I’ve been trying to figure out a way to explain a concept to you that will allow you to take something abstract and make it concrete. It’s a concept that applies both in life and in leadership.

Think of a person whose energy is contagious. Perhaps they are a bubbly sort, always smiling and laughing. How does this person make you feel when you are around them?  You might say something like, “I like her energy.” Or “I like being around her.”

Perhaps this person is one of the disgruntled sort. Maybe it’s the boss that’s never happy, no matter how hard you try. You hear people say, “I don’t like his demeanor.” Or “She’s difficult to work with.”

COR.E Energy Coaching

Core Energy Coaching was developed by Bruce Schneider and is taught through the coaching school called the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching or iPEC.  In this blog post, I’ll do my best to explain what Core Energy is and how it’s used as a tool for coaches. 

Core energy is a cognitive thought process that includes a thought, a feeling, and an action.  These three components combined together form energy. 

There are two forms of energy: Catabolic and Anabolic. IPEC has defined seven levels to illustrate a gradual increase from being 100% catabolic at Level 1 to 100% anabolic at Level 7. iPEC has done further research and believe that a person’s sense of self contentment can be correlated to their level of energy.

The Levels of Energy

The person who is bubbly is displaying what iPEC coaching describes as anabolic energy. The person who’s displaying anabolic energy is said to be uplifting and encouraging.  You like working with them or being around them.  They often think the best of things. They may encourage others to be or do their best as well.  Think of how inspiring Tina Turner was to so many women around the world.  What drew you to her is her energetic presentation.

The disgruntled boss is displaying what’s described as catabolic energy. Catabolic energy is a destructive type energy.  It zaps your energy and you don’t feel like doing anything.  You just do what’s needed or required. Think of Tina Turner when she was with Ike. In Tina’s case, she just wanted to survive.

This week, I want you pay attention to your surroundings.  Pay attention to the times when you feel energized as well as when you feel drained. I know it’s hard not to, but I don’t want you to judge them as good or bad, right or wrong, just notice them, jot them down in your journal.  

I want to share a story with you that illustrates catabolic energy and how to shift it to anabolic.  Being able to do this is the part of the secret sauce to have a fulfilling and balanced life.

So the story goes…

Catabolic Energy

I’m working with a customer in the healthcare industry. I’ve been on this project since the a few months. They are doing a “bake-off” between two products to decide which product to purchase.

It’s one of those projects that was already behind schedule when it started. We started the project with it in the red. I’ve been working hard putting a schedule together (yes, the customer redlined without a schedule). It has over 700 lines in it (think of an excel sheet with 700 rows of text or data). I’ve worked hard to sequence the lines chronologically. I’ve identified who is doing each task and how long each task takes. We had a start date and an end date. We knew what tasks might extend the project timeline. The customer has reviewed and approved it (about three weeks prior).

Then one Tuesday morning, the customer launch grenades into every single phase of the project? Voices were raised, things were said, chaos ensued. Think of Mayhem from the Allstate commercials.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted and wondered how I got it so wrong. Why was the customer so angry that he rearranged the entire schedule on the spot? Of course, his actions added time to the end of the schedule. A project that was supposed to end in three months was suddenly extended to six months. A few days went by, but it ended where it was supposed too. The executive sponsor said we couldn’t extend the schedule. So today, we are back where we started.

It doesn’t really matter how it ended; in making the intangible, tangible; look at the italics I used up above

“I was exhausted, and I wondered how did I get it so wrong.”

AND

“The customer was so angry; he rearranged the schedule on the spot.”

If you’re in a situation and you feel as though you did something wrong or it was your fault, or say things like, “Dammit Tammy, you’re so stupid. How did you get into this situation again?” This is called victim energy. Victim energy is level 1 energy on the iPEC eye chart. Think of a phone that needs to be charged. It’s battery is drained.

Level two is the level of anger. The customer was angry about something and took it out on the project. When anger is the primary emotion, we say that’s level 2 energy. When I wrote about grenades and voices being raised, I’m describing conflict energy.

Victim energy and conflict energy are both catabolic types of energy.

If you spend most of your time in these two forms of energy, you are not living your best life. Those dreams you had when you were younger or in another situation have no room to grow and develop when you are in the hot, murky swamp of destructive energy.

