Adapted from The Energy Advantage: How to Go from Managing Your Time to Mastering Your Energy by Ricardo Sunderland
At the beginning of their journey toward mastering their energy, many of my clients shy away from the word spirituality. By and large, they do so because they believe that as the leader of a secular organization—a corporation—they have no right to impose their own beliefs on others. I understand this reluctance and agree with it, as far as it goes.
Yes, it’s a tricky balance, and in some cultures even more so than in others. We certainly don’t want our companies being dogmatic in a heavy-handed way that excludes individuals or groups. On the other hand, we don’t want those companies actively denying that spirituality may help foster a culture that creates humane leaders. To deprive the organization of spiritual energy also risks depriving it of emotional energy—and that leaves only physical and mental energy.
These last two kinds of energy are valuable, of course, but they’re not sufficient. In the wake of the COVID pandemic, many corporate leaders wondered why even some of their most productive and motivated workers were declining to return to work. My explanation? The pandemic revealed, in a stark sort of way, that most organizations today offer only physical and mental challenges and rewards. Without seeing a spiritual or emotional reason to go back into the workplace, many people simply didn’t.
So, on the corporate level, the best we can hope for is to strike something like the right balance between the secular and the spiritual—or, looking at it from a different lens, between rigor and caring. We need to acknowledge that striking this balance is not an easy task and that it’s one of the things that separates the merely good leader from the great one. In my work, therefore, I encourage my clients to tackle the issue of spirituality in the workplace head-on and to keep thinking about it in as nuanced a way as possible.
In other words, keep it complex. Keep finding ways to let the organization be both powerful and loving.
Finding allies that can help you hold your mirror—as you are experimenting your way to finding the balance within the rigor/care energy polarity—is essential. Perhaps your partner in human resources can help. I have to say that most professionals in that field really get what I am writing about in this book and see the benefits of how your personal work can positively contribute to the growth of you and the business.
I was very moved when Mike, the head of human resources of one of my clients, asked me how he could be of help to his boss in her development plan. I thanked him for reaching out and asked him how he was experiencing her. He shared how much she had changed since we’d been working together, but he candidly said that, at times, she returned to her old-and-cold transactional ways of interacting with people, thereby creating confusion: Who do we have today—Ms. Jekyll or Ms. Hyde? I thanked Mike for his candor, and asked him, “What do you think is the right thing to do?”
He reflected for a moment and replied, “Well, my job is to support her in becoming the leader that she wants to be.”
“And how do you think you can do that?”
“I need to be honest with her,” he responded, “and point out when she shows up as Ms. Hyde, right?”
This time I chose to affirm. “Yes, Mike, that feels right. You’re with her every day, and your guidance on the spot will probably turn out to be an amazing support for her as she tries to evolve into an effective and caring leader.” In effect, my client would have an amazing sparring partner—a supporter, as she acted on her desire to change.
This isn’t pie-in-the-sky stuff; it’s a savvy HR professional trying to advance a common cause. It’s good business!
I wish there were a Mike everywhere I work. If for some reason a strong HR resource isn’t available to you, look elsewhere for allies who will help you enable the organization to strike the right balance—that is, being both powerful and loving. Identify the people who truly care about your success and who will keep you honest as you set out to strike that balance.
In The Energy Advantage, you’ll learn how to identify what gives you energy and what holds you back, and discover the choice in every situation to unlock the transformational source of energy within you. Order your copy today.