Keep The Tank Full
Energy is a prized resource amongst leaders.
And after a break levels are in a good place.
Refreshed! Clear head! Let’s DO THIS!
So many leaders are spectacularly bad at managing their energy levels. They spend so long running on empty that when they are in a better place they don’t use it wisely.
It’s more like a bottle of champagne going off.
I've seen countless leaders burn out before they reach the finish line (me amongst them). The irony? The very people responsible for energising their teams often neglect their own energy management.
Christmas is a long way away - how will you last the pace?
Here's 4 strategies to consider.
1. Audit your energy drains and gains
Before you can manage your energy, you need to understand what's depleting it. This isn't just about workload - it's about the subtle energy vampires that sneak into your day.
Common energy drains for leaders include:
Switching between contexts without transition time
Managing conflict without planning or frameworks
Saying yes to every meeting request because it’s easier than filtering
Start by tracking your energy levels hourly day by day. Simple score out of ten in the middle of every working day for a month.
Note what activities leave you energised versus drained. If it’s the latter, did it really need to be you doing it? Should it have taken that long.
The goal isn't to eliminate all energy drains - that's impossible.
It's to be intentional about how you spend it.
2. Schedule recovery like you schedule meetings
Here's where most leaders fail: they schedule their days to the minute but leave recovery to chance.
Recovery isn't a luxury - it's a strategic necessity.
Build micro-recoveries into your day:
Breathing breaks between meetings
Phone-free and email free windows
Eat slowly, not just throw it down your neck
Sustainable leadership requires sustainable energy management.
The clearer your head, the better decisions you make. This includes how you spend your own time and energy.
3. Embrace the unpredictable nature of leadership
How much of your time in the last year was spent on responding to events you could not have predicted?
I’m talking about the changes in legislation or technology, the sudden absence of a key colleague or press story.
I’m not talking about what you could have anticipated, but while you are there consider it too.
Here's a paradox of leadership: the unpredictability that drains your energy is also what makes the role energising.
Embrace the chaos sure, but don’t let it swallow you whole.
Some leaders become addicted to crisis management, thriving on the adrenaline but burning out when the fires get too big to control.
Others try to over-plan and control every variable, exhausting themselves fighting the inevitable unpredictability of it all.
The sustainable path lies between these extremes. Accept that events will come thick and fast and throw your best-laid plans out the window. But also recognise that robust preparation, strong systems, and good energy management cut the percentages in your favour, potentially very significantly.
When the crisis passes - and it will - write detailed notes about what you learned. Not just about the specific issue, but about how you managed your energy throughout the process.
4. Create boundaries at the outset
This is where leadership gets uncomfortable.
Setting boundaries means disappointing people. It means saying no, even when you have the time, energy and inclination.
The leaders who protect their energy fiercely are the ones who can show up fully for what matters most.
The unpredictable event does not wait for you to be on top of your game.
Your boundaries might include:
No meetings after 6 PM
Email responses within 24 hours, not 24 minutes
Delegating hard rather than micromanaging
Taking actual lunch breaks
Remember, when you model energy management, you give permission for your team to do the same.
Remember that
Energy management isn't selfish - it's strategic. You can't lead from empty.
Your energy isn't just a personal resource - it's an organisational asset. When you manage it strategically, everyone benefits.
Multi-generational workplace issues in the news this week
1. Young professionals ditched for AI
This Fortune story adds weight to the evidence coming from so many other places, anecdotal or otherwise.
As the article says it’s no longer, one out, one in. Every departure becomes an opportunity to work out how, or if, someone will be replaced.
It’s Gen Z bearing the brunt of this and the job market from hell continues for so many of them, including in the graduate market.
2. The misery index
I dispute that it is only now that Gen Z is less happy than the Gen Xs in their 50s but it is interesting that the press is picking up on it, as in this Newsweek article.
To be fair the article does include its own evidence for this - quoting the Gallup survey that ‘just 15 percent of Gen Zers reported their mental health as excellent, a substantial drop from the prior decade, when 52 percent of Millennials in the same age group reported theirs as excellent’.
Everywhere you look Gen Z is less happy than who came before. The AI issue raised above is just one part of it.
3. The 5-9 side hustle
OK it’s a story from Singapore but it’s also a nice turn of phrase about the rise of the side hustle. How many of your young professionals have a 5 to 9 after the 9 to 5?
Of course for so many it’s an economic necessity as the 9 to 5 does not meet (or get close to meeting) the ever-increasing and excruciating cost of living.
But there’s also some fun to be had too, and portfolio working might mean several of these at the same time.
How can I help you?
Talks, workshops and seminars - I am an award-winning speaker. My talks recruiting and retaining Gen Z, understanding Gen Z, overcoming the challenges of the multigenerational workplace plus those relevant to the topics below. Speaker showreel here.
My book The Snowflake Myth will be published Monday 29th September 2025 - to receive a free chapter please click here. You can pre-order the book here (but they are about to close!)
One to one coaching programmes for senior leaders who are swamped by their jobs so they can thrive in life. Click here to discover where you are on your journey from Frantic to Fulfilled? Just 5 minutes of your time and you will receive a full personalised report with guidance on your next steps.
Team coaching programmes - working IN a team is not the same as working AS a team and yet they are often treated as if they are the same. I help teams move from the former to the latter, and generate huge shifts in productivity and outcomes.
