Let’s start by defining a few terms to ensure we are “speaking the same language”.
Catabolism is simply defined as the body’s ability to produce energy to combat stressors. Catabolic energy is the process of generating, reducing, and resisting energy (cat = against).
Anabolism – This is the opposite process and energy to anabolism. Anabolism refers to the process of the body building itself up and growing. Anabolic energy can be described as constructive, expanding, rejuvenating and sustainable. Anabolic energy is a constructive, expanding, and fueling energy. (ana = building upward).
This may be a question you are asking yourself: What does it have to do?
Fair question. The answer might surprise you. Everything! Your organization is likely to be in the grips of Corporate Catabolism. It’s a little like Game of Thrones, but subtler and more expensive. Corporate catabolism is based on the scientific principle that catabolic and anabolic chemical reactions and processes are involved in corporate catabolism.
This is also known as the fight or flight response. Corporate catabolism includes both flight and fight. When you feel that there is no way to achieve a positive outcome, you will fly. Flight can be seen in the corporate world as avoidance of difficult problems, indecision and lack of initiative. These are all signs that you feel powerless to make a difference in any situation. This can lead to disengagement at work, lethargy and inaction.
Fight is when you use force to overcome a situation – whether it’s through action or emotion. It’s the way your body provides you with adrenaline to help you get through difficult projects and meet deadlines. It can also be triggered by conflict, whether it’s internal or external. You must “stand up for yourself”, “get your point across” and defend your position. These are all positive traits, but they can also cause more conflict.
People can have extraordinary influence on each other, both consciously and subconsciously.
Our collective and individual energy is one of the most important pieces. We quickly learned that energy can be contagious. Einstein said energy is everything. Our organizations are often surrounded by stressors that can trigger catabolic perceptions.
Contagious energy can cause you and your employees to feel overwhelmed, frustrated, or even angry at the next person or circumstance. You have likely felt the effects of a leader or individual with catabolic energy.
Let’s take a look at what happens to Carl, a leader who insists that it’s “his” way or the highway when he walks into a meeting. As Carl enters the room you can already see that those seated are a little nervous. Their faces are tense as if they’re saying, “I was hoping that he wouldn’t show up today.” Carl doesn’t speak yet but others can sense his energy and feel it spreading. They are recalling past experiences in which Carl was rigid and rigid and would refuse to accept explanations from others. They expect the same thing from Carl when he appears. The cycle continues, with catabolic energy holding people in the same place, and the same perceptions. Let’s look closer at how corporate catabolism manifests.
What does catabolic energy look like in organizations?
It is easy to determine whether your organization has catabolic perceptions by looking back at the most recent challenges that your team, division or organization have faced.
It doesn’t have to be a crisis, but it should create significant problems in the daily or weekly flow of events. Keep this in mind as you think about the reactions to the event.
What proportion of these things did you see? Anxiety, high stress, an obsession with what’s wrong, and a desire to find out who is responsible (i.e. Who dropped the ball? Individuals who avoided responsibility, lack accountability and lots of misinterpretations added fuel to the problem. People felt drained and lost of confidence, even after the problem was resolved. These are common symptoms of a catabolic reaction to challenges.
These issues are all symptoms or effects of Corporate Catabolism.
* Insufficient engagement
* Inflation
* Low motivation
* Low morale
* Low performance (with little to no continuous improvement).
* A drop in product quality and service levels (e.g. Increases in waste, recalls and defects, as well as customer service calls
* An increase in the number of failed projects and projects that are not up to expectations
* Higher turnover / Lower retention
* High absenteeism (sick days)
People and leaders who are dominated by catabolic energy will likely fall under one of these two categories.
Profile 1 – Vicki
*Not confident
* Avoids making decisions
* Apathetic
* Ineffective
* Uncommitted
* Low energy
Profile 2 – “Angry” Angelo
* Confident to a fault – appears argumentative, defensive or controlling
* Believes that his way is the best.
