As a leader, it is vital to be cognizant of how and when you use your energy. If you burn yourself out worrying about unimportant things, you will not have enough left in the tank to handle crucial tasks like showing up for your team and making high-level decisions.

Many people view energy as a finite resource, either on or off, linear or constant. However, there is another way to think about energy expenditure. It involves four buckets:

• Two Big Buckets: Positive and Negative

• Two Small Buckets: High and Low

High positive energy is an extreme level of positivity, such as the motivational halftime speech in a sports movie. In business, this type of energy is useful when giving a presentation or speaking in front of a large audience. It takes a lot out of you, but it can get people excited.

Low positive energy, on the other hand, is a lower volume form of energy that is still on the more positive end of the spectrum. This type of energy can be used when participating in a roundtable or discussing a new program with your team. Many people don’t use this type of energy as often as they should, but it is a great way to convey your thoughts or just remain positively engaged in a conversation.

High negative energy is exactly what it sounds like: Yelling and gesticulating aggressively. There are very few reasons to ever use this form of energy in a professional setting as it’s likely to give your clients and your team the impression that you are erratic or out of control. Perhaps the only legitimate reason to use high negative energy is to show your team how not to act in a situation.

Low negative energy is a more muted version of high negative energy. It’s usually not advised to use this form of energy with your team - but if you know you are prone to loud outbursts, making an effort to downgrade from high negative to low negative can be a step in the right direction. 

So, now that you understand these types of energy, how can you use that knowledge to improve as a leader? Well, you can start by following these steps:

1. Monitor the types of energy you use in specific situations throughout the week.

2. Review the situations you experienced and determine what form of energy is most appropriate.

3. Check your calendar for next week and identify opportunities for different types of positive energy (maybe sneak in some low, positive energy!)

The result of this simple system? You’ll have more energy, people will be much happier to talk to you, and your team will be more successful.

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About The Author

Emily Sander is an ICF-certified leadership coach with more than 15 years of experience in the business world and the author of Hacking Executive Leadership. She’s been featured in several print publications, online articles, and podcasts, including CEO Today Magazine, Leading to Fulfillment, and Leadership Powered by Common Sense. 

Emily has a passion for helping business leaders reach their full potential. Go here to read her story from seasoned executive to knowledgeable coach. If you want to send Emily a quick message, then visit her contact page here.