Leadership Isn’t Seasonal, but Energy Can Be

Leadership needs to be adapted to all seasons. It doesn’t soften because the news is relentless, or because markets wobble, or because the world feels heavier than it did a year ago. The role of a leader remains constant. But energy, human energy, can be seasonal.

Right now, some leaders are noticing a subtle but unmistakable shift. Teams are slower to respond. Meetings feel heavier. Motivation dips more quickly. People seem more tired, more distracted, more fragile. This isn’t a performance issue. It’s a context issue.

The combination of darker days, ongoing political tension, economic uncertainty, and a steady stream of global crises has created an emotional climate that leaders can’t afford to ignore. The weather may be temporary, but the weight people are carrying is cumulative.

Leadership today requires more vigilance, not more urgency.

Most people are remarkably good at “keeping going.” They show up, meet deadlines, join calls, and say they’re fine. But beneath the surface, many are running low on emotional and cognitive bandwidth.

Uncertainty taxes the nervous system. When people don’t know what’s coming - financially, politically, socially - their brains stay in a low-level state of alert. Add shorter days, less sunlight, and fewer opportunities to recharge, and you get a workforce that’s technically present but quietly depleted.

As leaders, we can often miss this because the signals are subtle:

• Increased irritability or withdrawal

• Lower tolerance for ambiguity

• Slower decision-making

• Less creative thinking

• A rise in “small” mistakes

These aren’t character flaws. They’re human responses to prolonged pressure.

The most effective leaders right now aren’t asking, “How do I get more out of my people?”
They’re asking, “What do my people need to keep going?”

Effective leaders don’t change their values with the seasons. But they do adjust their approach.

In high-energy periods, leadership can be expansive: bold vision, big goals, rapid change. In heavier seasons, leadership needs to be steadier, clearer, and more human.

This doesn’t mean lowering standards or avoiding accountability. It means recognising that energy is a finite resource and that leadership is, in part, the art of managing energy, not just outcomes.

Right now, vigilance looks like paying closer attention to the emotional temperature of your team, not just the metrics on a dashboard.

What Extra Vigilance Looks Like in Practice

Leading with clarity, not noise
When the world feels chaotic, ambiguity inside an organisation is exhausting. Leaders can reduce cognitive load by being crystal clear about priorities. What truly matters this quarter? What can wait? What doesn’t need to be perfect?

Clarity is calming. It helps people conserve energy instead of second-guessing where to focus.

Normalising honest conversations about capacity
In heavy seasons, people often push themselves harder out of fear. Fear of being seen as replaceable or disengaged. Leaders set the tone by making capacity a legitimate topic of conversation.

Asking, “What’s feeling heavy right now?” or “What support would make this manageable?” can unlock conversations people didn’t realise they were allowed to have.

Watching for the quiet signals
Not everyone struggles out loud. Some of the most capable, conscientious team members are the ones most likely to silently overextend themselves.

Extra vigilance means noticing who has stopped contributing as much in meetings, who always says yes, who hasn’t taken time off, or who seems unusually flat. It’s not about surveillance, it’s about care.

Adjusting pace without losing direction
There’s a difference between slowing down and losing momentum. Leaders can maintain direction while easing unnecessary pressure, scheduling shorter meetings, fewer last-minute changes, more realistic timelines.

Sometimes the most productive thing a leader can do is remove friction rather than add motivation.

Modelling sustainable leadership
People watch their leaders closely in uncertain times. If leaders are constantly rushed, reactive, or visibly burned out, it sends a clear message: survival requires self-sacrifice.

Modelling boundaries, rest, and thoughtful decision-making gives others permission to do the same. It also builds long-term trust.

Leadership has always involved emotional labour, but in heavy seasons it becomes more pronounced. Leaders are often the emotional regulators of their teams - absorbing anxiety, offering reassurance, and creating a sense of stability when the external world feels anything but stable.

This isn’t about pretending everything is fine. In fact, false positivity erodes trust. It’s about being grounded enough to say, “This is hard and we’ll navigate it together.”

People don’t need leaders who have all the answers. They need leaders who can hold uncertainty without panic, acknowledge reality without despair, and keep pointing toward what’s still possible.

Moments like this reveal leadership more clearly than times of ease. When energy is high, almost any leadership style can appear effective. When energy is low, leadership quality becomes unmistakable.

Teams will remember:

• Who noticed when things felt heavy

• Who listened without rushing to fix

• Who protected focus and wellbeing

• Who treated people as humans, not just resources

This is where trust is built or lost.

Leadership development today isn’t just about strategy, influence, or performance. It’s about emotional intelligence, nervous-system awareness, and the ability to lead humans through prolonged uncertainty.

Leadership isn’t seasonal. Your responsibility doesn’t disappear when the days get darker or the headlines get heavier. But your approach must flex with the energy of the moment.

This season calls for leaders who are steady rather than forceful, attentive rather than urgent, human rather than heroic.

So the question isn’t, “How do we push through this?”, it’s “How do we lead in a way that helps people endure and eventually emerge stronger?”. Because when energy returns, as it always does, people will remember who helped them through the weight of the world, not who ignored it. And that memory shapes cultures long after the season has passed.