The Energetics of Leadership: Why Your State Leads Before You Do

Great leaders know that the way we think, feel, and act tells a story, and that story carries energy. So they manage energy first, before managing people. The quality of their leadership always mirrors the quality of their inner energy: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

Each of these four realms corresponds to an element: 

• Earth for the physical

• Water for the emotional

• Air for the mental, and

• Fire for the spiritual. 

Humans are beings of energy living in a physical body, not the other way around. When these energies are in balance, we project coherence, vitality, and clarity. When they’re out of sync, our leadership feels forced, draining or fragmented. 

As humans, we make sense of life through story. From ancient myths to modern narratives, we’ve always translated energy into meaning through symbols, archetypes, and metaphors.

The stories we tell ourselves shape that energy. They define who we believe we are. Every leader carries an inner narrative: who they are, what drives them, and what they serve. When we change the story, our energy shifts.

That’s where archetypes come in. They are living metaphors for how energy moves through us. When you shift the archetype you lead from, for example from Warrior to Creator, or from Caregiver to Visionary,  you change not just your behavior but your energetic field. And everything around you begins to respond differently.

So tell me your story, and I’ll tell you how you lead. Better yet, ask yourself: which metaphor best captures who you’re becoming? Mine is Flowing Tiger,  Water that Shapes Stone. What’s yours?