The year-end crunch: How comms leaders can wrap up the year without unraveling

Mary Olson-Menzel is the founder and CEO of MVP Executive Development and co-founder of Spark Insight Coaching. Michelle Powers is a fractional chief of staff.

As the Thanksgiving gratitude subsides, the holiday rush begins. Holiday wishes, invitations and requests start to fill your already full inbox. And right on cue: the year-end crunch has officially begun.

For communications leaders, this season can feel like trying to wrap a dozen presents with one hand tied behind your back, all while managing the chaos of year-end for your department. This may include last-minute priority shifts, executive “urgent” requests, content deadlines that magically appear and the annual flood of “we just need ONE more thing before the holidays…” emails.

Bah, humbug, you might be saying to yourself at this point!

Yet here’s the good news:

You can finish the year strong with your sanity, humor and leadership presence intact. Doing so requires clarity, intentionality and the ability to set boundaries that don’t feel like brick walls to others around you (a true comms superpower).

Below is your year-end roadmap.

What comms leaders can focus on between now and December 31:

1. Audit your communications priorities: Before diving headfirst into requests, take stock of what must be done versus what’s simply “nice to have.”
   Ask yourself:
   ● What absolutely has to be done before December 31?
   ● What can realistically move to Q1?
   ● What are we doing out of habit that no longer serves the business?

This is also a great moment to gently reset expectations with stakeholders to ensure the sanity of you and your team.

2. Strengthen year-end messaging from leadership: Year-end is prime time for executive messages, reflections and forecasts.
   You can use this to:
   ● Ensure the leader’s tone and clarity are an authentic reflection of their voice.
   ● Showcase communications as an indispensable partner.
   ● Position yourself as a strategic advisor to the C-suite.

You are shaping the tone of the organization going into the new year.

3. Tell the story of the year: if comms doesn’t highlight the wins, who will?
   (And no, “we were too busy to celebrate” is not an acceptable Q4 mantra.)
   This is your moment to:
   ● Recap the year’s major milestones and big wins.
   ● Bring data to life through strategic storytelling.
   ● Spotlight your team’s impact and achievements.

This builds your credibility, reinforces value and sets a compelling foundation for next year’s priorities.

4. Reset, recharge and set the stage for January: Your future self will thank you for even ONE focused hour of January prep:
   ● Identify early 2026 priorities.
   ● Note what workflows or approvals can always be enhanced or improved.
   ● Block “thinking time” on your January calendar before it fills with meetings.

Consider it the equivalent of prepping your coffee maker the night before: “future you” will be delighted (and caffeinated).

Finish strong without burning out
The end of the year will always come with a certain amount of chaos: the joyful kind, the stressful kind and the “how is it the holidays already?” kind.

But for communications leaders, it also brings an extraordinary opportunity: you get to shape the narrative of how this year ends and how the next one begins. When you prioritize clarity, celebrate wins and lead with humor and presence, you close the year with credibility, trust and visibility.

So take a deep breath. Eat a holiday cookie. Take photos of the dog dejectedly wearing his Santa-themed sweater. Laugh at the absurdity where you can. Let your voice, values and leadership shine through the end-of-year noise. And enjoy the feeling of a job well done!