Harnessing Your Leadership Energy to Benefit Your Business 

Think about a moment when a senior leader walked into the room, and their positive presence immediately captured your attention. Their whole demeanour made you want to listen closely to what they had to say. Or have you ever worked with bosses whose negativity seemed to drain the room, as if their mood set the tone for everyone around them? 

This is because we feel people’s energy before we hear their words.

Taking it one step further, it’s not as easy as pretending to be positive, as we can usually sense if someone’s energy is authentic. If you find yourself trying too hard to perform, something will inevitably feel off to you and to those around you. However, when you’re genuinely operating from a calm, confident place, your capacity for connection and fulfilment is far greater.

There are many skills people credit when it comes to being a good leader, and while soft skills are increasingly valued, our energetic state – the place from which we respond to opportunities and challenges – is often overlooked. Success starts from within, and when you become aware of how you present yourself, it can significantly impact how much you and your team can achieve.

Understanding Energy Leadership

Your behaviour and attitudes as a leader are shaped by your view of the world; how you perceive yourself, your work, your industry and your colleagues, and the opportunities and challenges you face. In turn, these perceptions either limit or expand what you believe to be possible.

Energy Leadership^TM is a professional development framework that helps you consciously identify those perceptions and manage your mindset and energy levels to enhance performance, decision-making, and relationships.

The framework categorises energy into seven levels, ranging from highly catabolic, stress-driven reactions to highly anabolic, empowering states. In other words, from draining and stuck to empowering and growth-oriented. The accompanying Energy Leadership Index Assessment^TM is then used to assess your current position on the scale and your ability to lead yourself and others towards positive and productive action.

If you’re coming from a higher level of energy, a challenge is more likely to appear as an opportunity. Conversely, if you’re experiencing one of the lower levels, that same exact challenge might seem daunting or doomed to fail. 

It’s very easy to let Level One thoughts, which are commonly associated with worry, fear and anxiety, or Level Two thoughts linked to stress and hustle culture, affect our feelings and actions. These actions may limit our own potential and can also dictate how others perceive us. 

For example, if your thought patterns include “I’m not good enough” and “I have to sacrifice everything in my personal life to succeed in my business,” or if you constantly succumb to self-criticism, it will prevent you from being decisive when you need to be, erode your boundaries, or make it hard to have difficult conversations with your staff.

When you hear the word “energy,” you might question how it can have a tangible impact on leading a team or running a company, but your energy level is directly linked to the quality of your leadership and the output of your organisation. 

Too few people pay attention to how their thoughts are working for or against them, or even take the time to reflect on what they are thinking at all, especially when the demands of running a small business mean they are largely operating on autopilot, desperate to meet the next challenge and prove themselves. 

Some of the signs that your energy may be limiting your leadership potential include:

• You struggle to make decisions. Uncertainty and inconsistency can lead to a lack of trust and feelings of frustration from your team, who look to you for guidance.

• You tend to micromanage. When you exhibit an overly controlling leadership style, employees can quickly become disengaged, feeling their contributions aren’t valued.

• It’s becoming harder to handle stress. Allowing your emotions to dictate your behaviour can create an unsettling work environment where people feel less satisfied and less productive.

• Open communication is suffering. If you have trouble giving and receiving feedback or your staff aren’t able to share their concerns openly, then it can hinder people’s ability to do their work well and cause retention problems.

All leaders experience varying degrees of energy at different times. What matters is that you’re choosing the level with intention and purpose rather than defaulting to a level out of habit or programming. Taking the time to really understand what’s driving your thoughts and where your energy levels currently are will empower you to support your team more effectively and give you the confidence to achieve your goals with less stress.