As a leader, you have a ripple effect. Like throwing a rock into a pond, your actions create energetic waves that influence your organization’s outcomes.
Whether positive or negative, the energy of those ripples spreads. Your people pick up and act on it one way or the other. If it’s positive, you can generally expect good outcomes. If it’s consistently or dramatically negative you can expect bad outcomes.
That’s why it’s important that, as a leader, you tune into the energy you’re spreading. No leader is perfect and shows up with perfectly calibrated energy all the time so don’t get hung up on the times when you miss the mark.
Instead, focus on how you can get better at calibrating your energy and managing yourself so you show up as a leader (and a human) in ways that generate more consistently positive outcomes from your team or organization.
A good place to start that process is to tune into your energizers and de-energizers and the impact they have on your energy and how you show up.
Here are some tips on how to do that in three important categories of self-management: Physical, Mental, and Relational.
Physical:
This one is the foundation for everything else. Let’s look at four building blocks.
Sleep: How’s your sleep – are you getting enough? The research shows that 95% of people need at least seven good hours a night to, in the short run, perform at their best, and, in the long run, live to their fully healthy life expectancy. Are you sleeping through the night or waking up a lot? If you’re waking up, do some self-assessment on your sleep hygiene.
Eat: Is your diet energizing or de-energizing you? If it’s the latter, look at your intake of sugar and other simple carbohydrates vs. lean protein, fresh vegetables, and fruits. And don’t go to bed on a full stomach; it disrupts your sleep. Do your best to stop eating two to three hours before bedtime.
Drink: And while we’re talking about intake, what and how much are you drinking? Hydration is an often-overlooked aspect of physical and mental energy so be sure to drink water throughout the day. And let’s not ignore caffeine and alcohol. Too much of either can affect your sleep and leave you slow and depleted the next day.
Move: Finally, there’s movement. In addition to your regular workout routine, make it a point to get and up move – walking and stretching are perfect – for a few minutes every hour. That regular get up will be an energizing reset.
Mental:
There’s an old law of computer programming – garbage in, garbage out. The same is true with your brain. Whatever you pay attention to and allow into your headspace is going to take your energy into either positive or negative directions. Manage your mental energy with:
Awareness of all of the mental inputs in your information environment as well as awareness of the impact those information streams are having on your thinking and your outlook. Then, apply
Intention about maximizing the productive inputs and eliminating or minimizing the positive inputs.
Relational:
Two big factors to consider here – who are you spending your time with and how much time are you spending with them.
Who? There are likely people in your professional and personal life who are consistent sources of positive energy for you. Be intentional about seeking them out and spending time with them that is not just transactionally focused, but potentially transformational in how you connect, share, and learn from each other. Likewise, there are probably people who are usually energy drainers for you. Do your best to engage them with compassion and curiosity. You might influence them for the better and you may learn something new about them or yourself.
How Much Time? The answer to this questions starts with where you fall on the extraversion/introversion meter. Which end of that spectrum best describes you? If you’re extroverted, being with people throughout the day is an energizer for you. If you’re introverted, too much interaction over the course of the day is going to leave you drained.
Which of the categories of self-management offer you the biggest opportunities for calibrating your energy givers and takers? What’s one step you can start taking this week that would be relatively easy to do and likely to make a difference? Leave a comment on LinkedIn or send me a note. I’d love to hear what’s landing with you.
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