Rule 3
Fuel Your Ride with Positive Energy
Being positive not only makes you better, it makes everyone around you better.
The fuel that moves you and your team to your destination is positive energy. Real positive energy comes from trust, faith, enthusiasm, purpose, joy, and happiness. Authentic positive energy helps to lead and inspire others. You may have seen amazing leaders help their teams accomplish huge goals. These are people that know how to create and share positive energy; you can feel it when you are around them. The power of positive energy can change lives and the entire world, and it starts with each person fueling themselves with positive energy so they can share it with others.
There is a quote that says, “Where focus goes, energy flows.” The practices mentioned in this section of the field guide are all ways to focus on creating that positive fuel. I have a few personal practices that help me start my day with positive energy. One that I recommend is a Gratitude Walk.
I mention it in The Energy Bus book and how it provides the right type of fuel for me to be the best leader and driver of positive change that I can be. Here is what I do: I take a nice, brisk walk each morning and make a mental list of all the things I am grateful for. The list is from all aspects of my life, both personal and professional. I think of positive events and people and the many positive occurrences I am blessed by every day. This practice creates positive energy right away. It is a powerful practice in setting me up for positive energy for the day, because it is impossible to be grateful and negative at the same time.
One of the leaders I work with has a plaque on the wall at her home to ignite her gratitude and positive energy. She hung it at eye level in a spot where she will pass by it each morning before heading out the door. It says, “Start each day with a grateful heart.” You can take the concept of a Gratitude Walk and create your own triggers and practices to enable you to ground yourself in gratitude each day and create the positive fuel for your ride.
Another simple practice: You can start with a smile. Did you know that smiling increases your serotonin levels? And you can pass that on to others. The recipients of your smile also experience a rise in serotonin and happiness.
Celebrating the successes of your day is another practice that develops positive energy. I ask people to think about what went right in their day. Think about the things that were successes, even if they were seemingly small, or if there was only one tiny thing that went well. When you finish your day, reflect on those positive events. Make a mental list. Run over it in your mind. Through this practice you will inspire yourself to look for more successes the next day—and the day after that. This type of habit gets people addicted to the positive energy.
Another way to foster a flow of positive energy is a practice I call feeding the positive dog. I've told the story before about two dogs. One dog represents the negative in life, and the other represents the positive in life. The one that grows is the one you feed the most. You feed the positive dog by focusing on the positive things in life. These would be the things that went well and energize you. When you feed the positive dog, the positive dog gets more prominent in your thoughts and actions. When you feed the negative dog, negativity grows inside you.
The more ways you find to develop and nourish the positive focus in your life, the more positive energy and positive fuel you will have for the road ahead. This is the key to fueling your ride.
How Do You Fuel Your Ride?
Complete the questions below.
- When have you observed positive energy in action? What did you learn from that situation, and how did it make you feel?
- What does positive energy mean to you?
- Is your tank full or empty right now? How will you maintain a tank of positive fuel?
- What energizes you? How can you create practices and habits to reinforce the things that energize you?
- What are three things you are grateful for? Write them in the space below. After you finish making the list, reflect on the energy you created while focusing on being grateful. What did it feel like?
- What is one of your recent successes? When you think about your success and focus on what you did right, what happens to your energy?
- How can you create positive energy by focusing less on yourself and more on others? What are some ways you can shift your focus to making sure to acknowledge someone else's successes? How do you think this will impact your own energy?
- What one practice will you commit to daily to fuel yourself with positive energy? Track your commitment for three weeks (21 days). Reflect on the impact by writing down your daily practice and the results each week.
How to Help Your Team Fuel Up
There is power in positive people who create positive teams and produce positive results. You have to be energized personally to pass that positive energy to those around you. There are many ways to fuel yourself and then share that with your team.
Fuel Your Ride: Team-Building Activities
E + P = O
One of the main ways to help fuel your team with positive energy is to use the E + P = O formula, the Positive Success Formula. Events plus perception equals outcomes. (You can also substitute positive energy for perception if you want to remind yourself that you want a positive outcome.) How you choose to interpret and perceive events will impact the outcome. When you choose to see the opportunities within your challenges, you will enhance your team's positive energy and chance for success. Share this formula with your team, and ask them to discuss how this could help the team create more positive energy.
