Leadership Seasons

The changing colors of the foliage… pumpkins lining store aisles and porch steps… the scent of cinnamon and woodsmoke in the air — the signs are everywhere: the seasons are changing.

And I don’t know about you, but I’m here for it.

Of course, that also means summer is in the rearview mirror and winter waits just over the horizon. Depending on where we live, we may feel the shift more subtly or more sharply. But either way, the rhythm of change is undeniable.

As I get older, I find myself more attuned to these seasonal shifts — more aware, and more appreciative of what each one brings. And the same can be said for the seasons within our organizations.

Unlike the predictable march from fall to winter, the seasons inside organizations aren’t always linear — and they rarely follow a tidy pattern. But they are just as real.

In a recent Harvard Business Review article, strategist David Lancefield names four key organizational seasons: growth, transition, recovery and reset.

Each one feels different. Each one demands something new from us as leaders.

Leadership must evolve with the season! What’s required of you as a leader in one season may be exactly the wrong move in another. A leader thriving in a season of rapid growth might find their usual pace out of sync in a moment of recovery or reset.

As Lancefield wisely puts it:

“Wise leaders learn to pause and ask, ‘What season are we in, and what kind of leadership does it call for?”

In growth, you may need to push for speed, scale, and innovation. In transition, the team might need clarity, communication, and calm. In recovery, your focus could shift to healing, listening, and rebuilding trust. And in reset, it’s about letting go of what was, and courageously shaping what’s next.

No one season is better than another. Each has value. Each is a part of the long game.

Here’s the truth: teams feel it when leaders are out of season — when they push for performance in a time of grief, or resist innovation in a moment begging for reinvention. Great leaders read the season, and respond with intention.

So as you sip your cider or step through a drift of leaves this week, ask yourself: What season is my team or organization in? What’s this season calling for from me? Am I showing up with the right kind of leadership to meet this moment?

Because leadership — like nature — is never static. And the leaders who last - and the organizations that thrive -  are the ones who know how to shift with the season.