Now, let’s look at creative, feel-good kind of energy.  We call this anabolic energy.  Think of a time when you had a really good day, or something exciting happened (yes, the day Scott proposed was one of those days), but it could be much a much simpler enjoyment, maybe something like getting a surprise card in the mail from a long lost friend or a text or phone call from one of your favorite peeps.

Out of the seven levels of energy, levels 1 and 2 are catabolic.  Level 3 energy includes the catabolic, destructive type energy, but also a mix of creative, building up or anabolic type of energy.  In short, you’re open to other options.  

The worst day in my new role with my new investor, I knew I had to do something to get myself out of the muck and mire work put me in that day.  I didn’t want that experience to flow into the evening (or into my personal life) with Scott and his son Nicholas.  I could have vented and complained for DAYS about the grenades launched that day.  I wanted to do something different.

When I signed off from work that day, I tried something new.  I wanted to “shake off” all the  frustration of the day.  So as I was sipping my wine, I searched on YouTube for a line dance to a Tina Turner song.

We’d just received word that Tina had passed away and I do think she embodies this negative to positive type energy, look what she did once she left IKE.  

I found a line dance to “Nutbush City Limits.” 

I couldn’t believe it!  

For the next hour or so, I played the song and practiced.  Eventually, Nicholas joined in.  Nick and I did the dance together (he only needed to see the instruction like twice to get it).  We laughed and tried to get Scott to join us.  

We were line dancing on the West Patio. That’s the name of our patio where we hang out.  It’s on the west side of the back patio area.

It felt really good to laugh and dance and shake all that negative energy of the day out of my soul. Dancing kept me from spiraling. Being with loved ones doing something fun gave me something else to focus on and it felt good.

I took responsibility for how I felt and I took action to change it. I wanted to release the negativity of the day. Dancing to Nutbush City Limits helped me release that energy. I motivated myself and found a way to cope. I made the best of a bad day.

I moved myself up the chart into level 3.  It didn’t change what happened and I didn’t make excuses for it.

When I spiral, I’m in levels 1 or 2.  I think something is wrong with me or I’m angry. When I take responsibility, I move into level 3.  I was open to a different experience.

As an Inclusive Leadership coach, this is how I determine whose ready for inclusive coaching and who isn’t.

I’m look for level 3 energy. I’m looking for leaders who can feel the tinge of victimhood or anger, but know they have room to grow or to learn another way.  They know they’ve missed something and want to make a course correction, they just don’t know how or what yet.  

But, they are open.

If a leader is demonstrating and sticking to victim energy or anger around anything inclusive, they aren’t ready or willing to be coached.

Anabolic Energy

Are you someone who has a natural inclination to put others before yourself? Do you find joy in making those around you happy? Do you like to fix other people’s problems?  Do others seek your advice?

You, my dear soul are operating at level 4. 

At Level 4, judgment, anger, guilt, resentment, and other self-directed thoughts and feelings begin to fade and are replaced by a genuine desire to help others. The core thought when operating at this level is concern, which leads to compassion and service. At this level, you no longer take words or actions personally.

Your concern becomes helping the other person feel better. The situation is no longer about you, so you have nothing to react to or forgive.

Showing care and concern for others is undoubtedly admirable, it’s essential to remember the importance of self-care and maintaining healthy boundaries.

There was a time in my career when I felt unseen, unheard, and that my opinion wasn’t valued. I kept running into roadblocks every way I turned. I was cut off in meetings or my suggestions were ignored.

After some time, I internalized what was happening to me. I felt like there was something wrong with me.  I felt like I wasn’t good enough. I became depressed. I was told my problem was I’d led men in combat. WTH. How is that a problem? Yes, I was definitely wallowing around in level 1 and level 2 energy. Woe is me. How dare they…. you fill in the blank. I vented to anyone who would listen. I stayed in the dead-end job for several years trying to figure it out.

Then one day early in the pandemic, I signed up for an online Women in Leadership certificate program through eCornell University. It turned my world upside down!

There was so much information in that program that validated my experiences and explained what I was experiencing. It was refreshing to learn I wasn’t going crazy, after all! I was learning things I wish I’d known 20 years ago. Had I known some of the stuff I learned, I would have picked my battles differently and I definitely would have managed my career differently.

