How Executives Can Stop A Slump And Improve Performance In Q4

“The Future Depends on What You Do Today.” — Mahatma Gandhi

Momentum defines how leaders and teams end a year and how they start the next one, which is why the fourth quarter isn’t just another quarter in the corporate calendar. It’s a critical stretch when slumps get exposed, and where belief either grows or erodes as organizations work to achieve targets, goals, and realize commitments made at the start of the year. Without positive momentum during these final, few months, even strong organizations risk carrying dragging performance into the next year.

How do you know if you’re in a slump? Often, the signs are obvious: You’re experiencing consecutive quarters of underperformance, missed targets, or lackluster results. The challenge about slumps is that they usually aren’t sudden, so when performance drops, it follows quarters (or years) of ignored warning signs. For instance:

• Team meetings. Leaders may show up, but engagement is low. Multitasking is common, debate or challenge is minimal, discussions are primarily presentations, where leaders talk ‘at’ each other.
• Defensiveness and resistance. Leaders reject input or new ideas you propose. In response, they’ll tell you: “We’ve already tried that,” or, “Here’s why that won’t work.”
• Delayed decision-making. Topics resurface week after week without real resolution, months go by without any shift or change across the team.
• Predictability and stale playbooks. You keep relying on models of delivering value or driving growth that aren’t working anymore.
• Teams go deeper into silos. Teams shift out of enterprise thinking. Instead it’s, “I’ll take care of my group first.” Functions compete for resources instead of collaborating.

This list only scratches the surface. Slumps can affect just about every aspect of our performance, from execution to innovation, team dynamics to cross-functional collaboration, and more. The impact is real.

Slumps Can Happen To Anyone

It’s not only companies or teams that can hit a slump: individual leaders do too. Even talented, experienced executives can get stuck, and slumps can look different depending on who you are. For some, it may show up as a dip in confidence, with more second-guessing and self-doubt, and less willingness to take risks, try things, take bolder action. Others may experience a plateau in results, where you’re working hard, but not getting outcomes.

Whatever the case, take slumps seriously, because if you don’t, they risk becoming permanent. For example: In baseball, teams that lose 5+ games in a row have only a 27% chance of winning their next game. (Baseball Prospectus). In business, companies that post three straight quarters of decline see employee engagement drop by 12–15%. (Gallup).
If you think you might be in a slump of any kind, professionally or personally, decide to do whatever it takes to end it now.

To Break a Slump and Improve Performance, Start With Momentum

In The New Science of Momentum, authors Don Yaeger and Bernard Banks give us hundreds of powerful examples (from sports, politics, the military, and business) on why shifting momentum is the antidote to reversing a slump. One simple, profound takeaway: momentum is not random. Leaders can create it.

To shift momentum, consider these ideas:

Start by admitting the truth. You’re in a slump. Just don’t make it the last word. If leaders pretend things are fine, employees know it’s not true. People would rather hear the hard truth than sugarcoating. But if leaders only admit the slump, without a reset message, the story becomes despair. It sounds like: “We’re stuck, we’re losing, and nothing is working.”

Position the moment as a turning point. You might say: “Yes, we’re in a difficult moment and now, we decide how to shift things and break the pattern.” Bring in urgency: “This quarter is the reset. What we do now sets the stage for 2026.”

The more we know, the more we can help. During a slump or sustained downturn, executives often work tirelessly behind the scenes to try to ‘fix’ things and hope employees can stay focused on day-to-day activities. Instead, give employes something to latch onto. Tell them what you’re working on – share as much as you’re able. They need more than, “Keep doing what you’re doing.” Or: “Trust us.”

Get a first victory. In sports, it might be a clutch play. At work, it’s a bold action that says: “This slump ends now.” Examples: saving a critical customer, a public reset of priorities, or a symbolic leadership move.

Make sure you’re ready, because sparks can come out of nowhere. In The New Science of Momentum, authors Yaeger and Banks describe a shift in momentum as a “sudden change situation,” where the athlete must respond immediately. The same is true in business, so knowing what sparks to look for and being ready for the moment is crucial.

Identify sparks in advance, so you’re ready when the moment arrives. Write down a list of potential ‘sparks’ or momentum-shifting moments you might anticipate or would want to see. Brainstorm with the team, create together, so when the sparks come (and they will), you are ready to seize the moment. As the authors say, “Train the team to see the spark.”

Keep it short and focused. Focus on the next at-bat, not the whole season. Set a daily, weekly, 30-day, winnable goals. Each small victories builds momentum.

Celebrate and amplify wins. Start anywhere, no matter how small. A slightly better meeting. A small uptick in growth. Name these moments and point them out, over and over, so people see the larger trend building and feel the surge happening.

In most organizations, slumps don’t fix themselves, and momentum doesn’t just arrive. If you suspect you’re in a slump, no matter how small, take action now, and use this quarter as your reset. Decide now to shift momentum, get the first win, build belief, and carry it forward into 2026.