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Small Shifts In Energy Have A Big Impact On Corporate Performance.

Insurance executives continue to grapple with the challenge of motivating and engaging employees. Improving communication, empowering people and offering more flexible work schedules and creative benefits appear to have done little to inspire workers. According to Gallup’s most recent research on employee engagement, 71% of American workers are still disengaged from the job. The cost to the insurance industry is billions in lost productivity, customer satisfaction, innovation, and workplace safety. As the battle for talent accelerates and soft market conditions and shrinking investment income threaten profits, the need to engage their people looms large for insurance executives.

The key to engaging people isn’t better communication, more pay or restructuring – it’s shifting the core energy of the organization.

Like human beings, every company has a predominant energy. It is either anabolic energy, which is positive and constructive; or catabolic, which is negative and destructive. Experience shows that the more catabolic energy a company has, the less engaged its people tend to be.

All organizations have some catabolic energy. In certain companies, the culture itself is catabolic. No matter how many times these organizations bring in new management, change strategies or restructure, they can’t seem to improve their results. In other organizations, high levels of catabolic energy are situational. Soft market conditions, financial pressures or change initiatives can quickly raise a company’s catabolic energy level. Sometimes the issue is management. For example, a CEO may be a stellar performer when it comes to delivering short-term earnings for investors or shareholders, but the price tag of that success is an organization running on adrenalin and burning out fast.

Insurance organizations frequently have high levels of catabolic energy; to a certain extent.

It’s the nature of the business. Success depends on identifying what can go wrong and protecting yourself against risk. The problem arises when “what’s wrong” thinking permeates the culture. The constant focus on analyzing and finding fault depletes energy and shuts down the intuitive mind, which is far more creative and powerful than the analytical one. Over time, it destroys the initiative, enthusiasm, innovation and bias for action that leaders are seeking.

The good news is insurance organizations can raise their anabolic energy level. It can happen very quickly with minimal cost, and the impact can be significant. Increasing an organization’s energy level by even a small percentage can have a big impact on results. Research shows that a .5 increase in anabolic energy results in:

* 20% increase in financial success
* 16% increase in productivity
* 12% greater feeling of engagement and enthusiasm at work
* 17% improvement in time management and efficiency
* 15% improvement in satisfaction in work/life balance
* 12% greater feeling of purpose

Understanding Human Energy

Increasing an organization’s anabolic energy begins with understanding how human energy works. Physical energy is only one component; energy is also emotional, mental and psychological. All human beings have an average resonating level of energy (ARL). That level can be quantified through an Energy Profile Assessment. Through a series of questions, the assessment measures core thoughts, feelings and beliefs that comprise the individual’s energy level. This assessment is based on an energy/action model. It differs from personality-driven testing models like Myers Briggs and D.I.S.C. because it is not intended to label a person and have them work well within that label. Instead it measures attitude and perspective on the world – both of which can be shifted. That shift in consciousness creates a positive shift in energy.

A person’s ARL is the average of their day-to-day and thought-to-thought energy. It will fall somewhere on a scale of 1-7. It is comprised of the sum total of every thought they’ve ever had, every emotion they’ve ever felt and every action they’ve taken, as well as what we’re thinking, feeling and doing at the present. That energy level plays a significant role in a person’s success at work and in life.

People with ARLs of less than three have high levels of catabolic energy, which is destructive energy. Their lives tend to be dominated by worry, fear, doubt, and anger. People with an ARL of three or higher have more anabolic energy, which is positive and constructive. They attract and experience more ease, opportunity and success.

The average employee has an ARL of 2.4 – which is well within the catabolic range. In the corporate environment, this frequently shows up as resistance to change, inertia, lack of initiative, indecision, in-fighting and an entitlement mindset. Understanding the core energy that predominates in the workplace helps explain why executives often feel like they’re pushing the proverbial boulder up the hill.

