Your energy is your trademark
Your energy is your trademark
Marley loved working with most of her work colleagues; the vibe was almost always positive and interacting with them seemed to lighten her mood.
In contrast, there were a couple of people on the team who were often negative, complaining and gossiping. Interacting with them was always a downer. Marley walked away from these team members feeling flat and tired.
Whenever we interact with people in any environment, whether at home, work or in the community, there is an interplay of energy and emotion that can influence how we feel during and after the interaction.
How others feel after interacting with you, becomes your trademark.
The ‘energy exchange’ you have with others can be neutral, helpful, negative or even harmful. When we regularly interact with others, we begin to recognise the energy they bring to interactions, and the energy we create together.
These interpersonal dynamics commonly go one of four ways.
Interactions can be:
1) positive for both people (energising)
2) neutral to both (transactional)
3) negative for both (conflict or unresolved issues)
4) unbalanced or even an 'energy vampire' interaction where one person leaves feeling great and the other one awful
You can probably think of interactions both at home and at work, where you’ve had each of these four experiences.
Every time we have one of those experiences it is signalling to us. It can tell us a lot about ourselves and the people with whom we interact.
It would be easy to jump to conclusions and think that those emotions were all to do with the other person. However, they may not be.
Let’s look at each in more detail.
1) Energising interactions are great all around. In the workplace, when we have these experiences, we are creating goodwill and high energy with our team and colleagues. Good teams have a high level of positive interactions.
The only thing to be on the lookout for is if we are doing it at someone else’s expense. Say if we are having a bitch about a third person, it can feel good in the moment, but ultimately it does not foster trust in the workplace and good teamwork and is undermining of team culture.
2) Neutral interactions are transactional and are a healthy and necessary part of the workplace environment. We don’t need every interaction to be positive, and a lot of healthy workplace interactions would be neutral.
3) Negative interactions are when two or more people come together, and everyone goes away feeling worse than when they started to meet. This is so common in poorly run, lengthy and unnecessary meetings, or when there is an unresolved and protracted conflict.
4) Unbalanced interactions are another type of negative, or concerning interaction. The worst example of this is the toxic energy vampire at work, who is always complaining, bitching, gossiping, shaming or criticising. This person’s modus operandi consciously or unconsciously is to make other people feel bad, so they walk away feeling better. It is bad ego behaviour and can come out in competitiveness and rivalry too. Narcissists can thrive on these types of interactions.
So, over the next few days, observe your interactions with others and reflect on what type of energy interplay you might be having.
How we each approach every interaction can maximise the likelihood of it being neutral or positive.
It can be a game-changer when we move through our day with a clear intention to leave a positive trademark.
What do you think people mostly feel after interacting with you?
What is your trademark?
Love to hear your thoughts,
Michelle