There’s a lot you can do to raise your own personal energy, but we also live in a world of other people, and our interactions with them can have a huge influence on us.
Last time, we talked about five things you can do to boost your energy – to get your ‘groove’ back. This second part of a two-part series by Strategic Coach Unique Ability specialist Julia Waller and Program Designer Shannon Waller offers the remaining five strategies you can use to keep your energy high when interacting with other people.
6. Hang out with people who are up to something big.
Shannon quotes the late salesman and speaker Charlie ‘Tremendous’ Jones, who said, “You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet.”
“Read books and watch movies that inspire you,” says Shannon, “including ones that challenge your current thinking. Spend time with people who are achieving things you find exciting.”
“Some of our clients have commented on how much their kids or their young team members contribute to their way of thinking and their energy,” adds Julia. “You get a lot of energy and inspiration from your work.”
7. Delegate something.
For every successful delegation you make, you get a portion of your energy back to spend on something else. You might delegate something at the office or even something at home — like the laundry, cooking, or lawn-mowing. Outsourcing is a great option.
One client Shannon was coaching revealed that after four years in the Strategic Coach Program, she finally hired an assistant. (continued.)
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“You could hear the energy in her voice,” says Shannon. Instead of looking after every detail of the next conference she organized, this entrepreneur just had to make a few higher-level decisions and quality-control checks, and the assistant handled everything else. She got the same results but with huge energy savings.
8. Delegate it to a Unique Ability.
Last time, we talked about the energy-lift you get when you’re doing something that’s truly your Unique Ability. Well, each person around you also has their own Unique Ability. So if you’re going to take something off your plate, why not give it to someone with a Unique Ability for it?
You can set the stage for these delegations by encouraging the people around you to think about what their Unique Ability might be and to look for opportunities to contribute it.
One participant in our program for team members wanted to start her year with not just another to-do list, but a compelling vision for her whole year. First she revisited her Unique Ability and asked herself how she could do more of that in the company. Then she wrote a set of goals. When she showed the list to her entrepreneur, full of excitement, his jaw dropped: It was a perfect plan for her Unique Ability and the company’s growth and vision.
“Unique Ability gives you energy,” says Julia, “and it also gives you direction.”
Julia helped another program participant develop a set of questions to protect him from getting pulled into non-Unique Ability activities — except they’re for his team members: Before they bring any issue to him, they have to ask themselves:
- Is this something I’m empowered to decide for myself? If yes, go for it!
- Is the answer available using our current resources?
- Is there anyone else who has a Unique Ability for figuring this out?
These questions have a twofold effect: They buffer the entrepreneur’s time and attention, plus they help his team members learn, think, and grow through their own initiative. (continued.)
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9. Fire a client who sucks up your time and energy.
Some people show up with ‘batteries not included,’ which means you have to provide all the juice in the relationship. In some cases, you know the business they bring in isn’t worth what it costs you to be around them — and you’re allowed to let them go! Consider handing them to a junior person in your organization, or even referring them to a competitor.
10. Share your vision to inspire yourself and others.
When you share your vision — either by articulating it for yourself or to your team — you link up all the small things in your present circumstances to a bigger possibility.
“People who are internally motivated, like our clients, are also very inspiring,” says Julia, “which means they can inspire their teams.”
“You have to be sold on the vision and be confident about it first, though,” adds Shannon. “Then share that excitement with the team, and be willing to work through whatever the obstacles are in order to get there.”
Embrace the ‘woo-woo.’
It might sound a little ‘woo-woo’ to talk about energy, yet, whatever it is, we each experience it every day. Some days it’s up, some days it’s down, and it can feel like it’s completely out of our hands. But it’s not.
Use the 10 tips in this series, and you can turn a funk around, get your enthusiasm back, and make it fun to work with other people — regardless of whatever circumstances you find yourself in. You just have to plug your mind and your emotions into some fresh energy!
Missed the first five tips? Click here and start to get your groove back!
For more advice from Strategic Coach, click here.
