Let's Think About It Podcast

From Drain to Drive: Understanding Energy Leadership

• Morice Mabry • Season 1 • Episode 15

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Dive into a transformative journey with me, Coach Mo, as we unlock the secrets to peak leadership performance. Feel the shift in your professional life as we tap into the Energy Leadership Index Assessment, a game-changing tool that deciphers how perceptions impact our energy. We'll dissect the nuances of catabolic and anabolic energies, exploring how these forces can either drain or drive us towards unparalleled success. By guiding you through the seven levels of energy, you'll learn to harness the very power that fuels influential leaders and sets the stage for achieving your most audacious goals. 🚀

This episode isn't just theory; it's about real people facing real workplace dilemmas. Meet Trina, whose struggle with respect in the boardroom echoes the experiences of many rising stars in the corporate world. Through her story, I'll demonstrate practical strategies for engaging in tough conversations with confidence and grace. We'll also venture into the realm of personal influence, examining how leaders like Paul can convert high-pressure demands into opportunities that uplift their teams. Be prepared to redefine empowerment as you master the art of maintaining energy, setting strategic priorities, and leading by example to cultivate a thriving, optimistic workplace. Join us, absorb the insights, and witness your leadership ascend to new heights. 💼✨


Speaker 1:

Welcome to the let's Think About it podcast, where we embark on a journey of thoughtfulness and personal growth. I'm your host, coach Moe, and I'm here to guide you through thought-promoking discussions that will inspire you to unlock your full potential. In each episode, we'll explore a wide range of topics, from self-discovery and mindfulness to goal-setting and achieving success. Together, we'll challenge conventional thinking and dive deep into the realms of possibility. Whether you're looking to find clarity in your personal or professional life, or seeking strategies to overcome obstacles, this podcast is your go-to source for insightful conversations and practical advice. So find a comfortable spot, shield, and let's embark on this journey of self-improvement together. Remember, the power of transformation lies within you, and together we'll uncover the tools and insights you need to make it happen. So let's dive in.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to another episode of the let's Think About it podcast. I'm your host, coach Moe, and I'm excited to be here always. Today, I'm going to talk more about myself and my methodological approach to coaching. I'm actually an energy leadership coach, so what exactly is that? I take the approach on focusing on energy and how that energy shows up from a productive standpoint or from this draining standpoint. So one of the core foundations that I utilize in my methodological approach to energy leadership coaching is I utilize what we call this energy leadership index assessment.

Speaker 2:

Now, this assessment is a research-backed assessment that focuses on your perception to influence energy and how you show up on a normal day and during stress. So think about that right. Every day, you're authentic self, you're this normal person and you're influenced one way or another, and it typically ties back to our energy and when you're most productive I don't care what you think about when you're most productive a lot of times it's due to our energy being pretty high. You're in this flow, you're feeling good about yourself. That means your energy is typically good. Now don't get me wrong, right? We're accustomed to getting things done by deadlines in a hurry and we're productive that way too. However, sometimes in that approach, being forced to get through certain tasks, assignment goals. It can be forced right and in those moments when it's feeling forced, you feel your energy being pulled away from you and that also affects how we show up. And in fact, a lot of times when it's being forced, stress is present, worry is present and this assessment really helps us focus on the perception and how we see different dynamics. That ultimately affects our energy.

Speaker 2:

So today I'm really excited to talk about this approach that I take in working with executives, leaders, career professionals, because a lot of times I don't talk much about it. I'm bringing value to my guests who comes on this show and really trying to promote the work that they do. Today it's about me. I'm going to be selfish. Today I want to talk about my approach and how I help leaders be more successful, and it all starts with their perception and just how they see the world. And that's the uniqueness about the Energy Leadership Index Assessment is it's not like your personality type assessments. Your personality is your personality. It's just who you are and it takes time to work through certain traits, behaviors, just to make a small little dent into your personality Because, think about it, you've been this way for years, decades, right, and taking an assessment around personality, right. I'm not knocking that as bad, I'm not saying that. But where I'm coming from in that, in this perspective, is your personality and to shift that. It just takes a lot more time in order to make that happen.

