Your Energy Walks Into the Room First

Your Energy Walks Into the Room First

Most leaders prepare for an important meeting by thinking about the content. What you need to say, what decisions need to be made, and what the team needs to know.

But are you thinking about how you want people to experience you?

Walk into the room frustrated, and the energy shifts.

Respond defensively to the first challenge, and people start holding back.

Spend the meeting looking at your phone, and attention starts to drift.

The opposite is also true. A leader who is grounded, curious, present, and clear can change the energy of a room without saying a word.

I recently sat down with our friend Dr. Harry Cohen, organizational psychologist and author of Be the Sun, Not the Salt. Dr. Cohen's work is grounded in the science of heliotropic leadership: people are drawn toward those who support, encourage, and bring out the best in them. His message comes down to this: Do more of the behaviors that energize people and less of the behaviors that diminish them.

The challenge is that when you lead, your behavior carries more weight.

Your frustration changes the room. Your impatience can shut someone down. Your distraction sends a message, whether you intend it to or not.

But so does the good stuff.

A specific thank you. Putting down your phone. Asking someone what they think. Staying calm when the room gets tense. Admitting you were wrong.

These are small actions. But they can change how someone feels, responds, or contributes.

Harry said it this way: “You are not in your culture. You are the culture.”

We tend to think of culture as something bigger than us. But culture gets built into these small, everyday interactions.

And every time you walk into the room, you're adding something to it.

What are you adding?

The Practice

Be intentional about the energy you create.

Before your next meeting or conversation, choose one small action that will help someone else engage, contribute, or perform at their best.

Then do it. Notice the impact.

Keep taking the reps.

This Week From the Lab

Executive presence isn't something you either have or you don't. It can be trained.

Executive Presence: Your Next Rep is a practical guide to five disciplines that shape how you show up as a leader, with specific behaviors to practice and questions to use before your next high-stakes moment.

Download it Here

⭐️ In the Next Signal: We’re taking Executive Presence from guide to practice with a free course in STEER Lab.

To permanent beta, ​ Chris

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PS - Want More?

Our full conversation with Dr. Harry Cohen is now live on Pressure Tested. We get into what heliotropic leadership actually looks like, how to recognize when you’re bringing the sun or the salt, and what you can do differently in the moments that matter. ​▶️ LISTEN: You Are the Culture — Be the Sun, Not the Salt