How’s Your Battery? The One Question to Ask Every Business Owner

by Tim Jack Adams 1st of September, 2025

How’s Your Battery? The One Question to Ask Every Business Owner

You’ve carried the weight of big decisions, the pressure to perform, to lead, to deliver – no matter what’s happening behind the scenes. Through uncertainty, navigating change, and holding space for everyone else to thrive. But even the most capable business leaders feel it: not burnout necessarily, but a kind of dullness. A slow drain. A fog that creeps in quietly and makes it harder to stay clear, connected, and grounded.

According to the World Health Organisation, workplace stress and burnout now account for a significant portion of global absenteeism and reduced productivity, and the numbers continue to rise. In my experience working with leaders across industries, from law enforcement to wellness retreat, there’s a common thread: people aren’t running out of time, they’re running out of energy. And when energy drops, so does everything else: performance, presence, and purpose.

A tool for performance, not just reflection

To help people understand and manage their energy, my team and I developed a framework that assesses four key domains in under 60 seconds:

Physical: Stamina and recovery
Mental: Clarity and focus
Emotional: Resilience and regulation
Social: Connection and support

It’s not about perfect scores. It’s about cultivating awareness and building habits that support performance and wellbeing, day after day. We call this Human Energy Intelligence, a measurable approach to wellbeing that fuels consistent output, healthy cultures, and resilient teams.

From reactive to regenerative

Many organisations rely on reactive strategies like Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). They’re valuable, but they tend to step in after burnout hits. Research shows EAP usage rates often fall below 10%, despite widespread availability. A proactive Employee Empowerment Program focuses on daily energy management, equipping people with tools to recharge before breakdowns occur. This shift from 'roblem solving' to 'performance enabling' creates environments where people don’t just survive the demands of leadership, they grow through them.

You can’t scale burnout

Across every sector I’ve worked in, whether it’s elite performance or public service, one truth is clear: you can’t scale outcomes without energy. People aren’t leaving jobs because of KPIs. They’re leaving because they feel exhausted, unseen, or disconnected.

According to McKinsey’s 2023 Health Institute Report, over 60% of employees globally say they’re struggling with wellbeing at work. Culture isn’t just what happens between
colleagues, it’s how people feel inside themselves. And leadership has a direct impact on that internal state.

So... how’s your battery?

If you’ve been running on autopilot lately, powering through but feeling foggy, reactive, or a little flat, that matters. Because what you build out there will only go as far as what you sustain inside. So, take a moment. Breathe. And ask yourself: How’s your battery, really?

Tim Jack Adams, author of Energised: The Daily Practice of Connected Leadership and Sustainable Wellbeing (Wiley $32.95), is the founder of GreenX7 and a global
speaker and a pioneering thought leader in human sustainability and performance. Tim has spent over a decade guiding leaders and teams to reconnect with themselves and others through nature. Learn more at http://www.greenx7.com

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