Energisers are those Clever people in your team who have a potential to deliver great outputs even with the minimum amount of resources made available to them. They are the ones who are always bouncing new ideas, always eager to learn new things and never reluctant to recommend a change in the process if it is not an efficient one.

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The author in her post Three Tips for Becoming an Energizer talks about the Energisers and how one could be an Energiser. I specially liked the introduction.

Some people become leaders no matter what their chosen path because their positive energy is so uplifting. Even in tough times, they always find a way. They seem to live life on their own terms even when having to comply with someone else’s requirements. When they walk into a room, they make it come alive. When they send a message, it feels good to receive it. Their energy makes them magnets attracting other people.

Just plain energy is a neglected dimension of leadership. It is a form of power available to anyone in any circumstances. While inspiration is a long-term proposition, energy is necessary on a daily basis, just to keep going.

Three things characterize the people who are energizers.

1. A relentless focus on the bright side. Energizers find the positive and run with it. A state government official in a state that doesn’t like government overcomes that handicap through her strong positive presence. She dispenses compliments along with support for the community served by her agency, making it seem that she works for them rather than for the government. She greets everyone with the joy generally reserved for a close relative returning from war. I can see skeptics’ eyebrows starting to rise, but judging from her success, people love meeting with her or getting her exclamation-filled emails. She is invited to everything.

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2. Redefining negatives as positives. Energizers are can-do people. They do not like to stay in negative territory, even when there are things that are genuinely depressing. For example, it might seem a stretch for anyone to call unemployment as “a good time for reflection and redirection while between jobs,” but some energizers genuinely stress the minor positive notes in a gloomy symphony. A marketing manager laid off by a company hit hard by the recession saw potential in people he met at a career counseling center and convinced them that they could start a service business together. He became the energizing force for shifting their definition of the situation from negative to an opportunity.

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3. Fast response time. Energizers don’t dawdle. Energizers don’t tell you all the reasons something can’t be done. They just get to it. They might take time to deliberate, but they keep the action moving. They are very responsive to emails or phone calls, even if the fast response is that they can’t respond yet. This helps them get more done. Because they are so responsive, others go to them for information or connections. In the process, energizers get more information and a bigger personal network, which are the assets necessary for success.

I can comfortably second these above thoughts. And I can also say that it is possible to adopt to these qualities as well. It does take a while, but it is achieveable. One of the leadership course that I had attended where the facilitator explained it quite well that one can learn to be a leader – he just needs to unlearn his old qualities/behaviour and learn new ones. Since then I do have practised that and have successfully changed a lot and I can say that based on some of the feedback that I’ve received. I’m not trying to say I’m the complete or best leader yet, but I could see the behavioural change, which I think is quite important as well.