While compensation and benefits are important, they’re not the only factors that influence job satisfaction. Seventy percent of preventable leavers say that if their general work culture had been better, they would have stuck around. In other words, if the energy was better, they’d stay. And engaged employees could save U.S. companies trillions of dollars.

Andrew Deutscher, the founder of Regenerate, knows about energy–especially how a work environment that drains you of energy can lead to disengaged employees. 

After a career in sales, marketing, and media leading to burnout, he learned the value of understanding energy and managing it to create sustainable performance for himself. He started Regenerate to spread this message to other companies, their leaders, and employees to help “develop energy-inspired sustainable practices to transform their workplaces.”

Deutscher told me during an interview for From Day One that his goal at Regenerate is to “teach people how to better manage their energy inside of a lot of demands and accelerated burnout in this era of work.” 

Poor Leadership, Not Bad Workers

Deutscher points to high turnover among leaders because many companies don’t provide proper support, and the high turnover often occurs because leaders are overstretched and their capacity is drained.

“Part of the reason that engagement is the core issue for so many people around burnout and turnover, is because leaders are so busy and under the weight of a lot of responsibility. If you’re running a full time job [while] also having to lead, which is a full time job, there’s really going to be a strain,” he said.

There’s an opportunity for growth and improvement when teams step up and speak out. Oftentimes, bad leaders stick around because the people around them don’t have the courage to speak up or don’t understand the damage being done to teams and company culture, Deutscher says. When awareness is raised, these challenges can be addressed before “it infests, and those leaders get to stay and [create this] really bad environment.”

Employees may not approach their managers to express their feelings of disengagement, which provides leaders with a valuable opportunity to proactively foster open communication and create a supportive environment. It's part of a leader’s role to recognize and address these needs.

Deutscher shared a graphic from a 2022 study done by McKinsey showing the primary drivers of disengagement, where uncaring and uninspiring leaders were among the top. The focus on leadership shows up just behind a lack of career development and inadequate compensation. 

“There are six or seven different things here, but they’re all about energy,” he said. “Energy is the X factor for creating sustainable high performance. Energy is the internal strength and vitality required for sustained physical, emotional and mental activity,” Deutscher wrote for Forbes.

Leaders also play an important role in articulating purpose to their workers. Leaders who create a culture around purposeful work cultivate employees who are more engaged because they understand what they’re working for and have a common goal to achieve. “When leaders are moving too fast, they fail to articulate how the work matters and how it's meaningful–both to them individually and to the company.”

When leaders effectively manage their teams and employees have a clear understanding of the goals, everyone’s efforts align, creating continuity. This synergy fosters a stronger company culture, where everyone’s collective energy is directed toward shared objectives.

Commitment to Collaboration

When Deutscher gets hired to coach and help leaders restructure their energy for a better work culture, the outcome is a more engaged and cohesive team that values commonality and goal orientation over individual agendas and scarcity. Some of his assignments focus on helping the leader bolster collaboration and teamwork.

Leaders who prioritize building strong connections with their teams are better positioned to drive meaningful change, says Deutscher. When companies embrace this approach, they create the conditions for long-term success through healthy leadership.

Sometimes these businesses have a solid strategy or product, but they can't overcome the human energy aspect needed for success. Deutscher helps leaders create alignment within their teams, so not only do they have a great product, but also a great culture. “[A]t the top end, if we’re customizing content, if you want commitment from people, you need to be aligned. If you want alignment, you have to be really clear on where you’re going.”

Deutscher has golden rules for achieving this. “Look people in the eye. Be respectful. Ask questions. Give them a chance to be heard. Be receptive to what they’re saying. Have a good value exchange of candor and receptivity. Speak your mind, but do it respectfully.”

Cracking the Code to Energy Engagement

Figuring out the energy coefficient on engagement and retention is about getting the fundamentals right and doing the deeper work. “Getting back to the basics is hard for people, teams, and leaders [because] it’s boring.” It takes a long-term commitment to working more sustainably and to building a workplace that prioritizes well-being alongside results.

Preparation is key for leaders and companies when thinking about the longer horizon for sustainability. “All we want to do is play the game. We don’t want to prepare to win the game in the workplace. That’s essentially what regenerate means. You have to renew, recover, strategize, plan, spend more time thinking and planning than doing. [That’s how] you prepare to win.”

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner Regenerate, for supporting this sponsor spotlight. To learn more, tune into Andrew’s workshop at our October virtual conference.

Matthew Koehler is a freelance journalist and licensed real estate agent based in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in Greater Greater Washington, The Washington Post, The Southwester, and Walking Cinema, among others.