1 Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time

8/13/2019 1 Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time

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"stablishing simple rituals li%e these can lead to stri%ing results across organizations. t

Wachovia 5an%, we too% a group of employees through a pilot energy management

program and then measured their performance against that of a control group. Theparticipants outperformed the controls on a series of financial metrics, such as the value

of loans they generated. They also reported substantial improvements in their customer

relationships, their engagement with wor%, and their personal satisfaction. 0n this article,we+ll describe the Wachovia study in a little more detail. Then we+ll e)plain what

e)ecutives and managers can do to increase and regularly renew wor% capacity1the

approach used by the "nergy ro-ect, which builds on, deepens, and e)tends several coreconcepts developed byTony+s former partner 6im 7oehr in his seminal wor% with athletes.

Linking Capacity and Performance at Wachovia

Most large organizations invest in developing employees+ s%ills, %nowledge, andcompetence. 8ery few help build and sustain their capacity1their energy1which is

typically ta%en for granted. 0n fact, greater capacity ma%es it possible to get more done in

less time at a higher level of engagement and with more sustainability. 9ur e)perience atWachovia bore this out.

0n early '::; we too% &:; employees at &' regional ban%s in southern 5ig 3?1revenues from three %inds of loans1the participantsshowed a year!over!year increase that was &3 percentage points greater than the control

group+s in the first three months of our study. 9n revenues from deposits, the participants

e)ceeded the control group+s year!over!year gain by ': percentage points during thatsame period. The precise gains varied month by month, but with only a handful of

e)ceptions, the participants continued to significantly outperform the control group for a

full year after completing the program. lthough other variables undoubtedly influenced

these outcomes, the participants+ superior performance was notable in its consistency.@See the e)hibit >*ow "nergy Aenewal rograms 5oosted roductivity at Wachovia.?B

We also as%ed participants how the program influenced them personally. Si)ty!eightpercent reported that it had a positive impact on their relationships with clients and

customers. Seventy!one percent said that it had a noticeable or substantial positive impacton their productivity and performance. These findings corroborated a raft of anecdotal

evidence we+ve gathered about the effectiveness of this approach among leaders at otherlarge companies such as "rnst # $oung, Sony, eutsche 5an%,


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nutrition, e)ercise, sleep, and rest diminish people+s basic energy levels, as well as their

ability to manage their emotions and focus their attention. re $ou *eaded for an

"nergy CrisisE?B 9n average, participants get eight to ten of those &; 2uestions >wrong,?

meaning they+re doing things such as s%ipping brea%fast, failing to e)press appreciationto others, struggling to focus on one thing at a time, or spending too little time on

activities that give them a sense of purpose. While most participants aren+t surprised to

learn these behaviors are counterproductive, having them all listed in one place is oftenuncomfortable, sobering, and galvanizing. The audit highlights employees+ greatest

energy deficits. articipants also fill out charts designed to raise their awareness about

how their e)ercise, diet, and sleep practices influence their energy levels.

The ne)t step is to identify rituals for building and renewing physical energy. When ary

Daro, a vice president at Wachovia, began the program, he was significantly overweight,

ate poorly, lac%ed a regular e)ercise routine, wor%ed long hours, and typically slept nomore than five or si) hours a night. That is not an unusual profile among the leaders and

managers we see. 9ver the course of the program, Daro began regular cardiovascular and

strength training. *e started going to bed at a designated time and sleeping longer. *echanged his eating habits from two big meals a day @>Where 0 usually gorged myself,? he

saysB to smaller meals and light snac%s every three hours. The aim was to help him

stabilize his glucose levels over the course of the day, avoiding pea%s and valleys. *e lost

4: pounds in the process, and his energy levels soared. >0 used to schedule tough pro-ectsfor the morning, when 0 %new that 0 would be more focused,? Daro says. >0 don+t have to

do that anymore because 0 find that 0+m -ust as focused now at 4 pm as 0 am at F am.?

nother %ey ritual Daro adopted was to ta%e brief but regular brea%s at specific intervalsthroughout the wor%day1always leaving his des%. The value of such brea%s is grounded

in our physiology. >=ltradian rhythms? refer to G:! to &':!minute cycles during which

our bodies slowly move from a high!energy state into a physiological trough. Toward theend of each cycle, the body begins to crave a period of recovery. The signals include

physical restlessness, yawning, hunger, and difficulty concentrating, but many of us

ignore them and %eep wor%ing. The conse2uence is that our energy reservoir1ourremaining capacity1burns down as the day wears on.