Increasing Anabolic Energy

New tools are making it easier for leaders to shift that energy. A process called Energy Leadership teaches managers how to recognize the seven levels of human energy, how they influence behavior and how to use this knowledge to change attitudes and impact performance.
Once you understand where a person’s energy is, it becomes much easier to tap into how to motivate them and eliminate the blocks that are holding them back.

As part of the process, leaders gain a new level of insight into their own Energy Profile and how to effectively channel that energy to inspire and lead people that may have very different values and goals. This is an increasingly important skill in a workplace where a “one-size-fits-all” management style simply won’t work. For the first time in history, leaders are challenged to engage four disparate generations – each with its own set of attitudes and beliefs about work.

For example, members of the “Silent Generation” live by guiding rules, standardized policies and procedures. Gen Xers are known for sidestepping rules and procedures that slow them down as they push for results. Gen Yers, dubbed as the “most praised generation ever” by The Wall Street Journal, demand constant stroking and applause. Boomers, on the other hand, are highly motivated by challenge. Effective leaders will be those individuals who have the insight and flexibility to adapt their style to a broad range of people while remaining true to their values and focused on their vision.

The Challenge For Leaders

Much has been written of late about the need for a new kind of leadership. Pundits say that today’s leader must have high levels of emotional intelligence and inspire rather than manage. This is a style that does not come naturally to many senior level executives. The traits that get executives to the top – an abundance of drive, a unique ability to see opportunity, the need to win and an impatience for results – are often the same characteristics that make it difficult for them to relate to the people they lead.

ARL Research shows that senior executives have a unique Energy Profile. Typically, they have high amounts of Level #5 Energy. They see opportunity others don’t and are far more open to new ideas. The average person in an organization has high amounts of Level #1 and Level #2 Energy. At Level #1, people feel powerless to change the world around them; they feel that no matter what they do, they can’t win. People at Level #2 are motivated by fear and anger. They feel unappreciated and see life as a constant fight to get what is rightfully theirs.

Leaders who present an organizational vision or attempt to coach people based on their personal Energy Level are unlikely to succeed. People with an abundance of Level #1 and #2 energy simply don’t see the opportunity or believe that it is going to benefit them. It’s why so many corporate initiatives fail to engage the passion of the people expected to execute them. The gap between senior management’s Level #5 Energy and employees’ Level #1 and #2 Energy is simply too big. The inability to effectively bridge this gap is the root cause of much of the conflict and catabolic energy experienced in the workplace.

Most corporate change initiatives strive to change attitudes and behavior. The reality is, it is very difficult for people to change who they are. The harder management pushes, the more people resist. The price of defensiveness and adversarial thinking costs organizations millions in productivity and lost opportunity.

Energy Leadership works because it doesn’t seek to change people.

It is about meeting people where they are and knowing how to apply the right type of energy to get them where you want to go. When leaders do that, the catabolic energy or resistance that holds people back begins to disappear. Their anabolic energy increases, as does their level of engagement, productivity and satisfaction.

The Energy Leadership Process typically begins with the senior management team. With a modest amount of training and one-one-one coaching, a team can quickly acquire the skills they need to begin reducing catabolic energy and increasing performance. Companies feel the impact very quickly. Understanding and being conscious of the seven levels of energy alone is often enough to create a .5 increase in anabolic energy – which typically results in double-digit increases in worker productivity, engagement and satisfaction. Learning how to shift energy can be a very real and sustainable, competitive advantage for an insurance organization.

What will it take to shift the negative energy that surrounds not only corporate America, but our personal lives and communities? What will help employees be productive, content and have a positive view of the organizations and the people they work with? It will take powerful leaders who understand and are skilled in managing the power of human energy. More than 100 years ago, Albert Einstein addressed the scientific community passionately presenting the idea that everything we hear, taste, touch and smell is not matter, but energy. The most successful organizations are those that are filled with powerful, positive, anabolic leaders.


Kimberly Paterson is a principal in CIM and a Certified Energy Leadership Coach and Certified Core Energy Coach. She can be reached at 732.681.0700 or kpaterson@cim-co.com.