In the first three parts of this series, we explored the benefits of shifting from a “work-life balance” mindset to one of energy management. In this final part, we want to apply this mindset to our leadership lens.
It starts with a simple but often overlooked question: Are you spending your energy on the things that only you can do?
Many leaders unintentionally drain their energy on tasks that feel productive. These are often tasks we are good at, comfortable with, or used to doing. At some point along the way we developed our expertise in these tasks, and often they are the very things that led to our current success, but they are no longer moving the needle toward our goals.
Leadership requires energy for decision-making, coaching, and navigating complexity. When that energy is depleted on lower-impact work, we have less available for the moments that matter most.
Equally important is understanding your own energy patterns. Each of us has natural peaks and dips throughout the day. When you know when you are at your best, you can intentionally schedule your most demanding work—whether that’s a tough conversation, strategic thinking, or problem-solving—during those windows.
Avoidance plays a role here, too. We often delay the tasks that feel uncomfortable or draining. The irony is that those tasks don’t disappear—they simply get pushed to a time when we have even less energy to handle them. What may have been manageable earlier in the day can feel overwhelming when we’re already depleted. And in those moments, we are far more likely to default to less effective behaviors instead of showing up as the leader we want to be.
Now expand that thinking to your team.
Do you know when your people do their best work? Do they?
High-performing teams are not just managing time; they are managing individual and collective energy.
At the individual level, this means helping team members identify what energizes them, what drains them, and when they naturally perform at their peak. With that awareness, you can better align responsibilities, timing, and expectations.
At the team level, it means being thoughtful about how work is structured. Are you stacking multiple high-drain activities into a single day? Are there opportunities to balance demanding work with energy-generating moments? Even small adjustments, like spacing out intensive meetings or encouraging short resets, can have a meaningful impact.
Ultimately, energy management as a leadership tool is about intentionality. It’s about recognizing that while time is fixed, energy is not. When leaders learn to manage both their own and their team’s energy, they unlock higher performance, better decision-making, and a more sustainable workflow.