Episode 30: 12 Leadership Micro Moments That Make December Magical | 12MinuteLeadership

The holidays should feel meaningful—yet with deadlines, family expectations, and nonstop to-dos, even the joyful stuff starts to feel like maintenance.

This week’s episode offers a better path: twelve tiny, intentional practices that reset your presence, build connection, and help your team finish strong without burning out.

Inside the episode you’ll hear how to:

• Incorporate small, but meaningful traditions to make this busy season fun and light
• Add low-effort rituals that boost energy 
• Keep your team engaged to finish the year strong
• Use music, environment, and micro-breaks to reduce stress
• Say no to one nonessential thing—and feel your capacity return
• Unplug for real so you come back with clarity and presence

These moves are intentionally small—easy to repeat, easy to sustain, and powerful enough to shift the tone for how you show up with your team.

If you love this episode, share it with another leader who needs the reminder to slow things down and savor the season, not just survive it.

Subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode. You can also pick up my book, "Lead Anyone", on Amazon.

Then, go to my website to check out ways that we can support your leadership goals.
From executive retreats to customized training and coaching, my team of experts will help you level up your leadership and accelerate your results.

Go to www.eliseboggs.com for more info.

Follow on Instagram: @12minuteleadership

Order my book, Lead Anyone!

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Purpose
• 0:57 Holiday Pressure And Lost Presence
• 2:09 Leaders Set The Emotional Climate
• 2:13 What Micro Moments Are
• 2:57 Twelve Micro Moments In Practice
• 6:28 Why Micro Moments Work
• 6:28 Choosing What Matters Now
• 7:09 Share And What’s Next
• 7:36 How To Go Deeper

Transcript

Speaker: 0:02

Welcome to the 12-Minute Leadership Podcast, where in 12 minutes or less, I'll share small things that you can put into immediate practice that will make a big difference in your leadership effectiveness. I'm your host, Elise Boggs Morales, leadership professor, consultant, and coach. For the last 17 years, I have helped thousands of leaders level up their influence and achieve remarkable results. If you want to trade compliance for true commitment and create your dream team, you are in the right place. Get ready for a quick hit of practical wisdom to increase your team's engagement, inspire top performance, and retain your best talent. Ready to level up your influence and get better results? 12 minutes starts now. Hi everyone, Elise here. Welcome to episode 30. It's December, and the holiday season is officially in full swing. I was in a leadership meeting recently when one of the attendees started sharing, almost frantically, about everything on her plate. Year-end deadlines, holiday hosting, Christmas cards, kids' school performances, and you could feel the pressure in her voice. It's so easy for this season to become a long list of to-dos, and somewhere in the chaos, the magic disappears. When I was growing up on the East Coast, the holidays felt like a completely different world. I remember the excitement of the first snowfall and sledding down the giant hill behind our house, my mom frosting the windows with spray snow, the fireplace crackling with real logs while we watched the Christmas story under a pile of blankets. There was wonder, there was slowness, there was presence. Now, as leaders carrying significant responsibilities, it's easy to lose that. We get so caught up in executing the season that we forget to experience it. But here's the truth. Leaders do more than manage tasks. We shape the emotional tone of the season for the people we lead. How you show up becomes the climate your team feels. So in the spirit of the 12 days of Christmas and of course 12-minute leadership, I want to share 12 leadership micro moments that you can weave into your December. So what are micro moments? These are small, intentional actions that you can integrate into your existing day. Nothing extra, nothing overwhelming, just simple moments that help you stay present, grounded, and connected. So this season becomes both productive and meaningful. When the calendar is full and expectations are high, micro moments bring us back to what matters. So today is meant to be fun, light, and life-giving in the midst of a demanding month. Choose one or two from this list. That's it. Let's dive in. Here are 12 leader micro moments to make this season magical. Number one, look at something beautiful between meetings. Stay with me here. Look outside your window. Notice a tree, the colors that have changed in this season, the light. Beauty softens your mental state and resets your presence. Have you noticed how relaxed you feel after spending time in nature? You can recreate a one-minute connection and experience a similar feeling. Number two, start a meeting with a favorite holiday tradition. We know that different people celebrate different holidays, but it's always neat to hear the traditions that people have. It's nostalgic, it's connective. It reminds your team that they're human beings first, employees second. You could also put this question in a common area of your office and have people write their answers. Number three, create a small seasonal tradition just for your team. Peppermint hot chocolate Fridays, holiday cookie day, a surprise raffle for PTO. Tiny traditions create belonging and anticipation, and they make hectic seasons a lot more fun. Number four, write a short, personalized note to each key team member. Not a template, a real specific appreciation. It lands deeply this time of year and helps people be motivated to finish well. Number five, play music that elevates the atmosphere. Christmas music, instrumental jazz, sound changes energy. Make this season a little bit more fun with changing up the music that you play. Number six, use your favorite mug from home instead of the generic office cup. Let something ordinary feel a little more special. Small delight changes mood. Number seven, savor something you only enjoy this time of year. I love going to Starbucks and getting their peppermint hot chocolate. I love that only this time of year Trader Joe's carries their peppermint JoJo's. The treat itself isn't the point. The intentional savoring is give yourself a little treat to enjoy during the day. Number eight, simplify something that has become unnecessarily complicated. If the office gift exchange is stressing people out, simplify it. If an approval process is bottlenecking, streamline it. If a family tradition feels heavy, update it. Simplification restores emotional capacity. Number nine, don't work during one of your commutes this week. Listen to music, a fun podcast. Call a friend you've been meaning to catch up with. Let your mind breathe. Number 10. Take a midday walk and let your senses wake up. Feel the air, look at the decorations, eat something warm. For 10 minutes, let your mind take a mini vacation. Number 11, say no to something you would normally say yes to. Protect your capacity. Not everything is required. Let ease be part of your December. And number 12, take time off and truly unplug. If you're physically out of the office but mentally still in it, you're not resting. A real break resets your identity, creativity, and presence. So in closing, this whole episode was inspired by a very intense season in my own life when I desperately needed space but couldn't take a long vacation. So I started practicing micro moments and they changed everything. There was more ease, more balance, more connection, more getting back to myself. Because when you feel like yourself, you lead like yourself. And as the leader, you set the tone for your culture, your team, and even your own family. You owe it to yourself and to others to take especially good care of your capacity during seasons like these. So choose one or two of these micro moments. Experiment and notice what lands. If you love this episode, share it with another leader who needs the reminder to slow things down and savor the season, not just survive it. And join me next time as I share 12 leadership reset practices to finish the year well. I'll see you next time. Like what you heard on today's episode and want to go deeper? Subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode. You can also pick up my book, Lead Anyone, on Amazon. Then, go to my website to check out ways that we can support your leadership goals. From executive retreats to customized training and coaching, my team of experts will help you level up your leadership and accelerate your results. Go to www.eliseboggs.com for more info.