Speaker 2:

What I like about the Energy Leadership Index Assessment is it's really based on perception, right, we have a certain way of just how we see the world, how we see ourselves, how we see dynamics and what contributes to that. All of these other factors talking about culture, talking about our social economic status, our marital status, education, family, mentors, work, dynamics all of these things, all of these things really starts to shape how we see the outer world and it ultimately creates these filters, right, and what this assessment starts to do is help you connect those filters in how you start to see dynamics that play out right. So what this assessment really does the Energy Leadership Index Assessment what it does is it measures two types of energy, right Calibonic energy and antibiotic energy. Calibonic energy is that draining type energy that's just pulling from you, right, and it's tied to our emotions. So when you feel frustrated, when you feel discouraged, when you feel upset, when you feel afraid, when you feel worried, when you feel anxiety, when you feel stressed all of those emotions that I just described, right, all of those emotions I just described. It drains your energy. Now, think about it certain situations that come up, whether your personal life, work, whatever, and you feel frustrated, you feel worrisome, afraid, all of these emotions within that moment, just that moment, you're distracted, your energy is being pulled away from you. Okay, that's cannabinoic energy.

Speaker 2:

Now, on the flip side, think about the times when you're very successful and you're excited. You have this brilliant idea and you. There's collaboration, there's a goal achievement. Just think of it in that light, how fuel you feel in those moments. Think about the synergy, the synergetic energy that you feel in those moments, and how awesome that is. Think of how productive you are when you motivate it to get something done, the excitement that comes with that. Right, that's anabolic energy.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so then, what this assessment really starts to do is it measures these seven levels of energy. We're one and two. Is this calabalic energy? That's just draining, and and it shows you how it's, how it appears on a normal day for you and during stress. Okay, then it looks at levels three through seven, which is the antibiotic energy. That's that fueling type energy and it shows you how that energy three through levels, three through seven starts to show up for you on a normal day and the assessment really starts to break it down for you, like that right, and it generates this unique combination of the seven energy levels on a normal day for you and during stress.

Speaker 2:

And there's a report. It prints out a report and I have the opportunity to Debrief that with you and work with you through that report. But what that does is it helps create a common language for you and I as we have various discussions about how your energy is is affecting your productivity and we leverage those seven levels of energy in a discussion To create awareness of how you can start to be intentional in moving away from that Calabalic energy. Okay, it really starts to help Establish your power of choice. We all have power of choice. But when you're distracted by these unwarranted emotions around frustration, fear, anxiety, stress when you're experiencing that, in those moments you're actually really Distracted and judgment becomes present. As this assessment, after we debrief your report of the assessment, now we start to have a common language, benchmarks and how we can start to move forward in you getting out of your own way and because there's this, certain circumstances that potentially comes up, that you're just not confident about Something coming up that's making you avoid certain situations. Why is that? Why are you in avoiding certain circumstances?

Speaker 2:

And First for some clients who want to take it to that next level, right, we take a deep dive into what I call, what we call these six influencers that affect our seven levels of energy, and I want to read some of those with you and just start talking about this the six influencers that really start to affect those seven levels of energy the Calabalic energy or the antibiotic energy that we're experiencing. The number one, the first influencer, would be Spiritual influencers. Okay, it involves your purpose, beliefs, values, gifts, desires, goals, etc. In relation to what you specifically want to do and how you want to do it and achieve it. So those influence the spiritual influencers, really starts to affect your purpose and your belief system. Okay, and when it's not in alignment, in certain situations, it affects your energy. And then, when your energy is affected, is it being limited in that moment or is it being enhanced in that moment? But either way, either side of the spectrum spiritual influences influencers affects our energy.

Speaker 2:

Number two, mental influencers involve your clarity as to what you're doing, your ability to remain focused on performing without being distracted, and whether the task is Interesting and has the right degree of challenge for you. Your mental capacity. Think about you're doing a job and you've been doing it for a couple of years and you know it. With your eyes closed, you don't even have to think about it. There's not even a challenge anymore. You naturally can become distinct because the challenge isn't, doesn't exist anymore for you, it's just easy. So you're not even motivated. That's an example of a mental influencer that's influencing your energy in those moments. Okay, number three emotional influencers. This involves how well your needs and desires are being met by your doing, how excited and enthusiastic you are about doing it, and whether you have the emotional control to be able to choose how to respond instead of react to any given situation. So think about those moments when you feel frustrated, irritated, afraid, excited, happy, joyful, fearless. All of those are examples of an emotional influencer being present, and it can enhance you or distract you in those moments.

