Leadership Between the Lines

Why is positive energy important? How do we create it? How does it impact our culture? For years we've worked with leaders and organizations on building healthier more positively contagious cultures and authentic positive energy leadership. Often when I speak about how to do this, people will ask for the "checklist" -- the checklist for building a healthy culture or leading better. ("Yes, yes, yes... I know positive energy is important, yes yes yes... give me the checklist.") We can give you a checklist, trust me, we have many -- however, it will ultimately only be as good as the honest inner work you do to truly create positive energy within yourself first. Creating healthy leadership and a healthy culture is an inside-job... 

Last month, Harvard Business Review published an article, "The Best Leaders Have a Contagious Positive Energy".  (Four of my favorite words in one title: leaders, contagious, positive, and energy!) The article speaks to some of the what and why of positive energy leadership. In the video below, I offer you a bit more about the (sustainable) authentic how as well as some things to watch out for as you build your leadership and culture. Enjoy!

My team and I get asked questions all the time about the quickest three things to do for this or that or all of the above. Building a healthy culture and an authentic Positive Energy Workplace™ takes awareness, honesty, intention, energy, presence, and action. It doesn't have to take a ton of time, however, you want to watch out for "doing" those quick three things just to the "check cultural health" box off your list.

If you are truly tending to your IEP (Intentions/ Energy/ Presence) and taking action from a place of awareness and service... you won't need a quick checklist, your culture will take care of itself. That said, if you do want some quick things to start paying extra attention to, I've shared some in the below video (timestamp below post).

I think we have to be extra kind to each other right now. I'm noticing in my work with clients, with things my friends and family are going through, and in my own life that there is this extra level of buzz, tenderness, and sensitivity that seems to go with more things than not right now. Tension runs high, misunderstandings feel faster, lots of flux in people's jobs and life decisions and relationships, some more "proving it" and "covering my booty" energy is showing up especially in corporate players (which is like literally the last thing our culture needs right now) -- not to mention politics, global warming, the latest in Texas, and oh, ya... the pandemic and... everything else.

There has been a lot in the media lately about "the Great Resignation" and people leaving the workforce to start their own companies or move to others.

Burnout, stress, overwhelm, feeling unseen, unappreciated, and not on purpose being some of the key reasons cited. This checks. In the conversations I'm having right now with clients and colleagues this topic is coming up again and again. In the work I'm doing with leaders and their teams right now, versions of this topic come up in our one-on-ones. Lots of people are looking to leave. Lots.

"Gosh, you are so busy!” is a statement I often hear from people. It’s an assumption people make based upon how I design my time and what I say YES and NO to. (It's often then followed up by them telling me some form of how busy they are, and that they wish they weren't, and how hard it is that we're all busy, and down the "busy spiral" the convo will go -- IF I let myself get hooked into their busy....)