I am excited about timely research showing the greatest predictor of success for leaders is positive energy: the energy exchanged between people that helps uplift, enthuse, and renew them. It is not charisma, influence, or power. It is not personality, attractiveness, or innovative genius.

In the HBR article, The Best Leaders Have a Contagious Positive Energy, Emma Seppälä and Kim Cameron suggest leaders who are positive energizers produce substantially higher levels of engagement, lower turnover, and enhanced feelings of well-being among employees. 

Their research shows these leaders produce superior shareholder value, in some cases exceeding industry averages in profitability and productivity by a factor of four.

They say, “You’ve met people like this. They’re like the sun. These people walk into a room and make it glow. Everyone becomes energized, enthused, inspired, and connected. These incandescent people are positive energizers.”

This type of leader is more important than ever as we recover from the pandemic. 

Here is an extract from the article summarising the attributes of positively energizing leaders.

Positive energizers:

• Are themselves far higher performers than others
• Positively impact others’ performance, so that other people tend to flourish in their presence
• Exist in greater numbers at high-performing organizations than at average-performing organizations

The organization has greater:

• Innovation (the number-one attribute that CEOs look for across industries and countries)
• Teamwork
• Financial performance, including productivity and quality
• Workplace cohesion

When a leader is a positive energizer, employees have greater:

• Job satisfaction
• Well-being
• Engagement
• Performance
• Relationships with family

🙋 How do leaders build and maintain positive energy in your experience? 🙋‍♀️

Best regards, Brian