While some wind down for Christmas, many of us are attempting to balance the last-minute chaos of the golden quarter alongside the festivities. In the season of excess, as we attempt to run to the finish line, dodging colds and flus on the way, it is important we don’t burn out our teams.

Christmas can be a complex and expensive time of year. This extra pressure combined with an industry in flux makes it all the important to check with one another. Making sure people can enjoy a well-deserved break when it comes without the non-stop Sunday scaries looming should be a business priority.. 

So as this challenging year draws to a close, we asked industry leaders: should the marketing industry be doing more to support leaders navigate seasonal overwhelm?

The festive season is still a highlight but for marketers, it’s also the ‘golden quarter.’ A record £12 billion will be spent on advertising alone. We’re juggling more formats than ever, video on demand, social, nano-second metrics and attention spans of eight seconds. Can we really step away from the treadmill of demand and response?

The truth: it’s tough. NABs reports a 66% rise in support requests over three years, with festive peaks. IPA leadership calls out constant tech and channel changes adding pressure. Overwhelm is real.

So, what can we do? As marketing leaders, we need to walk the talk. Those late-night emails and green Teams lights? They set the tone. Remind your teams about resources like EAPs (employee assistance programmes) and if you’ve used them, share the impact. They’re brilliant and underused.

A friend recently reminded me of a German saying: ‘A fish smells from the top.’ A nudge for me to check my own role modelling. Another friend keeps me grounded: ‘We’re proud of our work, sure but we’re not operating on babies.’ Perspective matters.

So, this season, let’s lead with empathy, not exhaustion. And maybe, just maybe, put the phone down during dinner. Have a good one.

The final quarter has always been intense for our industry. Client Christmas drinks, work parties, board events, annual reviews and next year’s planning all collide while campaigns still need to be delivered. Add the reality of preparing for Christmas at home, navigating busy shops and trying to protect time with family, and it becomes a pressure cooker that many leaders silently push through.

What has shifted is the volume. We have well and truly shaken off the post-pandemic event anxiety, and the appetite for IRL connection is back with a real force. Marketing teams are running everything from intimate breakfasts to panel lunches and senior roundtables, all designed to keep genuine relationships moving and support business development.

But just as we build campaigns rooted in personas and communities, we need to apply that same understanding internally. Leaders are not one homogeneous group. Some thrive in high-energy rooms; others prefer smaller, more considered settings. Supporting them means creating environments where different personalities can participate comfortably, not simply endure the season.

The real benefit comes in January. When teams enter the new year well planned, well supported and properly rested, they can take advantage of the slower early weeks and hit the ground with clarity and enthusiasm rather than recovery mode.

Absolutely. And it’s not just leaders, it’s everyone. But let’s stop pretending burnout is just seasonal. The pressure is relentless. And now, with AI in the mix, the pace has gone from fast to feral.

AI was meant to lighten the load. Automate the grunt work. Free us up to lead, and think more. But for many, it’s just accelerated expectation. More briefs. More output. Less space. No one’s automated empathy, or made time for reflection. We’re asking leaders to go faster, deliver more, and somehow stay human while doing it.

The thing is, people don’t do their best work when they’re tethered to a laptop, stuck in back-to-back meetings and drowning in deliverables. We need freedom. Balance. Space to think, feel, reset. And that’s not a seasonal perk, it’s how sustainable leadership survives.

At The Liberty Guild, we sell ideas. Crafted by humans. And we use AI to execute smarter, faster, and more cost effectively. AI’s a brilliant tool, but it can’t lead. And if our wonderful industry wants to keep its best minds, we need to stop treating wellbeing like a one-week campaign and start designing leadership for the long haul.