One team leader introduced this formula to the team by sharing a couple of common events that occurred regularly on the team and asked them to discuss how to apply the formula going forward for the most positive results.
The examples included customer challenges, problems with teammates, and other situations. Once the group reviewed the challenges shared, each person was asked to apply the E + P = O formula to create a positive outcome from the event. The team members shared their examples with each other and discussed how the formula and decision to implement a positive perception produced a positive result. Each month the team was asked to look for examples where this approach was used to solve difficult situations, and the team began to learn from each other. The more the leaders of the team demonstrated their own application of this approach, the more the formula became a part of the team culture. It shaped the way things happened in the team, and it created positive energy to fuel the bus for the road ahead.
You can post examples of success using this formula on a Success Wall where everyone can learn about the positive outcomes that result from the E + P = O equation.
Turning Negative into Positive
Joy from The Energy Bus stated a powerful truth, “Where there is a negative, there is always a positive. Where there is a dark cloud, there is always a sun shining behind it.” This is another best practice that you and your team can put into practice.
Have each team member identify a challenge they faced in their life and then share what they learned from it and how it helped them grow. Then when something negative occurs, train yourself and your team to be intentional in looking for the positive. When doing this, you do not have to ignore the reality of the challenge. You and your team just need to commit to looking at all situations with an eye for the silver lining. Those situations are where the magic happens and where the most potent positive fuel can be created and shared for your journey.
One team started keeping a list of their monthly challenges, and then the team leader would distribute the monthly challenges in a short email to the team. The team was asked to come up with a short description of the positive they saw in every negative situation. Each month the team came prepared and share their positive perspectives on those tough circumstances. Over time, the mindset became an ingrained part of the team, and they created multiple positive scenarios that could come from their problems. They inspired each other with their innovation and creativity and began to create monthly doses of positive fuel to keep their tank filled with positive energy. This best practice had the team noticing how much positive energy increased, and negative decreased. It changed their team culture.
Read The Energy Bus and Discuss With Your Team
John Calipari, the University of Kentucky basketball coach, would often read the book with his players and discuss it each week with them. ESPN did a feature on Willie Cauley-Stein and the impact Coach Calipari's mentoring and The Energy Bus had on him. It's a great example of what happens when a team reads the book together.
The Positive Pledge Culture Activity
Read the Positive Pledge that appears at the end of this book in the “Keep the Bus Rolling” section. Ask your team, “What would it look like if everyone in the organization adhered to the Positive Pledge?” Individually or in teams, write specific statements about the culture that would result. What might need to change in the culture to create more positive energy? What best practices could be further magnified? Ask the teams to create a visual to represent the culture of an organization if the Positive Pledge was in full effect. Give the group time to complete the activity, and then debrief as a group. Discuss opportunities to act.
Steering Wheel Activity
Gather a team or group together, and share the following statement with them: Positive thoughts are like the steering wheel that moves the bus in the right direction. Ask the individuals or groups to come up with thoughts they believe would impact their mental steering wheel to get the bus moving in the right direction for the organization's goals. What positive thoughts help them fuel up and steer themselves and the group? How can the group take action on these ideas?
Safety Zone Activity
You already know the Positive Success Formula, E + P = O. This additional activity can take the organizational and cultural impact to an even greater level.
There are many challenges in life and in business. Events can catch you off guard, and the choices you make impact outcomes in a positive or negative direction. The negative outcomes are outstanding learning opportunities, and when you train yourself and your team to apply the Positive Success Formula—even if it results in mistakes—it shifts the focus to solutions for the future, builds trust, and allows the team the space to operate in a Safety Zone, where no one gets run over by the bus.
