Great Leaders Mind the Energy Gap

Most leaders address tangible gaps that block success – gaps in resources, raw materials, knowledge, distribution mechanisms and the like.  Many have also learned to address generational and cultural gaps to ensure global success.

Great leaders mind the energy gap as well. They enable and empower team members to bridge the energy gap and plug into success.

Leaders, Mind the Energy Gap on Teams

The energy gap between team members can build walls, interrupt the flow of teamwork, and detour the team from its mission.  Great leaders see this as a true and tangible barrier.

They mind this interpersonal energy gap and teach team members how to convert it to a powerful connection.

Interpersonal Energy Gap


Example #1
Team members who work harder or less hard than other team members yet all produce substantially the same results

    The barrier to success: Teamwork and morale can falter if team members mistake energy levels for results. They begin to label the harder workers as inefficient and those that work less hard as lazy.

    Great leaders focus on results.  They teach team members to work together to analyze inefficiencies, improve processes, and share talents for maximum success.  They spot team members who are capable of greater responsibility and guide them to collaborate and do more.

    Distributed (virtual) teams embrace this end result focus early on because they are working from different locations and sometimes different time zones. The distance compels them to address issues of responsiveness, timeliness, and efficiency to deliver on the mission.

    Great leaders remind shared workplace teams to address these issues instead of labeling the behaviors and detouring success.


Example #2
High energy emotional temperaments interacting with more even paced dispositions

    The barrier to success: Communication can falter when team members infer intention, intelligence, and/or ability just from the others’ temperament.

    Great leaders see energy and emotion differences as natural. A team is a microcosm of the human population. They teach team members to assess contributions with tangible evidence not by inferences about others’ disposition. Great leaders respect the differences and find the fit.

    Team building exercises can transform a team to work well with different personality styles. In these exercises, they learn to interpret emotion levels appropriately, understand the value of each temperament, and use the differences to fill their own talent gaps.

    Here is a short video to illustrate: GPS Your Team to Work With Different Personality Types.

How well do your teams address these energy gaps? Do they know how to mind the gap and turn it into a powerful connection? Ask them … and let me know!

Yours in service,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach

©2011 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. For permission to re-post or republish, please email info@katenasser.com.


Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach, is well respected for her results in turning interpersonal obstacles into interaction success in leadership, teamwork, and customer service. See this site for keynote topics, workshop outlines, and customer feedback.

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