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Why Your Team's Summer Slump Isn't a Failure
Summer leadership isn't about pushing harder. It's about naming the season, setting the frame, and defining the work before July gets slippery.
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The Season Shift Is Here. Your Expectations Probably Aren't.
Last month the focus was getting ahead of the summer shift. Now the shift is here. The leadership work of this season comes down to one thing: expectations. What kind of season is your team actually in? What are you maintaining, and what does that work look like when it's done well? What behaviors and outcomes are you solving for between now and September?
Get those answers out of your head and in front of your team before July gets slippery. Resist the pull to force this season into something it isn't shaping up to be.
That thread ran through the entire session, from the teaching to every Q&A conversation. Here's what came out of it.
The Frame Problem: Quarters vs. Semesters
One of the first questions that surfaced was whether to plan around quarters or semesters. The answer depends on your actual energy cycles, not your calendar year. A quarter-based frame works when your team's output is steady and predictable. A semester-based frame works when energy comes in longer waves – summer lulls, year-end pushes, project cycles that don't align with fiscal quarters.
The mistake is forcing a quarter frame onto a semester cycle. That creates extra translation work. Your team spends energy explaining why July looks slow instead of doing the work that matters in July.
Practical rule: Pick the frame that matches your team's natural rhythm. If you're constantly apologizing for the calendar, you're using the wrong calendar.
What Maintenance Looks Like When It's Done Well
A season of lower business output is not evidence of falling behind. It's intentional investment in relationships and network-building. The problem is that most leaders treat maintenance as a default state rather than a deliberate choice.
Maintenance done well has three components:
- Clear scope: What exactly are we keeping steady? Revenue? Client relationships? Internal processes? Pick one or two.
- Visible work: The team needs to see what maintenance looks like. It's not "doing nothing." It's checking in, tidying up, preparing the ground.
- An end date: Maintenance is a season, not a permanent state. September is a natural boundary. What changes then?
Key insight: If your team doesn't know what maintenance looks like, they'll invent their own version. That version usually involves anxiety about being seen as unproductive.
The Intentional vs. Transactional Trap
Being intentional and being transactional are not in conflict. The confusion comes from treating them as opposites. Intentional means you have a purpose. Transactional means you have a clear exchange. Both can exist in the same conversation.