What is positive energizing leadership? According to Kim Cameron in his new book Positively Energizing Leadership it’s something we all need. His basic message is “all human beings flourish in the presence of light (positive energy),” which he calls a heliotropic effect. The most effective kind of positive energy is relational energy and it causes people and organizations to flourish.

One of the key factors found in positive energy is virtuousness. Virtuousness, especially in leaders, leads to positive relational energy that leads to positive outcomes. So, positively energizing leaders produce growth, development and improvement with the people they interact.

What Does Positive Energy Look Like?

Cameron uses Chapter One to explain forms of energy. Positive energy helps people flourish and negative energy causes them to languish. As you might expect, people gravitate toward the life-giving energy and run from the life-depleting. Relational energy is the type of energy that enhances performance at work and it has nothing to do with influence, extroversion, or motivation. It’s a social and individual phenomenon.

Cameron poses the question, “When I interact with this person, what happens to my energy?” So, a person’s position may have nothing to do with the way a person creates positive energy. Positive energy is a set of behaviors anyone can learn and develop. Therefore, you don’t have to be in a position of power or be an influencer to be a positive energizer.

What Impact Does Positive Energy Have?

Cameron outlines three important conclusions about positive energizers. He says positive energizers:

• Are higher performers.
• Impact the performance of those with whom they interact.
• Are more plentiful in high performing organizations than in normal organizations.

From here, Cameron explains how to identify positive energizers and examines the attributes most commonly found among them. These aren’t superhuman attributes, but behaviors we all admire like inspiring others, showing integrity, being genuine, and displaying virtuous behavior.

How Can You Develop Positively Energizing Leadership?

Contribution seems to be a key to creating positive energy. What people give in a relationship is more important than what they receive. Cameron explains using effect and application. If you:

• Are generous and altruistic, you might show it by mentoring and teaching.
• Believe in gratitude, recognition, and humility then you may keep a gratitude journal and encourage others to do the same.
• Value trust, integrity, and honesty, then you should tell the truth, sacrifice for others, and be consistent in how you act and interact with people.

While it isn’t rocket-science, displaying these attributes can be hard for some people. Cameron outlines a four-stage process for dealing with negative people. I appreciated his step four, which is to help the negative person flourish somewhere else. Yes, it does mean you are letting someone go, but he suggests you can do this and still preserve a person’s dignity. “Let’s find a place where you can flourish.”

Final Thoughts on Positively Energizing Leadership

Cameron devotes an entire chapter to four examples of positively energizing leaders using real-life examples. I enjoyed that section because I like to see results. His examples represented the entire world, which helps readers see how culture can affect how one implements positive energizing leadership.

He also takes one chapter to explain common objections and how to respond. Naysayers most likely will have one of five (maybe multiple) objections: research, culture and value, simplicity, manipulation and ethical, and practice and application.

In concluding, Cameron summarizes the principles and action examples and includes in the Appendix tools and resources you can adapt for your agency.

It’s not a long book, but it has a lot of good information. It might be an easy sell because I believe in the things he talks about in the book. However, even if you are a skeptic, he has data to back up his statements, which should satisfy anyone’s need for proof.

Have you heard about positive energizing leadership? What are your thoughts about it?

You can find more reviews on my blog.