How can we create more positive energy?

Energy is a wonderful organizational resource that leaders often underutilize. Positive energy is a good predictor of sustainable change. Conversely, the absence of energy will stall change no matter how much positional power you use. When I work with organizations, I try to keep a constant “read” on the energy in the room. This practice helps me assess what’s happening, especially if I feel like something is blocking the work we are doing together.

Definitions of Energy

Simple definitions of energy often describe it as “the ability to do work be active”. In physics, it’s often defined as “the force that makes things move.” I also like that energy can be described as “usable power,” such as electricity or gas.

People support what they help to create. When people bring their ideas, support – and energy – to the work, it creates engagement. In change work, it’s essential that people are engaged.

There’s another definition of energy that’s important to know:

[ en-er-jee ]: a fundamental entity of nature that is transferred between parts of a system in the production of physical change within the system and usually regarded as the capacity for doing work

Photosynthesis provides an example of the massive power that happens when energy is transferred between parts of nature. The sun’s energy partners with green leaves, grass, and algae to transform it into life-giving nutrients, which fuel life on this planet.

There is an organizational equivalent to the process of photosynthesis. In this definition, human energy is as powerful as photosynthesis.  When we consider this metaphor, the human energy that people bring to the workplace is positive, negative, or neutral. Organizational leadership behaviors can create conditions that generate positive energy. We can try to create organizational cultures that activate positive human energy.

Before we try to activate positive human energy, we must first understand the difference between positive and negative energy.

• Positive energy is a resource for change and transformation. It spreads nutrients that fuel the system’s evolution.
• Negative energy acts like a handbrake, keeping us from moving beyond the status quo. It literally distributes dysfunction in an organization.

So that begs the question: What creates positive or negative human energy in our organizations? The answer is wholeness. 

Closer approximations of wholeness

In my book Leading from the Roots, I wrote extensively about energy and what influences movement in an organization toward positive or negative human energy.  In my experience, I’ve learned that people generate positive human energy when they feel increasingly greater approximations of wholeness. They need to feel a greater connectedness to themselves, their teams, their workplaces….and to the world at large.

As positional leaders, we can do much to strengthen the individual and collective evolution toward wholeness. We can focus on three dynamics that strengthen wholeness in the organization including:

• Authentic relationships. When we experience authenticity in our relationships, know each other in real ways that increase our connectedness. This moves us closer to wholeness, creating positive energy in the process.
• Reciprocal relationships. More relationships based on a feeling of reciprocity and mutuality accelerate our evolution toward wholeness. Power differentials create relationships based on dependencies or a rank order of who counts (and who doesn’t). This can generate enormous amounts of negative, or at best neutral, energy. That’s another reason why it’s often important to remove hierarchy wherever possible.
• Shared higher purpose. When we share a higher purpose we connect to something greater than ourselves.  Embracing this higher purpose for our teams, our organizations, our families, and, of course, our planet reinforces our sense of wholeness.

As a lifelong observer of human (and other forms) of energy, I’m curious to learn:

What personal or professional experiences have generated feelings of wholeness? How did that burst of positive energy contribute to your life, and the lives of those around you?

Remember your answers. They’re the key to building more positive energy for all of us!