longer serves the organisation. And to carry forward only what deserves to endure.
Before this year ends, schedule one closing conversation with your team. Ask three simple questions: What are we proud of? What did this year teach us? What are we intentionally leaving behind? Listen carefully. Close the chapter with integrity. Then step into the new year unburdened, aligned, and ready to lead with renewed intention.
Leadership that closes well begins again with strength.
Leaders who intentionally close commitments, conversations, and expectations remove the invisible tax of unfinished work, freeing their teams from carrying yesterday’s weight into tomorrow’s decisions, and that clarity is often the difference between starting the new year busy and starting it effectively.
About the author:
Dr Toye Sobande is a strategic leadership expert, executive coach, lawyer, public speaker, and award-winning author. He is the CEO of Stephens Leadership Consultancy LLC, a strategy and management consulting firm offering creative insights and solutions to businesses and leaders. Email: [email protected]
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