Energy is one of the most powerful elements in leadership, yet it’s also the one most leaders underestimate. We often focus on external elements when we think of great leadership such as developing a strategy, coaching employees, or facilitating meetings. But the way you manage and project your energy has a big impact on your effectiveness as a leader and the results of your team.
Managing your day isn’t just about managing time—it’s about directing your focus and energy to the right things, so you operate at peak performance and facilitate results in your role. By knowing your peak energy times, you can align them with your most important key result areas so you’re tackling critical work when your mind is sharp and your focus is strongest, rather than forcing it when you’re drained. In addition, the energy you project to others sets the tone for team performance.
Below are five ways to manage your energy for working and leading at your best:
1. Protect Your Core Energy
Leadership requires stamina and resilience—and that starts with your personal well-being. A great night’s sleep, regular exercise, and intentional renewal are foundational to leading at your best. When you’re depleted, your focus and memory suffer, and it’s much harder to regulate your emotions under pressure. Protecting your core energy ensures you can show up with clarity and intention.
2. Be Intentional with Your Focus
It’s easy to let your day get consumed by back-to-back meetings, emails, and “urgent” tasks. But leading from a constant state of reactivity drains your effectiveness. Block time for your most important priorities (I call these “Productivity Sprints”), and treat that time as non-negotiable. How you direct your energy determines whether you’re merely busy, or truly impactful.
These sprints aren’t for checking email or tackling busy work; they’re for focusing on your key results, the areas of your role that move the needle for your team and credit union.
For leaders, that means carving out space not just for strategic projects, but also for the core responsibilities of leadership: coaching your employees, developing your team, and providing clarity and direction. If you allow tasks and reactivity to dominate your day, you end up neglecting the very things that strengthen culture and performance. How you direct your energy determines whether you remain stuck in the cycle of “busy” or step into the more intentional, impactful role of influential leader.
3. Know and Leverage Your Peak Energy Times
We all have natural rhythms. Most people aren’t at their sharpest at 4 p.m.—yet many leaders save their most important work until the end of the day. Align your high-energy hours with tasks that require deep thinking, decision-making, and focus. Save lower-energy times for administrative work. This simple shift maximizes both your productivity and your leadership presence.
4. Notice the Energy You Bring to Others
Energy isn’t just about how you feel; it’s also about what you project. Every interaction carries energy, and your team is reading it whether you realize it or not. When you walk into a meeting, are you engaged, focused, and prepared, or do you appear rushed, distracted, and overwhelmed? While it’s normal to feel busy, taking a pause to set an intention before each interaction and meeting can help you show up more present and prepared. Your energy in those moments can change not just the meeting, but how people experience you as a leader. Be intentional with the energy you want to project to your team and colleagues, so you are viewed as professional, prepared, and intentional.
5. Model Energy Boundaries
Being approachable matters, but being available 24/7 isn’t sustainable. You can read about why I don’t like the open door policy—it’s a practice that is keeping leaders in reactive mode and draining energy. Set healthy boundaries around your time and presence, and communicate them to your team. By modeling this, you normalize balance and recovery, which strengthens not only your own energy but the team’s overall resilience. You can be both approachable and supportive without being constantly available.
Great leadership isn’t just about what you do—it’s about the energy you cultivate and project. When you protect your core energy, focus your efforts, align with your peak energy times, bring intentional energy into relationships, and model boundaries, you elevate both your impact and your team’s performance.
I really love and enjoy this reading. Reading this I learned that when you speak out clearly you thoughts and ideas people see you as winner, because you are not afraid to go straight to the point.
Great article.....And happy belated birthday! Welcome to my world, young lady!
Whenever I have a work project that I keep putting off - I think about delegating that project to someone else - which accomplishes 2 things- it gets the project done and frees us my brain space thinking about it.
