The Bright and Dark Side of Vitality

Vitality has two sides in leadership: a dark and a bright side.

The dark side of vitality is when leaders choose not to share their energy. To the extreme, they can negatively energize others, draining the energy of the people around them.  This can result in leaders being perceived as toxic or selfish.

The bright side of vitality is when leaders choose to share their energy with others. They show up at their best and positively energize the people around them. Positive energizers in the workplace encourage and empower others to create extraordinary results for the organization.

Leaders who are high in vitality and choose to share their energy with others, the bright side of vitality, are the leaders who shine brightly in leadership and life. They are what I have defined in my research as Vital Leaders.

Vitality Research Themes, Results and Implications

The results of my first vitality study show a more robust way to understand vitality as a three-factor model. The areas important to how we care for our vitality are: physical, psychological, and emotional energy.

In my second vitality study, I surveyed both leaders and their direct reports, who are defined as followers. The purpose was to uncover if there was a correlation between the vitality a leader reported and the follower’s perception of that leader. First, leaders responded to questions about their vitality and wellbeing. Then, their direct reports received a separate survey to respond to questions about their perceptions of the leader.

One component of the study included asking followers their perceptions of whether their leader positively energizes them. The positive energy which occurs in interactions between individuals is called positive relational energy. Kim Cameron’s research suggests that the positive energy leaders display in interactions has the greatest impact on performance.

This research uncovered several interesting implications for leaders with the following four themes.

1) Confirmation of the importance of maximizing your wellbeing

Key Finding: Maximizing your own wellbeing, using the 9 pathways of wellbeing, is at the core of building your vitality.

Implications for leaders: The 9 pathways of wellbeing, using the Perma+4 model, provides a roadmap for building your own vitality. The pathways are: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment, physical health, mindset, environment and economic security. It is through maximizing your wellbeing that you then have the energy to serve others from a place of abundance.

2) The relationship between your wellbeing and leadership

Key Finding: There is a very strong relationship between your wellbeing and how you show up in leadership. Giving attention to your own wellbeing builds your vitality. Vitality is the essential link between the internal focus on wellbeing and the external expression of leadership.

Implications for leaders: Your vitality matters so much in leadership. Given the significant demands leaders face, building your vitality helps you thrive in leadership without depleting yourself.

3) Leaders lacking in vitality were perceived as mediocre

Key Finding: When leaders lack vitality and positive relational energy, followers perceive their servant leadership behaviors as average. They show up as mediocre leaders: not negatively impacting their followers’ energy but not positively energizing them either.

Implications for leaders: Leaders who are themselves depleted or burned-out are limited on how much they can serve their followers. They aren’t able to access their full leadership capacity. While they may not be leaving followers feeling drained, they aren’t invigorating them either. It illuminates the importance of leaders filling their energy first so they have the energy to positively energize followers.

4) Choosing to share your vitality makes the difference    

Key Finding: Having an abundance of vitality is not enough. Whether leaders share their vitality determines how followers perceive them. This is where we see vitality’s two sides.  

Leaders who choose to share their vitality positively energize followers. They are perceived as stronger servant leaders. It’s vitality’s bright side.

Leaders who don’t share their vitality are perceived negatively on servant leadership behaviors. They are also viewed as at risk of burning out. They may even be perceived as selfish or toxic. It’s vitality’s dark side.

Implications for leaders: To show up at your best in leadership, it’s not enough to give attention to your wellbeing. It’s not enough to have an abundance of energy available to self. To positively energize followers, leaders must choose to share their energy with others.

A surprising result of my research is that not all leaders are energized by sharing positive relational energy with followers. Leaders who positively energize their followers often do so without being replenished in return. This magnifies the importance of leaders fostering their own wellbeing and vitality to ensure they are not at risk of burning out. 

Why would leaders choose to keep their energy to themselves?

As my research uncovered, leaders may not have the energy to share with others when their own vitality is depleted. Even leaders with high vitality may not have an awareness of the importance of sharing their vitality. They may not know how to positively energize followers. For a list of ways to positively energize followers, please refer to my previous blog on Positive Leadership.

Leaders Need Support

“Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” - Brené Brown

These findings bring to light how much support leaders really need. Ultimately, my research highlights the need for leaders to bridge their internal and external worlds.

I have witnessed this disconnect between the external and internal worlds of the leaders I coach as well. Externally, they deliver extraordinary results and seem so energized. But internally, they don’t feel fulfilled.

How can you get the support you need to be a Vital Leader?

• Cultivate your wellbeing and vitality every day: Caring for your wellbeing is where you get your main source of energy and vitality. Focus on what replenishes your own physical, psychological, and emotional vitality every day. The good news: you get to determine what fills you up. The bad news: there isn’t a prescription. That means it requires being intentional. To explore more, list out what brings you energy in each category on the Energy Worksheet, found here.

• Importance of strong relationships: Who are the people in your life where you can show up messy and not have all the answers? Who can you be honest with about what is fully going on for you? Make sure you support yourself with deep and trusting relationships where you can show up as your full self.

Reflection: how are you doing getting the support you need as a leader? What’s one step you could take next to get more support?

In summary, the second part of my vitality study showed a clear distinction in how we utilize our vitality in leadership, highlighting the importance of choice.