Results-Only Leaders Have Empty-Tank Teams
Managing energy is more important than managing time. It doesn’t matter how much time you have if your energy-tank is empty.
Results-only leaders have empty-tank teams.
4 unbreakable rules of energy:
#1. Four things require energy:
- Body when you act.
- Spirit when you reflect.
- Mind when you think and learn.
- Emotion when you feel and relate.
#2. Some things that require energy also give energy.
Some are energized when they feel and relate. Others are exhausted.
#3. Put more in than you take out.
You can’t excel when your tank is empty.
#4. Do less of what drains you and more of what gives you energy.
You go further faster when you put gas in your own tank.
21 sources of energy:
- Anything that fulfills purpose. Do more of what matters.
- Action that expresses strength.
- Progress after effort.
- Rest.
- “…complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting loss in one’s sense of space and time. (Wikipedia)
- Results, talents, and strengths that others honor and respect.
- Goals you want to reach and believe you can achieve with work.
- Unsolicited and sincere gratitude either from someone or for someone you served. (Send a thank you note.)
- Fun in reasonable doses.
- Hobbies.
- Mini-breaks.
- Sleep.
- Breathing.
- Creating a gratitude list.
- Feeling competent and powerful. (Able to do something that has impact.)
- Enhancing skills that help you get where you want to go.
- Humility.
- Simplicity and order. Throw stuff away.
- Finishing something.
- Taking something off your calendar.
- Treating others and yourself like you matter.
How might leaders use the 21 sources of energy to energize others?
Bonus material:
Living in Flow (Positive Psychology)
Dan
September has been the most high yield, hitting home series you have done from my view. Holding people accountable, toxic leadership, running meetings, and then energy this morning. This energy list could be under the heading “the parking lot test”. If you jump out of your car in the parking lot almost before it stops, you have the energy from your list. When you sit in your car for ten minutes, time for a change. I have scorned social media from the start but read your posts every day. Thank you.
Wow! Thank you MIke. Your illustration of jumping out of the car captures high energy leadership. Sadly, leaders lose energy over time. Best wishes.
Let’s not forget about synergy and catalysis, when speaking of energy … alignment of parts such that the whole is greater than their sum, and the one ingredient that creates more energy than is put into the mix, respectively …
Us introverts need to add reading/writing/sketching and sex (well, qualitatively, “making love”) to the list of sources … and
“Leave it better than you found it,” &
“Sleep,” (min.6 hours.) “perchance to dream”
To the rules. 😉
Thanks Rurbane. I should have guessed you were an introvert. Your thoughtful comments indicate you think things over.
Can’t agree more on sleep. Get enough sleep at night or you’ll end up half asleep in the day.
#4. Do less of what drains you and more of what gives you energy. You go further faster when you put gas in your own tank. This stands out for me. And what I’ve found is I have to stand my ground to do this. To do more of what drains me because “someone” else believes it is necessary is what I fight each and every day. I know my strengths and those that truly “value” me understand those strengths and they do not infringe upon my success pathway. Those that are more interested in playing games well they are usually the ones that believe I need to do more in what drains me. I’ve found those folks generally do not last and fade away until the next one of similar ilk comes along.
Thanks Roger. You nailed it. There always people who know what YOU should do. Or, they have an agenda for YOU that really serves THEM! It takes self-awareness and courage to hold your ground. Thanks for jumping in today.
Action that expresses strength… that’s obviously “writing ” for me.
Good afternoon,
This is a great piece that I enjoyed reading. People go into the workplace everyday, yet they take their levels of energy for granted. It’s up to leadership and management to keep subordinates energized and enthusiastic about the job. Once members of a team suffer from low morale it spreads like a virus and becomes contagious. I know from personal experience it’s difficult to engage unpleasant people who despise their jobs and do not wish to be employed at an organization any longer. They wear their disgust on their sleeve.
Thanks ZK. Your comment made me thing… the least leaders can do is NOT suck the life out of everyone. 🙂
This post reminds me of something someone once told me, “procrastination is one hell of a drug”. When your energy is low it does not matter if you have a week or a year to finish a project. That procrastination addiction can take hold of anyone and each day they succumb to it they become less and less energized; it becomes an unbreakable cycle. The 21 sources of energy you listed are all great examples of where the procrastinator can look for help. The trick is to do as Stephen Covey had explained on numerous occasions: create good habits. We all have habits, but the trick is to make those habits good. As a leader one must invest his efforts more in the doing than in the escaping. We don’t always have to be completely efficient at every turn. I think the overwhelming nature of being a leader and feeling like you have bosses, as well as, subordinates looking to you for examples of excellence can be tiresome.
Thanks Gary. Procrastination sucks energy. When you mention habits, I think of the Small Habit idea. Just work on one small thing. When we do that, we end up more successful with other things. Cheers
Pleasure is in the body. Happiness is in the mind. Joy is in the spirit. You will only get joy of you’re growing and giving.
How might leaders use the 21 sources of energy to energize others?
— Humility
— Treating others and yourself like your matter
— Creating a gratitude list
One major problem that hinders that positive end means of leadership is the who that lies underneath. To energize others, a leader must for with the unknown odds despite the challenges and aim to engrave civility in the team.
#15: Feeling competent and powerful. (Able to do something that has impact.)
I’ve always been energized by encouraging others team members who feel like they don’t bring value to the team. Encouraging them and pointing out their past positives helps motivate them, leaving them feeling competent and assured. Once their fire is reignited, mine as well burns a little brighter as well. Seeing someone who was down, but then refocused and on a mission has energized me to not only do more. It has also caused me to look inward and realize my own place in the team, assuring me that I’m needed or valued.
Working with subordinates or team members can make a lasting impact, long after that one encounter. I often look back at times when leaders had done the same for me and it gives me a smile. You get what you give as a leader. If you are running empty, your team is also running empty.
Love the teaching of Covey and Loehr/Schwartz. I use the 4 aspects on a daily basis in various situations. And exactly as you write it “Do less of what drains you and more of what gives you energy.” is a beautiful thought.