0ntermittent brea%s for renewal, we have found, result in higher and more sustainable

performance. The length of renewal is less important than the 2uality. 0t is possible to get

a great deal of recovery in a short time1as little as several minutes1if it involves aritual that allows you to disengage from wor% and truly change channels. That could

range from getting up to tal% to a colleague about something other than wor%, to listeningto music on an iod, to wal%ing up and down stairs in an office building. While brea%s

are countercultural in most organizations and counterintuitive for many high achievers,

their value is multifaceted.

Matthew 7ang is a managing director for Sony in South frica. *e adopted some of the

same rituals that Daro did, including a ':!minute wal% in the afternoons. 7ang+s wal% not


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only gives him a mental and emotional breather and some e)ercise but also has become

the time when he gets his best creative ideas. That+s because when he wal%s he is not

actively thin%ing, which allows the dominant left hemisphere of his brain to give way tothe right hemisphere with its greater capacity to see the big picture and ma%e imaginative

leaps.

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Sidebar

*ow "nergy Aenewal rograms 5oosted roductivity at Wachovia t Wachovia 5an%,

employees participating in an energy renewal program outperformed a control group of

employees, demonstrating significantly greater improvements in year!over!yearperformance during the first 2uarter of '::;.@raph of Survey not attachedB

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Sidebar

re $ou *eaded for an "nergy CrisisE

re You !eaded for an Energy Cri"i"# P$ea"e check the "tatement" %e$o& that are

true for you'

Body

II 0 don+t regularly get at least seven to eight hours of sleep, and 0 often wa%e up feeling

tired.

II 0 fre2uently s%ip brea%fast, or 0 settle for something that isn+t nutritious.

II 0 don+t wor% out enough @meaning cardiovascular training at least three times a wee%

and strength training at least once a wee%B.

II 0 don+t ta%e regular brea%s during the day to truly renew and recharge, or 0 often eat

lunch at my des%, if 0 eat it at all.

Emotion"

II 0 fre2uently find myself feeling irritable, impatient, or an)ious at wor%, especially

when wor% is demanding.

II 0 don+t have enough time with my family and loved ones, and when 0+m with them,

0+m not always really with them.

II 0 have too little time for the activities that 0 most deeply en-oy.

II 0 don+t stop fre2uently enough to e)press my appreciation to others or to savor my

accomplishments and blessings.
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Mind

II 0 have difficulty focusing on one thing at a time, and 0 am easily distracted during the

day, especially by e!mail.

II 0 spend much of my day reacting to immediate crises and demands rather thanfocusing on activities with longer!term value and high leverage.

II 0 don+t ta%e enough time for reflection, strategizing, and creative thin%ing.

II 0 wor% in the evenings or on wee%ends, and 0 almost never ta%e an e!mailJfree

vacation.

(pirit

II 0 don+t spend enough time at wor% doing what 0 do best and en-oy most.

II There are significant gaps between what 0 say is most important to me in my life andhow 0 actually allocate my time and energy.

II My decisions at wor% are more often influenced by e)ternal demands than by a strong,

clear sense of my own purpose.

II 0 don+t invest enough time and energy in ma%ing a positive difference to others or to

the world.