Speaker 2:

Physical influencers this is another aspect that really starts to show up, right. It involves your awareness of what your body is telling you in how proactive you are in taking care of your physical self, for example, like eating in a healthy way, exercising regularly, practicing preventative care so that you are able to create the physical power that will best serve you to accomplish any given task. Going into work, you feel entrained and you're just not your authentic self at work. Could it be because you're not getting enough rest, you're not taking breaks? Those are examples of physical influencers that could typically be affecting your productivity and your energy. That's something that we could look at. Is there a physical influencer that's creating the triggers of the frustration that you're feeling? Because sometimes, think about it there may be times where you didn't get enough sleep and you're just moody the next day. That's an example of a physical influencer being present, the fact that you didn't get enough rest.

Speaker 2:

Okay, number five social influencers. This involves having the right amount and type of interaction with others you play or compete with and feeling supported before, during and after the game. This may involve being surrounded by like-minded people who are excited about the same things you are, or you may thrive in a culture that emphasizes individual versus teamwork. Social influencers right, this is a critical influencer, because there's those negative Nazis. I like to call them right. And just think about when you have an idea and you're excited about that idea and then the negative Nancy is really doubtful about the idea. It just affects your energy in that moment you naturally start to become discouraged because of this negative person in the environment at that moment, or vice versa, there's people that are very encouraging, uplifting, and when you share your idea, you feel more motivated to execute the idea because of the support that you're getting from those around you. That's in your sphere, that's social influencer, and that's how that starts to show up right To affect your energy, whether productivity or not being productive.

Speaker 2:

And then number six, environmental influencers. This involves your belief that your environment will allow you to compete or enjoy the tasks you're about to do in a way that you would like to do it. So think about your work. Environment, right. Is that environment set up around negativity or is it set up around positivity and it affects your energy? It does, it just naturally does and you can feel it right, like sometimes when we walk into the meeting. The vibe you feel in the room of that meeting environmental influencer is present in that sense. So check this out.

Speaker 2:

I get this common question all the time of Mo, in your estimation, working with the amount of leaders that you work with, what would you say is the common theme that leaders struggle with? Easy response to that Difficult conversations and work-life balance are the top two that consistently comes up when I'm working with leaders, and what I want to do right now is I want to just give you a snapshot of a situation, a couple of situations, in which I worked with leaders and how I helped them through these two particular dynamics of difficult conversations and work-life balance. First, I'm not going to give out their true name, so I'm going to make up a name, because I don't want to expose people's identity, of what I work, of who I work with. But I will say this there's this person. Her name is Trina. Let's just say that Trina. I'm going to connect Trina to the difficult conversations.

Speaker 2:

But there's actually a double component with Trina, because Trina was a doubter about my energy leadership coaching approach and she had difficulties with having difficult conversations.

Speaker 2:

So let's start with the first part of it not really being a believer in energy leadership coaching and we had a meet and greet, discovery session, whatever you want to call it had an opportunity to meet Trina and I was telling her, just like I was sharing with you today, more so about my approach and how the catabolic energy works, antibiotic energy.

Speaker 2:

And then we got a little bit into limited beliefs, assumptions, interpretations, and then a negative, chirping voice of the gremlins are talking about all of that stuff, right. And so then she was like she said to me. She said, well, nothing against you, but the psychology behind it. I just don't agree with that. And I remember saying to her I'm not here to really try to sell you on my coaching approach. Whether you believe it or not, it's true, limiting beliefs is that stereotype that we just carry with us, and my role today in meeting with you, trina, is not to try to sell you on coaching. I'm just trying to create awareness that, whatever barriers you're dealing with, one, there's some sort of limiting belief, assumption, judgment, whatever you want to describe it as is going to be present. And two, there's something that's influencing the judgment to be present. Whether you believe me or not, that's irrelevant and that is what it is right. And so she was just dismissed, it right.

Speaker 2:

And so then I went here I was like, okay, tell me a challenge, just one challenge that you're dealing with in your environment, your work environment. And she said I have a situation, being a new leader, that when we have these team meetings, that when I say something, there's this other lady or senior leader who consistently cuts me off when I'm speaking or acts to make a point. She always cuts me off and I said okay. I said how do you approach it? She said I don't do anything, I just sit back. I said okay, when you're sitting back and you do nothing, how does it make you feel? And she would.

Speaker 2:

She paused right and she was just thinking about it and she said I feel disrespected. I feel like I don't have a voice. And I said absolutely, anybody with your credentials for who you are I'm sure you busted your ass to get to where you are as a leader. You busted your ass and they in the meeting, when you're there, they ask for your viewpoint and you give it and you're consistently cut off. Hell yes, anyone in your shoes will feel disrespected.

