The Positive Energy Workplace

It was 11:00 a.m., on a Tuesday. I jumped on a video call with a client to work on his strategy for taking his career to the next level. He was well qualified for a promotion and very hungry to make it happen.

I was ready to roll. He was... exhausted.

At 11:00. On a Tuesday morning.

As we faced each other on pixels I noticed his energy was low, his face "muted", his voice quieter than usual. His presence communicated drudgery and fatigue. Not only could I see it, I could feel it.

I asked how he was doing...

"Exhausted. I don't know how I'm going to make it through today -- I'm back-to-back in meetings, and all of them are important."

"Hmmm... It's only Tuesday, at 11:00 a.m. What's up?" I asked.

"I had a big weekend; we BBQ'd, lots of hot dogs, chips, and beers... I guess I'm still recovering."

"Was it worth it?"

"Ya, it was great. I'll recover. What are we working on? Sorry, I didn't have time to prepare."

Hmmm...

If you have it, you rarely think about it. If you don't have it, you likely grapple with it--even if you don't realize it. It mends wounds, inspires creativity, creates true engagement, allows for real relating, results in better and bigger ideas, provides a safety net for taking risks, creates safety and intimacy, and simply feels good. It's essential to "right relationship" and it's one of your strongest units of leadership and human currency. What is it?

If you have it, you rarely think about it. If you don't have it, you likely grapple with it--even if you don't realize it. It mends wounds, inspires creativity, creates true engagement, allows for real relating, results in better and bigger ideas, provides a safety net for taking risks, creates safety and intimacy, and simply feels good. It's essential to "right relationship" and it's one of your strongest units of leadership and human currency. What is it?

Trust.

This word is thrown around almost as much as the word "busy".

I refer a lot of people to a lot of different companies and vendors. Coaches, trainers, therapists, services, products, you name it — if it’s something I think will serve someone I’m working with, or one of our students, they get an introduction.

Recently I had a client who I thought could benefit from one of my contacts’ wares… I told him I’d make an introduction… and then I didn’t. I waited. And waited some more. Truth was. I didn't want to make the introduction. I wanted the client to have the product, but for some reason, I didn’t want to engage with the vendor. Yikes. Why?

In a word… Intuition and energy.

The vendor’s main contact, who’d ultimately be the main point of contact for my client, had some pretty low vibe energy. My intuition told me it wasn’t a good match. Wanting to check myself, I checked in with another client I’d referred in the past. How was it going? What was their experience like? Happy?

When I travel I get to meet all sorts of people in airports. Those who inspire me, like Jim, 82 years old with a ton of energy, a strut, and a sparkle in his eye, who was flying off to fulfill one of the items on his bucket list; Christine, a surgeon who cares so immensely about the patient experience — as well as effective treatment — that it brought tears to my eyes; Julie, a traveling senior executive with a child she adores and raises alone, who has made her life hum so well that she’s able to be a rock star mom AND rock it in the business world everyday; and Gene, whose commitment to his culture and his employees feeling seen and cared for, is so high up on his priority list — even more so than the numbers — that the numbers are higher than they’ve ever been.

I also get to meet less than delighted people who teach me to use my skills. Take “Bert”… Boarding a plane last week, I noticed him ahead of me in line, made eye contact, smiled, and said “good morning”. Nada. Turns out he was my seat mate. So I got settled, smiled, said good morning again, and asked him how his day was.

“I’m surviving” he said/scoffed. I felt the energetic “dip” (you know what I’m talking about). “Great!” I offered back. I took a breath, smiled, sat back, relished my coffee and the fact that I’d made my flight (it was close), reflected on the intentions I’d set earlier in the morning, and rebooted. I felt my energetic vibration recalibrate and elevate as I got present in my own space and experience (not his), and envisioned the day, and the people I’d get to work with, ahead of me.

Bert sat for a bit, and then asked me this…