I knew in June 2020 that I wanted to become a coach. I wanted to help other women through the struggles that come with being in male dominated spaces. From that day forward, I began the process of drastic change. I started looking into coaching programs, taking public speaking courses, and started on a journey that made me a different person.

And you know what? My challenge became my opportunity. My challenging situation also pushed me to make better decisions for my career; ones that suited me. During this time, I was operating at level 5 energy. I was using my situation to make me a better person. I took a challenge and made it an opportunity.

Let’s move to the next level of energy, level 6. At this level, you will find intuition. It’s core thought is synthesis which is connecting and putting things together.

Where did my idea for this blog post come from? The more I look and study a topic, the more I see how to use it. I don’t always know where it will lead me. I trust the process and believe that things will unfold just as they do.

The same is true with iPEC’s energy leadership. I’m completely fascinated with it. It’s allowed me to change my life from within. It’s the foundation for the how I want to do inclusive leadership. It gives us a common language. It’s also a guide for me to use to see if you are in fact, ready to be inclusive.

What I’m doing is I’m using my intuition to brings concepts and ideas together to form a whole. I’m synthesizing the information. As a society, we’re often encouraged to listen to our gut feelings or urges we feel about a decision we need to make. We are influenced by media, each other, and what everyone else is doing.

Today, I want to remind you of a remarkable gift you possess – your intuition. Deep within you lies an inner compass, guiding you towards decisions that align with your true self and lead to your personal growth and fulfillment.

In a world filled with endless choices and external opinions, it’s easy to lose sight of our own instincts. But let me assure you, dear friend, that your intuition is a powerful tool waiting to be tapped into. When faced with difficult decisions, be still and listen to that quiet voice within. It speaks in whispers, nudging you towards the path that feels right for you. Trust in its wisdom and embrace the courage to follow its guidance.

Remember, no one knows you better than yourself. Your intuition is uniquely attuned to your desires, dreams, and aspirations. It serves as a compass leading you towards a life filled with purpose and joy.

Think of a phone that’s charged at 100%. That’s what level 7 is like, a fully charged battery. The primary emotion associated with level 7 is absolute passion. The main idea is to avoid judgment. Creation is the major action at this level. Think of it as the feeling that you can conquer the world! People who access this level co-create their lives.

It’s not possible to stay in this zone for long, but the goal for us is to learn to access it. I know, you are asking, “OK Tammy, how do I know if I’ve accessed it in the past?”

Great question! I’m so glad you asked.

I’ll share with you some experiences I’ve had that I know were level 7.

1. Holding my daughter Danielle in my arms right after she was born.
2. Seeing a ring in my cheesecake this past summer. 
3. Landing safely on the ground after sky-diving for my 28th birthday. 
4. Seeing the Grand Canyon with my own eyes for the first, second and even third time. 
5. Receiving news I passed my PMP exam after many years of study and practice. 
6. Graduating with my Master’s degree. 

The first three examples are simply experiences that can happen. Joyous moments in life. The fourth one is intentional, included in a vacation Danielle and I took. The last two, though, those come after planning, hard work, and commitment to finish.

I know, your next question is “How can I access it in the future?”

For me, it’s all about creating experiences and enjoying the moments of those experiences as much as possible. I find joy in planning vacations, seeing friends and family. I’m starting to reap the benefits of meditation and yoga which is helping me be present when I’m with others.

Some things require planning, patience, and one step forward at at time.  Planning for college and retirement come to mind.

Some are big hairy audacious goals, like taking a cruise around the world. They seem impossible at first, but through intention, they manifest.

What are some ways you can access this level of energy?

Summary of the Levels of Energy

Here is a summary of the seven levels of energy:

• Level 1 – You are exhausted, and wonder how you got it so wrong.
• Level 2 – You are angry; voices are raised, chaos ensues.
• Level 3 – You figure out how to motivate yourself and find a way to cope, or you make the best of a bad day.
• Level 4 – You put others before yourself. You find joy in making those around you happy. You like fixing other people’s problems.  Others come to you for advice.
• Level 5 – you take challenges and make them opportunities
• Level 6 – You use your intuition to guide you.
• Level 7 – Absolute passion.

If you want to learn more about the levels of energy, please read Bruce Schneider’s book, “Energy Leadership: The 7 Level Framework for Mastery in Life and Business.”

If you want to learn more about your energy or if you interested in what your energetic presentation looks like, please click here for more information.