Council Post: Why Energy Is Your Most Important Business Asset

President and CEO, Sauce Labs & Welsh Government Envoy to the United States

Back when we were still in the early days of the pandemic, most of us were thinking (or hoping) in terms of weeks and months. How many weeks would we need to keep our offices closed? How many months before we could safely resume business travel? Even the most cautious among us figured the upheaval, though significant, could be temporary, and in retrospect, that belief enabled us to attack those early days with a burst of vigor. Individuals worked harder. Teams were more productive. The energy was palpable. 

Of course, as we now know, nothing about this pandemic is temporary, especially when it comes to the workplace. As leaders, we’ve realized we’re in this for the long haul.

So have our employees.

As challenging as the past eight months have been, the realization that this may be our reality for another six months or more can be a sobering one. It’s understandable then that teams are starting to hit the wall. Fatigue is setting in and energy levels are dropping. The enthusiasm our teams initially had for this unique set of circumstances isn’t quite there anymore. 

That’s why it’s time to start thinking about energy as your most important business asset. Keeping your teams engaged and energized is the most important contribution leaders can make right now. With that in mind, let’s examine some key steps you can take to keep the energy up. 

Start with yourself. 

As a leader, you have to set the energy standard. You can’t expect others to maintain their energy level if you’re not able to do the same, so monitor and nurture your energy level as if it was your company’s bottom line. Know what gives you energy and what depletes it, and be purposeful about gravitating toward the former and avoiding the latter. 

Most importantly, model the behavior you want from others. If you want your team to be more mindful of their mental and physical health, start by being more mindful of yours. If you feel like your team desperately needs to take time off and recharge, take time off yourself. If you can be vulnerable enough to acknowledge when you’re tired, others will do the same, and everyone’s energy levels are likely to improve.

Create visibility, clarity and transparency.

Nothing drains energy quite like uncertainty. That makes visibility essential. The combination of visibility, clarity and transparency is the antidote to uncertainty. To have visibility is to have a line of sight into where you’re going, how you’re going to get there and how you’re progressing along the way.

Start by investing the time and resources needed to create fully functional dashboards containing all your leading and trailing indicators, and then make those dashboards accessible to leadership so they are armed with the knowledge needed to inform. 

Build a culture of empathy.

Energy isn’t an abstract concept. It’s a direct function of how someone is absorbing and experiencing everything going on in the world. Those are deeply personal feelings, and the only way to understand them is through empathy. 

Building a culture of empathy is essential to thriving in this moment or any other. You do that by listening as much as you talk. You do that by encouraging employees to share their feelings and providing them safe spaces within which to do so. You do that by expecting your leaders to be empathetic to the changes their employees are experiencing every single day, and by being empathetic yourself to the rises and drops in energy levels that your own reports experience.

Embrace improvisation. 

The term “new normal” is thrown around quite a bit these days. The reality, however, is there’s nothing normal about it. So be flexible. Recognize that circumstances will continue to evolve and make sure your team knows that you’re committed to evolving with them. And don’t be afraid to improvise. Acknowledge the sheer variety of tasks you’re now juggling and allow yourself and others the space to adjust on the fly from time to time. Your employees will appreciate it, which may encourage everyone’s energy to pick up.

Energy is the new capital. 

I certainly can’t predict how the next eight months are going to go any more than I could have predicted how the previous eight went. But I’m sure of this: Energy is the new business capital. Companies that best manage and maintain it will be those best positioned to thrive. Invest accordingly. 

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