* Low emotional intelligence
* Argumentative
* He suppresses the creativity of others around him
* Does not trust others
These two profiles are significant parts of the 71% who aren’t engaged at work in the U.S. To make matters worse, Vicki and Angelo, as well as others like them, are often in positions of management, director or executive within organizations. Their catabolic dispositions have a greater ripple effect on the people with whom they interact.
Remember Carl’s appearance in the meeting room instantly changed the energy. Carl’s direct report interacts with him and begins to act the same way, engaging with their reports with the same catabolic energy. One Carl can make a huge impact on an entire organization. There’s probably a Carl in your company. Leaders who have significant catabolic tendencies often blame others for poor results. They also fail to connect their performance to business outcomes.
Unresolved conflicts and stagnation keep team leaders and members from moving forward. Ineffective blame can lead to distrust, anger and hostility as well as a stifling of communication. A lack of full disclosure of information causes confusion. Inevitably productivity and innovation will be mediocre. This requires constant management input.
People who have a lot of catabolic energy tend to be highly judgmental. They can see everything through labels, generalizations and interpretations. They also have hidden agendas and are rigid in their opinions and approaches. Special projects are often not completed in organizations that have a lot of catabolic energy. Even if goals are set and buy-in is apparent, the plans that result are often poorly executed. Accountability is also lacking and/or met in conflict, which can be perceived as a lack focus, competences, and trust.
Moving from Anabolic to Catabolic…
Anabolic leaders create an environment that encourages growth. Organizations that foster anabolism thrive by creating work environments that are emotionally connected and motivated their employees. This includes offering mental challenge and growth opportunities for them, as well as a work culture that rewards curiosity and encourages openness to new perspectives.
Leaders who are anabolic have high emotional intelligence and acknowledge and seek to understand employees’ perspectives. Information flows freely and transparently both top-down and bottom-up. Decisions – in strategy, in tactics, in policy, and even in daily work routines – receive real buy-in because the pros and cons, advantages/disadvantages are consciously reviewed; interpretations are willingly challenged; assumptions are examined; agendas are transparent; and multiple alternatives are proposed – even when a course of action seems obvious – to see what truly is best. Individuals will stand up for the ideas they believe in and will listen attentively when challenged.
Corporate Catabolism can be described as perception-driven. This means that the depletion in useful energy caused by the perceptions of leaders and employees about their environment, each others, their interactions and their work is perception-driven. These perceptions are internalized – they are created by our beliefs, values and principles.
Corporate Catabolism can also be stress-fed. The more stress that enters the workplace today, the more catabolism grows. Catabolism is a way we see the world around us. Leaders and employees can reverse it by changing unproductive perception patterns that cause catabolism. This will give them new anabolic perceptions that are more productive and offer them options they may not have known were available.
Leadership and being a leader who engages are your responsibilities
While some people find responsibility a scary word, others are excited about it. Let’s change the way we view it to make everyone happy. The reality is that situations, i.e. business as usual, will always change in unpredictable and changing ways. Your response-ability, or your ability to respond, is what “business as usual” cannot take away from you.
All eyes are on you as a leader trying to create engagement and a culture of anabolic growth. Your organization’s culture will be determined by how you react to situations, how you interact with colleagues in meetings, and how you speak casually while passing employees. Anabolic leaders are those who exhibit anabolic tendencies. They are calm in stressful situations and don’t allow the world to dictate their actions or decisions.
Anabolic leaders realize they are not their circumstances but their responses. This is a process that allows you as a leader to change your perspective and shift your energy. Leaders can help their team re-engage at crucial moments. They must not allow the team to become distracted or waste time feeling angry, frustrated, or powerless to alter a situation. Leaders in the 21st Century have to create the shift, re-engage their teams, and create anabolic cultures.
Endless Ocean Coaching’s Shannon and her team use a tool called Energy Leadership, which helps to change patterns of catabolic energy in leaders and entire organizations. We have the ability to transform catabolic energy into anabolic. We love creating stress-free work environments!
Contact us to schedule a 30-minute consultation and learn more about our Energy Leadership Trainings or our individual and group coaching programs.
Copyright (c), 2011 Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching
