The Energy Edge: An Untapped Advantage for Startup CEOs and Business Leaders - Zaina Orbai
As CEOs and business leaders navigate the complexities of scaling a startup, it’s evident to focus on the tangible aspects of business growth — strategy, product, people, and finances. However, there’s an often-overlooked yet intangible factor that significantly impacts the organization’s success: energy. When I refer to energy, I am not talking about climate change, reiki healing, or some mystical process. It’s much simpler — a leader’s energy influences how they show up in every aspect of their business and reflects their degree of awareness, mindset, and potential. Just as a leader’s words and actions ripple through their company, so does the energy they bring to the business and the people around them.
In my previous article, I touched upon the importance of ensuring your leadership growth rate outpaces your business growth rate to achieve long-term success. Now, I want to dive further — into energy and leadership. This is not just about being “positive”; it’s about understanding and managing your energy so that it works for you rather than against you.
Beyond the Surface: The Impact of Energy
Leaders often underestimate the impact of their own energy. The energy with which you show up to work, in meetings, and even in casual conversations has a tremendous effect. Your presence can uplift or drain those around you — without you even realizing it. This energy can either speed up or hinder business progress, engage or demotivate your team, and even shape the culture of your company.
The law of conservation of energy states that “energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another.” Energy is always present, whether by default or by choice. By raising self-awareness, leaders have the power to choose how they show up and what energy they bring to the workplace versus letting old patterns work against them.
Understanding Your Energetic Patterns
Leaders who understand their energetic patterns can cultivate success, influence teams, and build endurance to sustain change. It’s the ability to consciously shift your energy in a way that aligns with both personal and organizational goals. When leaders consciously lead through energy, they shift from a place of reaction to one of intention, which becomes a powerful source of growth.
When you lead with energy that is authentic, clear, and focused, you become a leader who fosters a culture of innovation, iteration, and creation. When you constantly fall to the levels of blame, disappointment, and frustration, you likely feel trapped by the same recurring problems in your life and business. Emotions like doubt, fear, and worry are often the invisible barriers holding you back from achieving your highest potential. The mastery lies in understanding your energetic profile on a normal day and, specifically, under stress.
The Shift: From Limiting to Empowering
In a world fixated on artificial intelligence (AI), emotional intelligence (EI) has emerged as a critical edge for leading in business. Startups are inherently dynamic and fast-paced, and they require leaders who are self-aware, adaptable, intuitive, and capable of navigating the macro currents that come with rapid change.
Raising self-awareness empowers you to shift from a narrow field of emotional responses, especially when reacting to stress — such as frustration, disappointment, or resentment — towards a more opportunistic and resourceful state. It’s not about adopting a positive attitude or masking your feelings with a smile. It’s about becoming a leader who builds the endurance and skills to weather daily stressors and transform them into opportunities and wisdom. As you make these shifts, you begin to notice a meaningful difference in how you respond to challenges, react to stress, and engage with your team and others. You begin to work with more ease, clarity, focus, and in alignment with your goals.
As a certified Energy Leadership Coach, I work with business leaders to develop growth strategies to manage their energy, reduce stress, increase self-awareness, bust self-limiting narratives, gain clarity, and grow influence to drive greater business impact.
Are You Ready to Make a Shift?
Does it ever feel like you’re doing everything right, yet something still isn’t working? Do you have a clear vision and the know-how, but sensing something from within is holding you back? Are you winning on the outside but feel like you are never good enough on the inside? You’re not alone. One of life’s greatest purposes for leaders is to realize their innate power and potential. If this resonates with you, let’s talk and message me to set up a coaching discovery call.
Zaina is a trusted partner for business leaders in high-impact roles driving meaningful business growth. She collaborates closely with the CEO, Founders, and Executive teams, helping them overcome challenges and accelerate growth. As an Executive Coach, her approach focuses on supporting leaders to scale up and rise to the level of their ambition to achieve both personal and business goals. A champion for women in leadership, Zaina is a founding member of Chief and invests in diverse, tech-enabled ventures.
Connect with Zaina on LinkedIn.