Speaker 2:

She was like, yeah, that's how I feel and that and it's not right. I said absolutely. But then I asked her what's preventing you for speaking up for yourself? And she paused right and she thought about it. She said I'm new and because I'm new. I don't want people to think this and that and I'm a woman of color, so I don't want the extra notion on me that I'm a certain way so I don't say anything. I said, oh, okay, so when you don't say anything, what are the benefits of that? There are no benefits. I'm not putting myself out there to embarrass myself. I said okay, what are the cons of not confronting that? The cons is I feel disrespected, I shy away, and then the behavior potentially continues and then it never be addressed.

Speaker 2:

I said okay, ultimately, you have a choice. She's, what do you mean? I said you have a choice. What do you think those choices are? I can address it, okay, yeah. What else? What's another choice you can do? Break that choice down of addressing it. How would you address it? Okay, I can address it with the person directly. Okay, that's an option. I can address it with our supervisor. Okay, that's another option. I can address it with everyone's supervisor, the top manager. Okay, that's an option. What's another option? I can do nothing, okay. So you just started with me four options Doing nothing, address it with the person directly, addressing it with the supervisor, your immediate supervisor. And addressing it with all supervisors. She said yeah.

Speaker 2:

I said okay, of all of those four alternatives that you just shared, which one do you feel most confident in approaching? And she's just like I don't know. I got to think about it. Totally fine, but let's say you do nothing, right? If you do nothing, would the disrespect feeling still exist? She says yes, okay, do you like the disrespecting feeling that you feel? She said no, if that's the case, why do you continue to avoid it? Then, if you don't like that feeling I never thought of it like that, I know you haven't Most of us don't think of it from that standpoint we feel we have no choice and we have to accept it. So we just accept it and we continue the repetitive behavior of not addressing it because it's easier not to address.

Speaker 2:

And I said at the beginning of this conversation, you said you wasn't a believer of what I was saying around the influencers, the energy and the psychological approach to coaching. But you just shared, like the avoidance of not addressing it is affecting you and it doesn't feel good. So how do you start to become more intentional so that it does feel good and you start to get the outcomes that you want? And I said without predicting the outcome if you talk to your manager, or talk to the person that's cutting you off, or talk to your supervisor supervisor, without trying to predict the outcome, how would it feel to just execute that I don't know? But I'm sure she says I don't know, but I imagine it'll feel better than feeling disrespected, bingo. So which step are you gonna take? I think I feel more comfortable approaching the individual and having a conversation. Great, great, what's that approach gonna be? How are you gonna strategize that approach? What can you do to be intentional? So you guys start to get the point right.

Speaker 2:

She became a believer and started getting out of her own way, because she realized that she does have a power of choice in that circumstance. And the key influencer in that whole situation that I was telling you about spiritual influencer, in a sense that she was being disrespected. That's a value. So that connects with your spiritual influencer, right. And then the emotional influencer. She was frustrated, discouraged, angry. That's the emotional component of it. So what I did is I worked with her around those two influencer and when she started getting more clarity in how these influencers show up, she now has power of choice in how she can approach it. Boom shifted her whole paradigm and we're good now. She enjoys working with me. She looks forward to these conversations.

Speaker 2:

That second scenario work like balance. So let's say Paul, right, paul is frustrated around the never ending demand of expectations that's put on him in his team. I think a lot of leaders experienced this right, things coming from the top and you're being spread thin right, totally thin, and it's intimidating to push back and say no, I can't do it. You're in that situation where you just have to do what's told, that's being requested, and you're showing up in a sense that I gotta get this done right, I don't have time. We got this priority, this priority, this priority coming down and I don't know what's what I don't know like. How can I manage all of this? And I'm working 16 hour days, 15, 14, at least crazy hours.

Speaker 2:

This is what Paul is just telling me, right? So he's telling me the situation where I think, as the CEO of the company or whatever, a lot of changes is happening and his team is working on multiple projects and so the top management is just consistently dropping a lot of initiatives down on the team and Paul is frustrated because his team is getting frustrated and he's afraid that they're going to leave, they're going to walk out, they're going to find other places to work, right, and that fear is really present and it's heavy on Paul, right. So I ask him, in all of this that's coming down on you, right, and you have no control over it, you have no control. You cannot control the initiatives that's coming to your plate, but what you can control is how you receive it and your viewpoint of it and how you internalize it. That's what you have control over that.

