Why the hardest part of December is rarely the work itself…
The week before Thanksgiving, I started a new role and walked straight into a company rebrand, a new name, and a global merger already in motion. The CEO fired the agency and hired me, but kept the same January 4 launch date. I didn’t push back.
Instead, I worked nights, weekends, and straight through the holidays. I skipped decorating for Christmas and barely celebrated with my family because I hardly had time to breathe. I was exhausted, miserable, and completely stressed out.
I wanted to make a great impression, to prove myself, but the pressure was so intense and the deadline so unrealistic that I convinced myself the launch would be a disaster. The stress changed the story in my head long before anything actually went wrong.
There is a particular kind of pressure that shows up at the end of the year.
It is quiet at first.
Then it grows under the surface while everyone keeps pretending things are normal.
Workloads spike.
Expectations tighten.
People start absorbing more than they can comfortably carry.
And the numbers back it.
Nearly half of Americans feel stressed at least once a week.
One in six say they feel stressed every day.
Another study shows that 90% of employees say work is their primary source of stress, driven by unrealistic expectations, unbalanced workloads, and constant deadlines.
December only magnifies this.
Teams are trying to close out goals.
Leaders are trying to stretch the final bit of capacity.
People are trying to balance work, family, and the emotional weight the holidays always bring, even if no one says it out loud.
But pressure itself is not the real problem.
The way people interpret it is.
Research published in the Academy of Management showed a clear difference.
People perform worse when they see pressure as a threat.
They perform significantly better when they view it as a challenge they can grow through.
This shift is not theoretical.
It is practical.
It is human.
And I have seen it in every team I have led.
Most people do not struggle because the work is too hard.
They struggle because stress changes the story in their heads.
Pressure convinces them they are not capable, not ready, or not allowed to ask for help.
Their confidence drops long before their performance does.
We had to launch a new product and completely rebrand our website in a very tight window. We were a small team, already stretched thin, and the pressure pushed everyone toward worst-case thinking.
So I focused on what I could control: calm, steady behavior. We assigned roles, met twice a week, and started every update by highlighting what was already working. That simple shift calmed people quickly. It reminded them they were capable and that the progress we were making was real.
We used humor, acknowledged the challenging moments without treating them as failures, and kept reminding people of what they were good at and what they had already accomplished. I also asked the broader leadership team to encourage my team directly. Feeling supported changed the entire energy.
In the end, it wasn’t speed or urgency that got us through. It was clarity, composure, and reminding people that one deadline didn’t define them.
Here is what I have learned about performing under pressure, especially during demanding seasons.
Start with what is working.
Under pressure, the brain jumps straight to worst-case thinking.
Bringing attention back to progress steadies people quickly.
Remember that one difficult moment is not a verdict.
A tense meeting, a mistake, or a tight deadline is part of being human at work.
It is not evidence of failure.
Your steadiness matters more than your strategy.
Teams take emotional cues from leaders long before they absorb a plan.
When you stay calm, they feel safe.
And when they feel safe, they perform better.
Reconnect people with their strengths.
Stress makes people forget what they already know how to do.
Anchoring them back to their capability changes how they carry the load.
Shift from today to the long view.
Pressure convinces you that everything depends on one moment. It does not.
Research shows performance improves when people connect their effort to long-term growth rather than short-term fear.
High-pressure seasons are not managed with urgency.
They are managed with clarity, steadiness, and support.
A few years ago, during the last quarter of the year, I was leading a major initiative that had started to go sideways. The pressure was getting to me, and I could feel myself drifting into worst-case thinking.
So I walked down the hall to a colleague I trusted. He worked in a completely different department, but he was steady, practical, and someone I could be direct with. I told him, “I think this whole thing is about to go off the rails.”
He laughed a little and said, “Okay, take a breath. This isn’t a disaster. Let’s walk through what’s going on.”
We talked for maybe 20 minutes, about what was working, what wasn’t, and what actually needed to happen next. There weren’t any big breakthroughs, but my stress dropped almost immediately. I walked out of his office feeling like I could think straight instead of spiraling.
Grateful you’re here. Let’s keep the conversation going!
Source
Forbes (November 2025)
5 Ways To Perform Better Under Pressure And Reduce Stress
By Tracy Brower, PhD
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