Have Yourself a Selfish Christmas – Balance, Burnout and Growth

Christmas has a strange power – even the most driven leaders, the ones who thrive on momentum and purpose, are given permission to slow down. Emails quieten, meetings stop, and the world, briefly, loosens its grip. And yet, many leaders don’t take it.

They keep one eye on the inbox, they sneak work in between family moments, and they tell themselves they’ll properly rest “after Christmas”, forgetting that January arrives at full speed.

This is why stories like A Christmas Carol still resonate. Not because of the ghosts, but because Scrooge is forced to do the one thing most leaders avoid, he has to look at himself.

His past.
His present.
And the future he’s heading towards on autopilot.

Christmas is one of the rare moments in the year where leaders can do the same, if they choose to.

The Ghost of Leadership Past – Growth at Any Cost

In my early days of business, Christmas wasn’t a pause, it was an inconvenience. I tried to work through it, I convinced myself that slowing down meant falling behind, and there was always “just one more thing” to sort before January. What’s interesting is that my body never agreed with me.

Almost every year, without fail, I’d come down with flu over Christmas. Proper, knock-you-flat flu. No laptop, no emails, no control. At the time, I saw it as bad luck. Now I see it differently, it was my body doing what my mind refused to do, pulling the brakes.

Many leaders have a similar past. Growth driven by effort, sacrifice, and endurance, and it works, until it doesn’t. The cost just gets deferred.

Christmas is a useful moment to ask yourself, what version of growth have I been chasing this year, and what has it quietly taken from me?

The Ghost of Leadership Present – What Are You Actually Carrying?

The present version of Scrooge isn’t evil, he’s just consumed. That’s where most leaders sit today – not burnt out enough to stop, not present enough to notice. Christmas creates space to feel what the rest of the year numbs out. Tiredness, irritability, disconnection, or sometimes relief when work finally pauses and you realise how much you needed it to.

This is the moment for selfish leadership.

Not selfish in the cartoon villain sense, but selfish in the strategic sense. Choosing to protect your energy because your role demands clarity, not constant availability.

Ask yourself honestly:

• What actually needs my attention right now?
• What can wait?
• What have I normalised carrying that no longer serves me?

This is where many leaders realise they don’t need more resilience, they need better boundaries.

The Ghost of Leadership Future – Foster Growth, Don’t Sacrifice Yourself

Scrooge doesn’t change because he works harder. He changes because he sees where his current path leads. That’s the real gift of Christmas – perspective.

As we head into a year where pressure on leaders is only increasing, economically, culturally, emotionally, the way you grow matters more than how fast you grow. I’ve written more about what leaders will face in the coming years in my Leadership Development Trends for 2026 piece, and one thheme keeps coming back, unsustainable growth catches up eventually.

So here’s a selfish New Year resolution worth making:

Foster growth, without sacrificing yourself.

That might mean:

• Growing your business without growing your hours.
• Developing your team without disappearing yourself.
• Measuring success in energy and presence, not just performance.

This is exactly what I work on through business mentoring for leaders, helping high-performing people grow in ways that don’t quietly dismantle their wellbeing along the way.

A Selfish Christmas Reflection

Before the decorations come down, take a quiet moment.

• Look at yourself the way Scrooge was forced to.
• What version of growth are you leaving behind?
• What version of leadership are you practising right now?
• And what kind of growth do you actually want to foster next year?

Christmas isn’t about stopping forever. It’s about remembering that life is bigger than work, and leadership doesn’t have to cost you your health to count.

Have yourself a selfish little Christmas.

Your future self will thank you in January.