Executive Stamina: The High Cost Of Being A Low Energy Leader

In executive coaching, we often explore what’s required to operate at the highest level of your executive role: 100 watts of energy.

Here’s the idea: As an executive or senior leader, imagine that you only get 100 watts of energy in a single day. No more, no less, and the bigger, more demanding, more complex your role, the more you’ll need to be extremely disciplined and focused about where you spend your energy. If you’re in a senior role, your job is too big to be operating under anything than 100. You can’t afford to give away a single watt on anything other than high value, high impact activities.

Given that, consider how you may be unintentionally giving away wattage throughout your day to unproductive activities or actions. For senior leaders, having executive stamina and energy is a huge differentiator in delivering value, high performance, and success. Consider:

You may be operating at a deficit before you’ve even gotten out of bed.

Simple choices from yesterday (staying up too late, shortchanging yourself on sleep, worrying about a tough work situation) are all major energy-draining activities that can easily spill into the next day. Travel, meetings, and the daily blocking and tackling of a senior leader’s job demand significant energy, so start to notice your ‘wattage’ when you start your day. If it’s less than 100, start to assess yesterday’s activities. Make some decisions and refuse to carry them into today where possible.

Watch out for the energy myth.

What is the energy myth? It says: If I had fewer demands, priorities, or tasks to complete, I’d have more energy. That makes sense on paper, but in practice, the opposite is often true, and you’ve likely experienced this first-hand, because what energizes us isn’t having less on our plates. Rather, it’s about having a purpose, feeling motivated by a goal, learning new things, making progress, taking charge, and so on. If you lack energy, ask yourself about the last time you felt engaged at work or fired up about a project. If nothing comes to mind, start there.

Low energy leaders pay a high price.

At BTS, we’ve studied the relationship between executive energy and stamina and its direct link to being seen as influential. We’ve analyzed data from thousands of senior leaders to assess the degree to which a leader can drive execution through their ability to engage, align, and inspire others to act. What the research highlights is how low energy leaders have to work much harder to get commitment from others. In part, this is because it’s more challenging for leaders with lower energy to manage their less productive behaviors. Makes sense, given that it takes much more energy to successfully navigate a difficult client conversation, lead a change, or tackle a complex problem.

The most important work of executives requires high energy.

For senior leaders, high energy is a must. This doesn’t mean always being “on,” or having a big personality. It’s simply about having the courage, the discipline, and the commitment to protect what matters most. Having high energy must become a non-negotiable for leaders, teams, and companies, because the higher your energy, the more likely you’ll be to try something new, consider a fresh approach, or take the time to think. Great things can come from these moments; it’s where new ideas are born, new sources of enterprise value are identified, and where leaders lay the groundwork for growth, performance, and the future.

Give yourself an energy audit.

High energy matters, and it’s why so many senior leaders consider it their differentiator and secret weapon for achieving success. Certainly, we all have high energy and low energy periods, but if you’re struggling consistently in this area, notice where you may be unintentionally giving energy away. For most of us, this includes some areas where we feel we have little control, and other areas where the ball is entirely in your court. For instance, are you:

• Doing work that is far outside the scope of your role or that ‘belongs’ to other people?
• Doubting and second-guessing yourself?
• Exhausted by problems and cleaning up other people’s messes?
• Taking on the role of therapist for a coworker or manager?
• Staying silent in meetings, holding back, and avoiding difficult conversations?
• Overpreparing for meetings, scenario-planning to the nth degree just in case?
• Still angry about last week’s email?
• Frustrated about the amount of work you’ve been given (but haven’t addressed it with anyone who is in a position to do anything about it)?

Pick 1-2 areas that are draining your energy and discuss with a collegue, executive coach, or friend. Commit to putting an end to giving your ‘wattage’ away, and add energy-giving behaviors that allow you to work and live at even higher levels.