We are all still trying to figure out how to perform and produce during these most unusual and adverse times. The demand on workplace productivity is only increasing with remote teams stretched to capacity. How do you ensure everyone on your team is capable of performing at the same level they were before everything hit the fan?
Manage Your Energy Not Time
As a sports agent for 20 years, I watched athletes manage their energy more than their time. Their performance and overall wellness was directly proportional to energy, not time. Because after all time is finite; energy isn’t. As I transitioned into the more traditional business world, I couldn’t help but notice business people’s obsession with time. Micromanaging time, shoving more into every day, every minute and then… getting up the next day to do it all over again. High performers don’t operate this way. The best athletes– and the best leaders– manage their schedules to maximize their energy for the moments that matter most.
Optimize Your Peak Energy Levels
As a sports agent, I’d sit with my professional golfers and help map out their tournament schedules in such a way that they would show up to the Majors with the kind of energy they needed to perform at the highest level. It wasn’t about playing every single tournament every week and then thinking they could show up at the Masters with the kind of energy and focus they needed. This isn’t dissimilar to business people and our teams. We can’t expect to execute inside of the big moments if we aren’t intentional about managing our schedule.
So what if business people looked at their time through the lens of energy? In other words, what if you were more intentional about making sure you show up with the right energy for the most important things? And spent less energy on the things that don’t really matter?
Here’s one tip. Talk to your remote employees about their purpose. What drives them? What do they love? What makes their work meaningful? Are their calendars filled with projects and tasks that excite them? We need to encourage our people to protect what’s most important. For example, the important sales pitches, projects, important client moments and yes, in a perfect world, the workouts, the walks outside, the think time so that they are fueled up for the most important moments. One-on-one check ins are an excellent engagement strategy to get to know each team member’s motivation and align it with business goals.
You Want Your Employees Feeling Energized
We all have projects we get excited about and others not so much. Odds are we have to balance both types to fulfill our roles and responsibilities. We want to do more of what we love and revel in our sweet spot – the things that are our superpower. We want to unlock our greatest gifts because that is how we make our biggest impact – and our direct reports do too. Now more than ever, we need to be especially intentional about how we manage our energy throughout the day and overall employee wellness. This starts with awareness and developing daily habits to ensure your team’s calendar is balanced between the energy ‘gainers’ and ‘drainers’ to drive peak performance.
Employee Wellness Starts with Clarity and Alignment
During a time when most people are working harder and balancing more demands than ever before, let’s be mindful as leaders that engagement starts with clarity and alignment. Help your people get clear on what gives them energy and drains their energy, and support them aligning their life and their schedule in such a way that they protect and schedule the energizers and minimize and remove the drainers. This will build resilient and high-performing teams that can thrive in any business climate.
PS – Check out my free energy audit to help guide you through a conversation with your remote teams about boosting their energy and workplace performance.
The Molly Fletcher Company inspires leaders, teams and organizations to kick-start growth. A keynote speaker and author, Molly draws on her decades of experiences working as a sports agent. Her company’s Game Changer Negotiation Training workshops teach business people the framework for successful negotiating, so that you can close more deals while building stronger relationships. Sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter and subscribe to the Game Changers with Molly Fletcher podcast on iTunes.