The Positive Energy Workplace

At Active Choices, Inc., our team regularly interacts with leaders in organizations who are interested in supporting and optimizing their company culture. In today’s business landscape, “culture” isn’t just a buzzword: it’s evolved into a strategic approach that can be leveraged to drive performance, attract top talent, and foster innovation for your company. 

Culture has surfaced as a critical factor that can make or break an organization's success. 

One of the keys to unlocking the power of a strong company culture lies in proactivity and approaching culture optimization strategically. It can sometimes feel simpler and more straightforward to approach your company culture reactively (by changing policies hastily, disregarding employee input, moving forward on engagement campaigns without leadership commitment, prioritizing short-term fixes, etc.), but in the long term, these “quick fixes” are not sustainable and can end up costing your company more time, energy, money, and trust with your people.

Let’s delve into some of the top reasons why being ahead of the game in cultivating a positive culture is not just a choice, but a strategic necessity for leaders and executives to pay attention to:

Is your organization looking to create a positive and thriving work environment that fuels innovation and inspires your employees to perform at their best?

By tapping into ACI’s Positive Energy Workplace Initiative™ (PEW-i) Credential Program, your organization and workforce are empowered to learn and embrace the IEP Method® and build a culture that sustainably nurtures innovation, performance, and well-being.

Pursuing organizational credentials through PEW-i provides immediate benefits for your workforce AND a future-forward strategy for your company culture, especially since the criteria is centered around the IEP Methodology. By focusing on quality intentions, energy, and presence for each employee, it empowers everyone to contribute to the success and impact of a company’s mission and goals.

Here are three energizing outcomes to envision when your organization begins the IEP Method journey and completes credentialing:

In our previous blog post (Part 1), we shared indicators that your company may not be a Positive Energy Workplace. If you missed it, make sure to check it out because it's essential to understanding what might be holding your organization back from reaching its full potential.

But today, we're flipping the script and focusing on the signs that show your company is already a Positive Energy Workplace AND in growth and optimization mode! We recognize these indicators in the Positive Energy Workplace Initiative™ (PEW-i), and they are worth celebrating because they demonstrate that your organization is on the right track and creating an environment where your team can thrive.

So, let's dive into what a Positive Energy Workplace DOES look like:

At Active Choices, Inc., we've been in the business of helping organizations cultivate Positive Energy Workplaces for more than two decades, and during that time we’ve worked with many high-performing teams and organizational partners and gathered an immense amount of insights along the way. 

As we continue to reach more companies and expand our Positive Energy Workplace Initiative™ (PEW-i), we've noticed some common themes and symptoms that can help you understand where your organization stands on the positive energy spectrum and identify the support you may need. 

To get things rolling, we’re going to start by sharing indicators that suggest your company is NOT currently a Positive Energy Workplace.

Consider these as warning signs that you might be in (or headed for without even realizing it) what we call "triage mode." 

(But don't worry, in our next blog post, we'll dive into the indicators of a Positive Energy Workplace and share how you can transition to a state of growth and optimization.)

So, without further ado, here are 7 red flags to watch out for:

We've recently returned after several weeks on the road bringing our Positive Energy Workplace Initiative™ and IEP Method offerings to a variety of rooms — from group trainings for a Fortune 50 client, to mastermind sessions with former ACI clients, and finishing up with a keynote session for procurement leaders.

(View the timestamped transcript of this video here)

Here are some common things we heard:

“Why should I care about how I show up? (I'm so busy!)"

“How do I handle the person who always shows up so negatively?"

“What do I do if my leaders don't really care about culture (but say they do), or think this 'stuff' doesn't apply to them?”

“How can I help leaders understand how this work ties into the bottom line?"

Despite the fact that these groups were from different industries and levels of management, we heard a common theme:

Performance culture, workforce development, and employee engagement are hot — and it’s on everyone’s minds.