We’ve all had days when we’re not quite at our best, when our energy isn’t at its peak and our productivity falters. Across all walks of life, whatever talent we may possess, if our energy isn’t there, we don’t perform to our full potential.

If we fail to manage our energy correctly over time, we risk falling into prolonged “traps” including inertia, complacency, and unfocused activity that erodes enjoyment, quality of performance and results!

We can have the best strategy, the best people, the best products, but a lack of individual and collective energy, or energy directed in the wrong way, will immediately limit our plans for success. It is why everything we do is geared to leave all our clients re-energised and empowered, filled with ‘connective energy’.

Connective energy

Connective energy is a positive energy state with high intensity. It is the most powerful energy in helping individuals and organisations achieve sustained success. It occurs at many levels:

• INDIVIDUALS: Connecting to who they truly are – seeking to be the best version of themselves they can be.
• TEAMS: Connecting to each other with a shared trust, desire and purpose that creates illuminating synergy.
• WORKFORCE: Connecting to their organisation with aligned values, understanding and living the goals and purpose of the company to achieve collective sustained success.
• LEADERS: Connecting to every individual they work with, valuing their diversity and adapting their leadership style to inspire the best from each individual.
• ORGANISATIONS: Connecting on a deep level to their customers & wider environment.

Individuals who have connective energy truly understand themselves, their core values and beliefs, their motivations and goals. They are authentic and bring positivity, clear direction and a sense of purpose to the workplace, and an excitement and drive to everything they do, challenging themselves to grow, to fulfil their potential

Teams, departments and organisations built on connective energy come together in synergy, where every member understands and strives for common goals, sparking collective achievement. They value and utilise diversity, affirming differences, holding each other accountable and catalyzing mutual growth.

Leaders working with connective energy understand their personal brand as a leader, the values they stand for, connected to the goals and values of their organisation. Not content with today’s performance they seek personal growth and seek to connect with every individual in their team, positively challenging each to continually grow.

Connective energy delivers exponential value for internal and external stakeholders with individuals seeking the very best for themselves, colleagues, the wider organisation and the customers they serve.

Similarly, the organisation has a unique, powerful connection with their customers, stakeholders and the wider community.

What is comfortable energy?

Comfortable energy is a positive energy state but with low intensity. The fires are still burning, but the flames have died down.

Whilst helpful in providing enjoyment and a feeling of safety and security, it does not provide the spark necessary for superior performance and outstanding success.

All individuals and companies need a certain degree of comfort. However, a company’s ideal energy state combines distinct levels of comfortable energy with a dominant extent of connective energy.

For individuals, too much comfortable energy can lead to lack of fulfilment of potential, accepting current ways of working, enjoying what life and job role brings without stretching to achieve more.

For leaders, this may manifest itself as failing to inspire a vision in others or bringing positive challenge to employees, or creating a “nice” place to work with no clear direction, failing to resolve conflict, not dealing quickly with poor performance, not praising quickly or often enough.

For teams, departments and organisations, while this may mean an extremely low turnover rate, staff may feel engaged to stay because their environment is comfortable. They may not feel challenged to go the extra mile to enhance success, meaning results are not what they might be.

For individuals and groups who have experienced repeated success, comfortable energy can also become dominant, brought about by complacency and over confidence in believing that continuing to bring the same will deliver the same ongoing success. This can be detrimental to individual and collective performance.

What is resigned energy?

Resigned energy is a negative energy state but with low intensity. The flames that once burned brightly have gone, to be replaced by smoke rising from the embers.

Like the fire, members may feel burned out.

Individuals who show resigned energy are not happy with the way things are. They might not care enough to be willing to change them or, if they do care enough, may feel unable or unwilling to make the personal effort to change them. They have a progressive inertia brought about by just accepting the way things are, mentally withdrawing and openly showing indifference to company goals, their own progression or personal direction.

Employees experience frustration and disappointment, little willingness to try things new, simply going through the motions, keeping their head down to remain safe in their job. If they witness things that are wrong, or against their values, they are likely to remain impassive, taking the easy route rather doing what is right.

Teams, departments and organisations with many employees demonstrating resigned energy have low collective employee engagement, with many actively disengaged. All of this together results in a weakened ability for change, innovation and performance, reducing the agility needed to stay ahead of the competition, damaging the potential for long term success.

What is corrosive energy?

Corrosive energy is a negative energy state but with high intensity where individuals don’t feel connected to their teams, leaders or organisations.

Individuals demonstrating corrosive energy may show high levels of anger, active disengagement, and outward negativity to their colleagues or organisation.

Teams, departments or organisations with corrosive energy are often characterised by destructive internal conflicts, a lack of trust, a culture of blame, micro management and micro-political activities. Corrosive behaviour can appear at any level in organisations. In individuals or groups, any tendency to weaken others in favour of maximising personal interests ultimately confirm corrosive energy.

In leaders this may manifest itself as bullying, harassment and passing blame down the organisation. It may be represented by not living by or demonstrating company values, setting a bad example to others, serving their own interests and putting personal gain above that of their reports, customers or the organisation they work for.

See how our approach could help you to create connective energy.