Leaders: How are Your Managing the “Human Energy” of Your Workforce?
Posted Nov 19, 2025 by Rick
I’ve been speaking recently about “Leading with Hope and Vision in the New Ab-Normal.” Audiences at events such as New Jersey’s #GSETA Conference, Maryland’s #Raising the Bar, and Pennsylvania’s #PWDA Conference have heard me call for disruptive leadership—the kind that restores hope and re-energizes workers who are struggling under unprecedented levels of change and uncertainty.
What I’ve learned is this: the challenge isn’t regional, and it’s not just American—it’s global. A recent article out of India, highlighted in the “What We’re Reading” section below, references a presentation claiming that “Energy has to become the new currency of leadership.”
And it’s true.
Leaders today must think of themselves not only as managers of time, resources, and budgets, but as stewards of human energy.
Why Human Energy Matters Now More Than Ever
Workers are tired. Many feel disconnected from their purpose, overwhelmed by change, and unsure of what the future holds. They’ve lost hope, and with it, a sense of agency—the belief that they can influence outcomes and shape their own futures.
As Yasmin Taj, Editor of ETHRWorld, puts it:
“Organizations that learn to regenerate human energy—not just manage time or output—will build the most sustainable engines of growth.”
Exactly. That is why I’ve been telling clients:
Today’s leader must first be a culture curator.
Leaders must design and champion the conditions that restore purpose, momentum, and belief. They cannot afford to let uncertainty drain the energy of the workplace.
How Leaders Can Regenerate Human Energy
One practical method is to introduce challenge stress goals—not overwhelming mandates, but small, forward-moving targets that reinforce purpose and create a series of short, achievable wins. These wins rebuild confidence and help teams reconnect to the mission.
Start with something simple and powerful:
Map the customer journey.
Document the current state. Identify friction points. Gather the problems and breakdowns your team wants to fix.
This activity does three things:
Re-focuses energy on mission (your customer).
Redirects attention away from uncertainty that drains morale.
Creates a list of meaningful problems to solve—your pipeline for challenge stress goals.
These goals don’t just solve problems.
They generate momentum.
They rebuild agency.
They restore hope.
Why “Pressing Pause” Is the Wrong Move
In times like these, leaders may feel tempted to slow down to protect their teams. While empathetic, pressing pause often has the opposite effect—it can deepen feelings of drift, uncertainty, and fatigue.
What people need is not a pause.
They need purposeful progress, however small.
Introduce challenge stress.
Take action now.
Restore meaning, restore momentum—and restore human energy.
It might feel daunting, but it is absolutely energizing! And a year from now, you’ll wish you had started today.