When transitioning from a solo contributor to managing people, what are the most important skills and practices new managers need? I’ve been thinking about this question a lot recently.

My answer may surprise you.

The most underrated skill that serves new managers and executives is learning how to manage their own energy and be intentional about attending to energetic quality of their team.

New managers often feel like they have lost control of their time. Now they spend most of the day in meetings, with little time to complete their own work or reflect on more important yet seemingly less urgent matters. But the more they race to keep up with everything that has been crammed into their calendar, the less they make space for the skills and mindset shifts that could supercharge their leadership and influence.

Managing energy becomes even more important than managing time for new and seasoned managers. It's possible to learn skills and practices that help new managers remain in energetic integrity without leaking energy, but it takes guidance and practice to make them habits.

When new managers get training in these topics, so much can shift in how they show up:

• Emotional intelligence
• Nervous system regulation
• Understanding precisely what drains them and what gives them energy

Few people talk about the importance of managing energy as leaders, but we've all seen what it looks like when leaders and teams LEAK ENERGY. 

Energy leaks look like:

• Unproductive meetings where content recycles but decisions aren’t made
• Gossip within a team
• Rampant blame and judgement rather than curiosity and learning
• Not following through on what you said you would do
• Moving too fast to check in with whole body intelligence (overriding your gut)
• Ignoring emotional signals that point to boundaries needing to be set (anger) or not making space to let go of something that is no longer working (grief)
• Bottled up feedback that shows up as unspoken tension in meetings or in email correspondence
• Having a blind spot that no one is brave enough to help you see

When someone moves into a management role, these energy leaks that were previously in the background suddenly become their problem to solve. But how? 

Thankfully, there are frameworks AND practices that can help. While I ran away from energy-draining drama like this for years, I finally turned towards tools like conscious leadership and the Enneagram as well as somatic body-based practices that have the power to create real, lasting solutions. 

In fact, I feel so passionate about new managers learning the same energy-management skills that it takes CEOs and senior leaders years to learn that I am putting together a new program called New Managers Launch Pad.

Stay tuned! We’ve been quietly building something bold behind the scenes . If you’ve been feeling like a new chapter is calling, keep your eyes peeled. The signal is about to drop and those ready for it will be the first to know.

Stay close!