) ) ) !o& i" your overa$$ energy#

Total number of statements checked:

*uide to "core"

:J3/ ")cellent energy management s%ills

(J;/ Aeasonable energy management s%ills

J&:/ Significant energy management deficits

&&J&;/ full!fledged energy management crisis

What do you need to &ork on#


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Guide to category scores

0: Excellent energy management skills

1: Strong energy management skills

2: Significant deficits

3: Poor energy management skills

: ! full"fledged energy crisis

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The Emotion"/ Kuality of "nergy

When people are able to ta%e more control of their emotions, they can improve the

2uality of their energy, regardless of the e)ternal pressures they+re facing. To do this, theyfirst must become more aware of how they feel at various points during the wor%day and

of the impact these emotions have on their effectiveness. Most people realize that they

tend to perform best when they+re feeling positive energy. What they find surprising isthat they+re not able to perform well or to lead effectively when they+re feeling any other

way.

=nfortunately, without intermittent recovery, we+re not physiologically capable ofsustaining highly positive emotions for long periods. Confronted with relentless demands

and une)pected challenges, people tend to slip into negative emotions1the fight!or!flight

mode1often multiple times in a day. They become irritable and impatient, or an)ious

and insecure. Such states of mind drain people+s energy and cause friction in theirrelationships. Dight!or!flight emotions also ma%e it impossible to thin% clearly, logically,

and reflectively. When e)ecutives learn to recognize what %inds of events trigger their

negative emotions, they gain greater capacity to ta%e control of their reactions.

9ne simple but powerful ritual for defusing negative emotions is what we call >buying

time.? eep abdominal breathing is one way to do that. ")haling slowly for five or si)

seconds induces rela)ation and recovery, and turns off the fight!or!flight response. Whenwe began wor%ing with Du-io


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reviews. What would the other person inthis conflict say and in what ways might that be trueE? With the long lens they as%, >*ow

will 0 most li%ely view this situation in si) monthsE? With the wide lens they as%

themselves, >Aegardless of the outcome of this issue, how can 0 grow and learn from itE?"ach of these lenses can help people intentionally cultivate more positive emotions.

ultradian sprints.?

9nce people see how much they struggle to concentrate, they can create rituals to reduce

the relentless interruptions that technology has introduced in their lives. We start out with

an e)ercise that forces them to face the impact of daily distractions. They attempt tocomplete a comple) tas% and are regularly interrupted1an e)perience that, people report,

ends up feeling much li%e everyday life.

an Cluna, a vice president at Wachovia, designed two rituals to better focus his

attention. The first one is to leave his des% and go into a conference room, away from

phones and e!mail, whenever he has a tas% that re2uires concentration. *e now finishesreports in a third of the time they used to re2uire. Cluna built his second ritual around

meetings at branches with the financial specialists who report to him. reviously, he


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would answer his phone whenever it rang during these meetings. s a conse2uence, the

meetings he scheduled for an hour often stretched to two, and he rarely gave anyone his

full attention. We got the same amount of wor% done in less time,? says *en%e. >0t made fora win!win.?

nother way to mobilize mental energy is to focus systematically on activities that have

the most long!term leverage. =nless people intentionally schedule time for morechallenging wor%, they tend not to get to it at all or rush through it at the last minute.

erhaps the most effective focus ritual the e)ecutives we wor% with have adopted is to

identify each night the most important challenge for the ne)t day and ma%e it their veryfirst priority when they arrive in the morning. 6ean 7uc u2uesne, a vice president forSony "urope in aris, used to answer his e!mail as soon as he got to the office, -ust as

many people do. *e now tries to concentrate the first hour of every day on the most

important topic. *e finds that he often emerges at &: am feeling as if he+s already had aproductive day.

The !uman (pirit/ "nergy of Meaning and urpose.

eople tap into the energy of the human spirit when their everyday wor% and activities are

consistent with what they value most and with what gives them a sense of meaning and

purpose. 0f the wor% they+re doing really matters to them, they typically feel morepositive energy, focus better, and demonstrate greater perseverance. Aegrettably, the high

demands and fast pace of corporate life don+t leave much time to pay attention to these

issues, and many people don+t even recognize meaning and purpose as potential sources

of energy. 0ndeed, if we tried to begin our program by focusing on the human spirit, itwould li%ely have minimal impact. 9nly when participants have e)perienced the value of

the rituals they establish in the other dimensions do they start to see that being attentive to

their own deeper needs dramatically influences their effectiveness and satisfaction atwor%.


