Three Ways Founders Can Supercharge Their Energy
In part two of our series on leading with boldness, we look at ways to optimize a founder’s most important resource: resonant energy.
As a rule, I have found that bold and impactful leaders radiate an energy that drives them powerfully toward their mission in life. Their energy is so resonant that it lights up whatever conversation or project or gathering they join. While some people are born with more or less energy, everyone can optimize their energy to be the most productive and inspirational they can be.
How? My experiences suggest three, interrelated factors that can be cultivated by just about anyone who wants to maximize their energy and energize those around them. Let’s take them up one at a time.
1. Staying on Purpose: A leader's energy is anchored in a deep connection to living his/her purpose. If a founder’s personal passion is the driving force of their organization's mission and vision, they stay energized and it becomes highly contagious. I think the philosopher Pantanjali captured the relationship between energy and purpose as articulately as anyone who has has ever lived when he shared the following wisdom:
When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds. Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.
Pantanjali’s reflection reminds me of so many of my natural retail, CPG founders and friends with whom I have worked. One, in particular, had a dreadful digestive disease that almost cost him his life at the early age of 19. After talking with dozens of medical specialists and doing his own research on the subject, he came up with a natural protocol that saved his life. He later shared this with his grandmother who was dying of cancer and it helped her as well. The protocol became the #1 best selling probiotic in the US natural retail market.
His story shows us the connection between purpose and energy: when you love to do something, you bring tireless energy to it. You can work for hours, and work well, isn’t really work anymore. You love it. Even when you hit obstacles or experience setbacks, you have the energy to persevere.
In his famous list of the habits of successful people, Steven Covey included the belief that “every person has a unique personal significance” that he called “finding your voice.” Think about the thing or things that you find yourself talking about, thinking about or reading about the most and you’ll know where your energy should be directed.
Or as My Dad often said, “If you're not really passionate about what you are doing, nothing great is ever going to come from it.”
2. Operating in Your Strengths: Another crucial aspect of energy comes from operating in your strengths or Zone of Genius on a consistent basis. Your ZOG isn’t simply what you’re good at, although ZOGs are by definition things we excel at. They are also the thing we do with the least amount of prodding or self-inflected torture. The thing we would do for free if we could.
At ScalePassion, we like to say everybody must be in their sweet spot. As a general rule of thumb, founders in the earliest stages of company growth will have to wear multiple hats, although savvy founders will build even their small startup teams with versatile athletes. As the company grows into the adolescence phase, founders should aim to spend upwards of 50-75% of their time doing what they are naturally gifted at, and frankly doing things that no one else on their team can do. Everything else can, and should, be delegated.
I once worked with a founder who was gifted at sharing his vision and inspiring the internal team and key stakeholders. Any time he got the opportunity to speak and share the vision publicly or teach the internal team, his energy would sky rocket and amazing things would happen. On the flip side, he also insisted on owning the brand message, which was not his sweet spot and should have fallen in the hands of his highly capable VP of Marketing.
After offering him some much-needed feedback, he identified this as a blindspot and began empowering the team, which led directly to his enjoying more time inspiring others through teaching and coaching.
3. Managing Your Resonating Energy Levels: Maintaining high levels of resonant energy requires thoughtful management of daily habits. Leaders must prioritize self-care and well-being to sustain their vitality and avoid burnout.
The healthiest leaders diligently manage their energy by designing their daily routines/habits in great detail. One trick involves setting up “gateway habits” that serve as prompts for productive activities during the day. For example, getting your workout outfit/shoes ready to put on before you go to bed at night makes it far more likely that you’ll put them on and run in them the next morning. If you are committed to eating clean and enjoy starting the day with a smoothie, then prep all your fruits and veggies for the week on Sunday and ration them out for daily use.
Nothing sucks the life out of the daily ins-and-outs of a business than boring, scattered and inconclusive meetings, right? If you want to run high energy, productive meetings, carve out 30 minutes before each one to create a detailed outline to work from. Or use the time to establish a compelling context, purpose and result for the meeting. This will keep you sharp and, just as important, keep your team sharp.
As you embody these three pillars of energetic leadership, you will witness the transformative power they hold. Your authentic alignment with purpose, emphasis on strengths, and dedication to positive habits will transform your leadership and radiate through your organization.
Remember, cultivating resonant energy is an ongoing journey, and the effort you invest will reap rewards for both yourself and your team. Together, let's propel your leadership journey to new heights of success and fulfillment. If you would like to assess how you're doing against all three pillars of a leader's energy, feel free to take our complimentary, confidential survey below. Are you ready to scale your personal leadership?
Sincerely,
Nick Van Nice, ScalePassion
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