Leaders, did you know you are an energy contributor at work?

What does this mean…and why does it matter? 

You’re about to find out! 

Your Influence on Workplace Positivity

As a leader, you have a significant influence on workplace positivity (a.k.a. positive energy) – even if you’re not aware of it.

Is your energy promoting workplace negativity or workplace positivity?

We’ve all been in that meeting where people are laughing, talking, energetic…and then the leader comes in with a scowl on their face, saying something that just wipes the smiles completely away, and there goes the positive energy. 

Or the leader comes in calmly, using humor to transition into a solutions-focused discussion about a problem. The positive energy in the room is at least preserved, or even elevated.

Leaders have more opportunity than others to drive the energy of a room. The same goes for the entire atmosphere of the company. The leader (You!) has more influence over the energy shifts and dynamics in the workplace. 

You Can Spark Positivity in the Workplace

If you are unhappy with the current energy at your workplace, if you are wishing there was more positivity and more motivation, you can do something about it! You can flip the switch! 

It’s true you can’t control everything. Especially since energy is impacted by so many forces outside the workplace. 

But you can make an impact. You can make a difference. You can help shape the level of positivity or negativity at your workplace. 

When things are overwhelming and it seems like too much for one person to change, remember what happens when you throw a pebble in a pond. One person can make a difference. One pebble creates ripples. This means you can have an impact by creating positive energy ripples (or even waves)!

How?

You start with yourself. 

3 Ways to Radiate Your Own Positive Energy 

When you recognize that you are an energy contributor and you focus on creating your own positive energy, you will positively impact your team.

Are you ready to own, understand, and take responsibility for your own energy? Here are some tips to help you get started.

1. Create a caring culture. Prioritize self care, especially when you are under a lot of stress. Create space for each team member to take care of themselves, as well. Share your vision for a high energy, high performance team who cares about each other. 
2. Be aware of your needs. Check in with yourself often (and encourage your team to do the same thing). Did you get enough sleep? Did you drink enough water? Did you get any movement in for the day? How are you feeling emotionally? Even think about how “hangry” you are at the moment!
3. Learn and share. Learn all you can about energy and how it impacts our everyday lives and the workplace. Start a conversation with your team about the importance of energy in the workplace and how we each contribute. 

As a leader, you influence the energy tone at work with every decision you make—even when that decision is a simple shift in perspective.  

To Improve Workplace Positivity, Start with Yourself

Your personal and professional selves are not as separate as you might think. You bring your whole being to work. If you take care of yourself, your whole self, you’ll have the opportunity to be present with a higher and more positive energy level in your personal life as well as at work—which will have a positive impact on your team.

It’s important to help your team recognize this principle, as well. If we can find ways to nurture and support the whole person in our workplaces, employee satisfaction and retention will increase—along with workplace positivity! 

We also have the added benefit of higher organizational performance because the better our employees are doing in their lives overall, the better positioned they are for success in the workplace. 

Here are some resources to help you and your team when pursuing peak condition—for your whole being.

Dr. Dean Ornish’s Research

Undo It! How Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Reverse Most Chronic Diseases by Dean Ornish, M.D., and Anne Ornish offers scientifically proven ways to reduce many diseases, including heart disease, using a framework with four components: movement, nutrition, stress levels, and emotional support. You can visit his website for additional information about the program he created to help people adopt this framework.

Ornish’s model is an excellent guide for taking care of yourself. The four focal points in his framework have a proven impact on our health. And if we prioritize our health, we’re going to thrive.  

Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative Inquiry is one of my favorite approaches to use with teams. I can attest from experience that it works! 

Appreciative inquiry makes the case that when we need to solve a problem, thinking of situations that have gone well puts us in a solution-oriented mindset. This, in turn, fuels a creative response. 

Intuitively, we may think we need to picture how bad things could be or how things could go wrong in any given situation. The opposite is true. Creativity and solutions come easier when we keep our minds focused on the positive—on solutions. Solutions-oriented, positive energy gets results. Negative energy evokes a fear response. We don’t create good results from fear!

Additional Resources

For further learning on this subject, we recommend the following resources:

• Hopkins Medicine: The Power of Positive Thinking
• Mayo Clinic: Positive Thinking
• IE: Positivity Is Not Magic, It’s Science

Remember that developing positive energy within yourself is not a one-and-done activity, it’s an ongoing endeavor. When we fuel up on a daily basis, we build our energy reserves and have more to give at work.

From this place, we are in a better position to support our team in taking care of themselves. 

Workplace Positivity as a Business Strategy

There is another benefit to cultivating a mindset of positivity, beyond the mental and physical health benefits for you (which are awesome, of course!). 

Cultivating positivity within yourself and in your workplace brings tangible benefits to your company—improved retention rates, increased employee satisfaction and productivity, and a collaborative, co-creative environment that has people excited to come to work each day.

Having a positive mindset is an evidence-based approach to drive results. Yes, results! As in, you can meet your business goals! So it pays (literally!) to understand how naturally negative or positive you are, and work to cultivate the power of positive thinking so you can bring that attitude to work.

You have the ability to be a positive spark for your teams’ energy. You’ll see progress as you cultivate positive energy each and every day! 

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At The Human Priority, we believe in high collaboration, high trust, high respect. We believe in creating workplaces where you can have co-conversations and a sense of community. This is what creates the Workplace Fairytale! This is where people come together and do awesome, great, phenomenal things together. We can help you accomplish this! Learn more about our business consulting services.