It starts the same way every year.
On the heels of back-to-school every conversation shifts:
All departments on deck – we need to close the gap.
(And if you don’t have a gap you’re fortunate…but most “messy middle” companies are chasing stretch targets.)
Your inbox fills with a last-minute campaign idea from a conversation between your CEO and Sales.
Sales starts asking for lists.
Your CFO is reducing spend.
And your CEO is signaling urgency.
You feel it in your gut: the pressure to move fast, say yes, and do more.
“I swore I wouldn’t do this again.”
You meant it when you said this year would be different.
No more knee-jerk campaigns.
No more spraying the database with last-minute emails.
No more team burnout in the name of “just hit the number.”
But here you are in the Q4 scramble again. Running hard, reacting fast, and doing things that don’t sit right (like, would you hit the database this way in Q2? Probably not.)
Not because you’re unclear.
But because the environment makes it feel almost impossible to do otherwise.
When every department is jumping to the pump, it feels reckless to stay still.
So you comply.
And you’re honest, it all feels a little desperate.
A little complicit.
A little stuck in a cycle you don’t know how to stop. (But how do you stop when every department head is running on the same hamster wheel?)
It’s hard to lead when the water’s already chummed
This is the invisible challenge of Q4.
You don’t need another article telling you to be more strategic.
You already want to be more strategic.
But it’s hard to “elevate decision-making” when you’re stepping into a situation that has already been set in motion.
And the pressure starts coming at you from a lot of directions –
Requests for Marketing data.
The CEO’s executive meeting and then the company townhall about finishing strong.
Sales making urgent requests for leads.
This frenzy wasn’t created by you, but you’re now expected to navigate it, contribute to it, and somehow lead above it?!!
What authority actually looks like in Q4
Let’s reframe this.
Leading with authority in Q4 doesn’t mean saying no to urgency.
It means staying tethered to outcomes when urgency takes over.
You don’t need perfect plans. You need a clear stance.
Authority looks like:
- Prioritizing based on revenue impact (not noise or internal politics)
- Showing up to cross-functional calls with data, not just deliverables
- Protecting your team without looking checked out
- Being intentional about what you say ‘yes’ to and being equally clear about what you decline or delay (trade-offs)
- Repeating the phrase: “Here’s what we’re doing, and here’s why it matters.”
In Q4, you can’t do everything – not because you’re not capable, but because time, budget, and team capacity are limited. That’s where tradeoffs come in.
“We’ll double down on this campaign, and we’re going to put X and Y on hold because they don’t move the needle.”
Make the trade-offs visible. And that means:
Communicating those decisions clearly so it’s not seen as dropping the ball, but as strategic prioritization.
Helping others see that not doing everything is a leadership move, not a lack of effort.
That’s leadership in the middle of the Q4 storm.
This quarter ends the story. And starts the next one.
Q4 is the last call for impact.
It’s also the launchpad into next year.
So the question isn’t: “How do we survive this push?” It’s:
How do I use this moment to show Marketing is a professional function?