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wife and children.

The third category, practicing your core values in your everyday behavior, is a challengefor many as well. Most people are living at such a furious pace that they rarely stop to as%

themselves what they stand for and who they want to be. s a conse2uence, they let

e)ternal demands dictate their actions.

We don+t suggest that people e)plicitly define their values, because the results are usually

too predictable. 0nstead, we see% to uncover them, in part by as%ing 2uestions that are

inadvertently revealing, such as, >What are the 2ualities that you find most off!puttingwhen you see them in othersE? 5y describing what they can+t stand, people

unintentionally divulge what they stand for. 0f you are very offended by stinginess, for

e)ample, generosity is probably one of your %ey values. 0f you are especially put off by

rudeness in others, it+s li%ely that consideration is a high value for you. s in the othercategories, establishing rituals can help bridge the gap between the values you aspire to

and how you currently behave. 0f you discover that consideration is a %ey value, but you

are perpetually late for meetings, the ritual might be to end the meetings you run fiveminutes earlier than usual and intentionally show up five minutes early for the meeting

that follows.

ddressing these three categories helps people go a long way toward achieving a greatersense of alignment, satisfaction, and well!being in their lives on and off the -ob. Those

feelings are a source of positive energy in their own right and reinforce people+s desire to

persist at rituals in other energy dimensions as well.

O O O

This new way of wor%ing ta%es hold only to the degree that organizations support their

people in adopting new behaviors. We have learned, sometimes painfully, that not all

e)ecutives and companies are prepared to embrace the notion that personal renewal foremployees will lead to better and more sustainable performance. To succeed, renewal

efforts need solid support and commitment from senior management, beginning with the

%ey decision ma%er.

t Wachovia, Susanne Svizeny, the president of the region in which we conducted our

study, was the primary cheerleader for the program. She embraced the principles in her

own life and made a series of personal changes, including a visible commitment tobuilding more regular renewal rituals into her wor% life.


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9rganizational support also entails shifts in policies, practices, and cultural messages.

number of firms we wor%ed with have built >renewal rooms? where people can regularly

go to rela) and refuel. 9thers offer subsidized gym memberships. 0n some cases, leadersthemselves gather groups of employees for midday wor%outs. 9ne company instituted a

no!meeting zone between F and G am to ensure that people had at least one hour

absolutely free of meetings. t several companies, including Sony, senior leaderscollectively agreed to stop chec%ing e!mail during meetings as a way to ma%e the

meetings more focused and efficient.

9ne factor that can get in the way of success is a crisis mentality. The optimal candidatesfor energy renewal programs are organizations that are feeling enough pain to be eager

for new solutions but not so much that they+re completely overwhelmed. t one

organization where we had the active support of the C"9, the company was under intensepressure to grow rapidly, and the senior team couldn+t tear themselves away from their

focus on immediate survival1even though ta%ing time out for renewal might have

allowed them to be more productive at a more sustainable level.

5y contrast, the group at "rnst # $oung successfully went through the process at the

height of ta) season. With the permission of their leaders, they practiced defusing

negative emotions by breathing or telling themselves different stories, and alternatedhighly focused periods of wor% with renewal brea%s. Most people in the group reported

that this busy season was the least stressful they+d ever e)perienced.

The implicit contract between organizations and their employees today is that each willtry to get as much from the other as they can, as 2uic%ly as possible, and then move on

without loo%ing bac%. We believe that is mutually self!defeating. 5oth individuals and the

organizations they wor% for end up depleted rather than enriched. "mployees feelincreasingly beleaguered and burned out. 9rganizations are forced to settle for employees

who are less than fully engaged and to constantly hire and train new people to replace

those who choose to leave. We envision a new and e)plicit contract that benefits allparties/ 9rganizations invest in their people across all dimensions of their lives to helpthem build and sustain their value. 0ndividuals respond by bringing all their

multidimensional energy wholeheartedly to wor% every day. 5oth grow in value as a

result.

1 Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time

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