Editor’s Note
Do you struggle with burnout and fatigue decision-making that hold you back from leading effectively? Do you run out of Energy to do what matters? Learn about how to optimise Energy. In this interview, Mai Chen, Barrister, President of New Zealand Asian Lawyers and previous Managing Partner at Chen Palmer Public Law Specialists and Women Emerging Guide challenges the idea that leading effectively is simply about managing your time well, but it is about optimising your Energy to do what really matters.
She echoes an insight shared by many women on the first-ever Women Emerging expedition: Mai reframes leadership as an issue of Energy, not time. With leadership experience spanning four decades, Mai has discovered that leading effectively goes beyond time management; it is about clarifying what you want to do and maximising your Energy to achieve those goals. Mai shares three fundamental questions and two practical tips that will shift how you lead on a daily basis, whether you’re leading a creative project, a team, or an organisation.
What is the first step to optimising your Energy as a leader?
To maximise your Energy so you can lead and create effectively, you must first remember that you are the instrument, that means you have to work on yourself. Every woman who is leading needs to create two lives: one where you regain Energy (to and for yourself) and the other where you lead and give Energy because without Energy, you can’t transform or create. Many people think leading is simply about spending time well, but it’s about optmising Energy so you can lead yourself. For example, when I work hard, I am fried by 6pm so it’s not my time that is the issue, it is Energy. I constantly have to evaluate what to do with my Energy, and what not to do. You have to constantly get rid of stuff that eats up your time and doesn’t add any value.
Three questions women must ask to optimise their Energy and lead effectively?
Who am I trying to be? Pretending to be someone you’re not takes a lot of Energy. You must constantly evaluate what generates Energy for you and gives Energy to you. Energy reserves will be low if you just give out all the time.
What do I like to do? As women, we hardly ever ask ourselves, “what do I like to do?” When you’re tired, what generates Energy for you? You probably already know but, to uncover them, you may need to spend more time with yourself. You need not to be exhausted to be able to create and know what you want to do.
If I didn’t do these things, will anything change? Focus on what you can control. Not on what will happen anyway that you cannot control. If you’re asking people questions about what you should do with yourself, “should I do this, should I do that?” it’s because you don’t know. But if you don’t know, how would anyone else know? You need to spend more time with yourself and ask yourself: “if I didn’t do it, would anything change?” Put your Energy into things and people that give you Energy back because they resonate with your purpose and what you were meant to create. There are some people who want to use you and that is fine, let them but it can’t be all people in your life that.
Practical tips for women struggling to optimise their Energy
Put down unnecessary burdens: Many of us carry and wear our boulders, but do we need to? To maximize Energy so you can create, put down burdens that are heavy to carry and serve no purpose, anything and anyone who sucks energy from you and futile actions to change what you can’t control. Focus on doing what gives you Energy and replenishes you Release your mind from false barriers
Learn how to say no: Giving Energy is a trouble for multi-talented people. Saying yes to everything will exhaust you. Learn to say no to anything that does not serve your purpose or align with what you are meant to create.
How would you be optimising your Energy going forward? By learning how to optimise Energy, you will begin to lead in a way that truly resonates with your purpose and what you love to create.