Each month at your meetings, ask the team to bring some of the mistakes that recently occurred. During a period called the Safety Zone, when no one gets blamed, have the team share mistakes and let the team offer suggestions on how to apply the Positive Success Formula to shift gears toward a solution for the future based on the event that occurred. This activity teaches problem solving and builds trust by not placing blame. It also creates positive energy for the future through the resulting solutions via the Positive Success Formula. It trains your teams on the consistent application of this formula to create positive energy and positive outcomes. You can use the successful turnaround stories and ideas to fuel the team with positive energy. You can also tie some of these solutions to rewards and recognition for solving relevant organization challenges with a positive result. The Safety Zone activity is a fantastic way to train a team to solve problems without a fear of blame or shame for making mistakes. We all know that everyone makes mistakes, and every team needs to understand that reality and figure out a way beyond the need for blame. Blame sucks all the positive energy out of an opportunity for improvement. Having a Safety Zone protects everyone, and it helps everyone become more comfortable asking for, and receiving, help from their teammates.
Creating Positive Progress
Create a list of five challenges that your organization regularly faces. Have your team work in groups of two to five people. Ask the team to use the Positive Success Formula to create the most positive outcome possible to all the challenges listed. Have the teams share their ideas with the group, and choose to adopt some of the ideas as new best practices if appropriate.
These activities all represent simple ways to help teams create positive fuel, and I've seen teams create big, positive change through implementing them and celebrating the positive results. One thing is certain, when teams create, notice, and celebrate milestones on their road map, it creates positive energy. It also increases morale and can increase the organization's brand value in the marketplace.
When you align recognition criteria to the vision for the road ahead, you are reinforcing the vision and creating an exponential amount of positive fuel at the same time.
How to Fuel Your Organization with Positivity: Best Practices
Once you establish practices for yourself and your team, you may want to look at ways to fuel your organization with positive energy through a more comprehensive Energy Bus program.
Catch People Doing Things Right
When I meet leaders from all over the world, they tell me that one of the top ways to create positive energy in an organization is to notice what people are doing well. Pay attention to what people are doing right. Look for people doing things right. You create tons of positive energy and fuel by encouraging others in their hard work and achievement. As Ken Blanchard teaches in the One Minute Manager, when you catch people doing things right they will do more things right. You can turn this into a recognition program to reinforce the idea that catching people doing things right is a part of the organization's culture. Catching people doing things right is actually the sign of strong leadership.
Chief Energy Officer Awards
Every Energy Bus program I've heard about contained some aspect of recognition of success. One of the most successful car dealerships in the country created a monthly Chief Energy Officer Award to recognize their employees for sharing positive energy with teammates and clients. They found examples that embodied the type of positive culture and values they wanted their employees and customers to feel, and then monthly awards were given to the people who took action to make the car dealership a great place to work and do business.
There are many ways to highlight positive examples, and many of the organizations I've worked with create a formal program and a place to feature the individuals who get the awards. Some organizations put up pictures, some send out emails, some create videos in break rooms, and some use all of these approaches to make sure these successes are a focal point. Focusing on successes creates positive energy and fuels the ride.
Positive Pledge Commitment
The Positive Pledge (see “Keep the Bus Rolling,” at the end of this book) is another tool to create positive fuel. One company president asked each member of their team to print “The Positive Pledge,” sign their name at the bottom, and post it where they would see it every day. This simple act of commitment to positive energy created a team environment where Positive Energy was considered one of the core values.
Once this action is complete, you can follow up by meeting with your team individually and asking them what they will personally commit to doing in relation to their commitment to the Positive Pledge. Ask each team leader to do the same with their direct reports. Explicitly ask everyone to share any particularly creative or positive actions that are noted during the process, so that the team may implement them on a broader scale throughout the organization.
In summary, I've compiled lists of hundreds of different ways to fuel individuals, teams, and large-scale Energy Bus Programs with positive energy. This Field Guide is my way of sharing success strategies with you and helping to create more positive energy in the world. As you launch your program and implement Rule #3, think about the ongoing ways you will fuel yourself and fuel others. Put those practices in place, and be focused and consistent as you drive down the road towards your vision and goals.