Speaker 2:

And knowing that, paul, what's the opportunity in creating a win in this dynamic? And he paused and he's thinking and he says, instead of getting so frustrated and creating so much animosity towards senior management, maybe I can start looking at it from an opportunistic viewpoint. I said, okay, tell me more about that. He says my team really follows my way and follows my lead and when I'm discouraged, I notice they're typically become discouraged and because of my behaviors. So if I start taking a more opportunistic viewpoint, maybe that will help my energy. I was like, okay, because he's aware of the energy aspect, because I've been working with him, so he understands the.

Speaker 2:

So I asked him what is the win? Win is level five energy. By the way, for people that don't know that level five is when energy and I was like in this situation where you have no control over all of the demands that's coming your way how can you create a win for yourself so that you could start to navigate the situation? He said first, maybe I can want to start to control my viewpoint of how I receive it and, instead of allowing myself to be triggered and being upset, maybe I can just take a more appreciative approach, emotional influence or, by the way, I could start taking that approach. Maybe I can. Also, because I feel overworked, maybe I can start taking a little bit more breaks in between physical influence or, by the way, taking more breaks in between so that my energy stays up. And if my energy is up, I'm a little bit more motivated and I can't stop the demands from coming in. But what I can do is be intentional about asking what the priorities are of those demands and working out a strategy with leadership and how those demands come to me to be more strategic. And then, if I'm more strategic, I will feel more confident in my abilities for me and my team to get the work done and meet expectations.

Speaker 2:

And so then I said how confident on a scale of one to 10, 10 being extremely confident to one not being so confident. Are you in implementing what you just said to me? Oh man, he was like I'm about an eight. I'm like, all right, cool. So what's your first step? My first step? Honestly, I'm going to implement some breaks.

Speaker 2:

I was like, okay, that's cool, but I need some ideas, mo. I was like I can tell you, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to buy into what I tell you. What do you think you can do? As he was like, yeah, I think, just, I really am busy. If I can just start doing more walks because I work from home and then I do, I work at, I go into the office, both but if I can start being intentional about focusing on my health and exercising and things like that, and just taking five, 10 minute breaks throughout the day, I think that actually would make me feel a little bit better. Okay, so when are you going to implement that? You know what? Actually, I'm going to do something. Right after we get off of our call. I was like, all right, great.

Speaker 2:

And so then, as we continued talking, I did ask him how does these behaviors, these new potential behaviors that you're implementing will influence your team, and he said I didn't even think of it from that viewpoint. You're right, though, because right now, they're emulating my behavior feeling frustrated, so they're frustrated. So if I start implementing these type of productive behaviors taking breaks, being more optimistic, having a better attitude of how things come in it will fuel them to do the same. Absolutely so, in all, he's implemented these little changes, creating minor milestones, and the culture is shifting. They work and the demand is still the same.

Speaker 2:

It has not changed in that regard, but what's changed is how he shows up and his energy, in which he showed up right, and that's my coaching approach, that's my method, methodological approach, like really helping leaders work through their energy and diving into these influencers, creating awareness around those influencers so that they have better understanding in how they're showing up in these different dynamics, and that's powerful, that's power of choice, and most of us me included certain dynamics. We forget about our power of choice because we're distracted in those moments by the unwanted emotion of what we're feeling. We are the victim to that emotion in that moment. And when you're the victim in that moment, by default we forget about our power of choice and, as a result we're on autopilot of just waiting for the emotion to just go away, and that waiting period can be an hour, five hours a day, a week, whatever, as it pertains to that specific dynamic and it makes us unproductive. In that particular dynamic, and what I help leaders do is gain more awareness in how they can be intentional in regaining their power of choice, and when you have your power of choice, man, you can conquer anything. Your potential is off the charts. So I thank you. I thank you for listening to me today and I look forward to supporting you in more of these types of episodes. Take care and have an awesome day.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for joining me in this episode of let's Think About it. Your time and attention are greatly appreciated. If you found value in today's discussion, I encourage you to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. Remember the journey of self-improvement is ongoing and I'm here to support you every step of the way. Connect with me on social media for updates and insights. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook at CoachMoCoaching, or LinkedIn at Maurice Maverick, or visit my website at MauriceMaverickcom for exclusive content. Until next time, keep reflecting, keep growing and, most importantly, keep believing in yourself. Remember the most effective way to do it is to do it Together. We're making incredible strides toward a better and more empowered you, so thank you, and I'll see you in our next episode.