Leading in a Tired World: Why Energy Beats Strategy
When things get tough, most leaders do the same thing. They tighten their grip. Double down on control. Wait for the storm to pass.
But the ones who grow through the storm, the ones whose people stay, thrive, and innovate, do something different. They shine.
They create energy, not extract it. They lead through trust, not tension. They’re the kind of people you walk away from feeling steadier, not smaller.
Harvard’s recent research calls this positive relational energy. It turns out to be the strongest predictor of leadership success. Not charisma. Not power. Not strategy. Energy.
The quiet pattern behind powerful leaders
You can see it everywhere once you start looking.
Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy, scaled a multi-billion-pound company by doing the opposite of what most fast-growth firms do. He decentralised decision-making. Recruited people proactively, sometimes without a portfolio, to find the best humans, not just the best CVs. He protects thinking time in his diary because presence matters more than performance. That’s not soft leadership. It’s efficient humanity.
Leena Nair, now leading Chanel after years at Unilever, brings the same warmth to global scale. She talks about putting people before process. Compassion as a commercial advantage. Under her leadership, employee engagement rose, and Unilever’s reputation as a values-driven business deepened.
Dr Ben Maruthappu, founder of Cera, built one of the UK’s fastest-growing health-tech companies not by chasing valuations but by restoring dignity in care. His leadership model combines data with humanity. His teams are known for loyalty, pace, and purpose.
Even Chris O’Shea at Centrica, a sector hardly known for emotional intelligence, has spent the past two years rebuilding trust from the inside out. He’s been public about culture, purpose, and restoring belief in an organisation that lost its way.
Different industries, same truth. When leaders generate warmth and clarity, growth follows.
The real advantage: Relational Intelligence
What these leaders have in common is not luck. It’s Relational Intelligence: the ability to understand, manage, and multiply the energy between people.
It’s not soft. It’s strategic. And it’s the missing metric in most leadership playbooks.
At Meraki, we map this through the Relational Intelligence Model:
Understanding Each Other
Creating Trust
Unlocking Ideas
Achieving Breakthrough Results
Sustaining Growth
It’s a cycle of energy, the kind that doesn’t drain with use but grows with it. When people feel seen, they perform better. When they feel safe, they innovate. And when they feel trusted, they take ownership.
That’s what energy looks like in action.
Be the one who glows
This isn’t about pretending everything’s fine. It’s about remembering that your presence has power, and it’s contagious.
When everyone else leads with strain, you can lead with steadiness. When others protect control, you can model trust.
Light isn’t fluffy. It’s commercial. It’s catalytic. And right now, it’s your most strategic advantage.
This is what I do with leaders every day: help you see what’s really going on, strip back the noise, and get your light back.
It starts with one conversation.
Kate Davis is a muti-award winning executive coach, and founder of Meraki People. We help scaling businesses fix the people stuff that’s slowing them down. If it feels off, it probably is. And the longer you wait, the more it costs in clarity, trust, and time.