Good morning. I loved this read. Thank you so much for sharing. Sincerely, Melissa :)
Thank you for this blog Laurie. I liked most part and specially "As organizations have become more complex, there is a tendency to require employees to do more with less. This is a slippery slope, and often can result in employees feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. One of the biggest contributors to this is not evaluating resources during the strategic planning process." I will use this practice "A best practice is to do what I call Priority Planning—putting important practices on your calendar ahead of time so they become a priority in your day. Examples of activities to Priority Plan include scheduling recurring coaching sessions with each team member, time for strategic thinking and planning, vacations, doctor appointments, important children’s events, and blocks of time for focused work on projects." To be more effective, I will get a good rest so I can have enough energy in the morning. I will read the blog again along with the other links on employee evaluation. Thank you so much Laurie. Best wishes to you and your family.
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I love the feedback on the more than 50 hours of work. AND filling time. So true. Unfortunately, showing that you work longer hours is still seen as being a "hard worker" - not sure how to change that though.
I enjoyed the read. I concur that transitioning from technical skills to delegating results was a task within itself. I did not realize I was almost trying to do the same thing from my previous position, and it was not working. However, I am seeing the results of how delegating daily tasks makes my job and workload easier. Thank you, Laurie.
Thank you for sharing information about your trip Laurie! All 3 things resonate with me - probably #1 being the biggest. I know when I'm gone for a week, I'm still thinking about work and need a vacation when I get back because I did not relax enough. I think your idea of a longer vacation is definitely in my future!!
Hey Laurie, My take on your list - 1 - everyone has a story - listen 2- social media causes interpersonal problems 5- generational differences create hurdles / earn it you aren't entitled / we should help them get there not give it to them 6 AMEN some leaders I would have followed thru Hell, some I wish - well, you know 7- true BUT be as good as your word and 14- Hopefully we leave some good from our efforts, I know the good leaders I have had have. Seen a lot in my career but it really comes down to treat others the way you want to be treated, fair, honest, and straight forward. Good read. Take care
I love this so much and thank you so much for sharing! I really just love realizing that enjoying the simple things sometimes is the best! Also recognizing that what is important and fun to you may not be everyone else's fun on the on the trip. “Do we get to keep these toiletries?” was my favorite!!!! :):) Glad you had a great time and got to spend it with your family!
I very much resonate with lesson no 3! Thank you Laurie
I think the part that you might have missed in their top 5 things, some of which were not "Italian" or even different from home, all of them happened with you, both of you. And i think that is what they will remember too. And you've got tons of photos that will remind them of what the Sistine Chapel looked like - then they might remember what it sounded like or smelled like. Oh- and i agree with you 100% about sleep!
LOTS of great take-aways from this post! Thank you for posting! I especially love "slow down to speed up". That's a keeper!
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the not getting enough rest to be at my best. definitely need to get more quality sleep and make that a priority
It really is hard to narrow down the 3 lessons into one because they are all so interconnected. You need to give your mind and body THE TIME to relax SO THAT you can enjoy the SIMPLE THINGS, including REST. I enjoyed that lesson as a whole. I will take that lesson with me on my next vacation (or staycation). As always, thank you Laurie for your candor and for sharing your own lessons with others so that we too can benefit.
Great information and reminders
Laurie, Thank you for sharing your trip and these nuggets. The lessons that resonate most with me are it does take time to relax and getting proper rest. When you devote 15 plus hours of your day for work, taking care of home and others; the 6-7 hours you lay down does not cut it! For me during this time I'm trying to unwind and find myself thinking fighting not to think about what I have to do tomorrow. Even after I create a to do list for the next day...I find things I need to add. Taking a day off here and there doesn't cut it as well because of all the plans you have for that day. I try to make sure my Mental Health Days remains just that.... time for me to laugh, cry, scream.... whatever I need to release the cares and stress!
Really enjoyed the article... and all very true!
Since I was already well aware of #1 (I'm in the same boat with taking a long time to relax), I think I'm resonating most with #3. I'm learning to prioritize sleep / rest and it's been wonderful. Love that you said "I love sleep.". :)
Welcome back from vacation. Well deserve! Action is the key to success. Shoulder to shoulder, coaching and delegating task to help other employees grow are very important. It is a sacrifice that one must do. Forget about yourself and be with your team day in and out to help them grow, is not always easy. On the long run, your team is stronger, and you can depend on them for the success of the organization. Thank you so much!
So many great tips here, thank you!
I am so impressed you're able to disconnect and these are great tips I'll be sure to try on my next trip!
Such a great post - so inspiring!