Photo by Matt Hoffman on Unsplash

When you put ice in a cup of hot tea, why does the ice melt and the tea get colder?

This sounds incredibly basic, but it’s one of the laws of thermodynamics, which explains how objects move toward equilibrium.

It is helpful for leaders to understand this concept.

1. Identify the “temperature” of your culture.

   This is your baseline. What would a thermostat read if it gauged your group’s engagement, innovation, productivity, collaboration, creativity and communication? What metrics need to be measured to know the status of these elements? What tools can you use to make an assessment (surveys, observations, conversations)?

2. Realize not everyone is the same temperature.

   Groups typically have high-performers and under-performers. Some individuals may be depleting the energy of others. Pay attention to the level of individuals you put in proximity of each other and be intentional about structuring teams. Organizing energy can improve team performance.

3. You have to add energy to get better results.

   Closed systems experience entropy. This means without additional energy, your group will move toward equilibrium. Your high-performers and under-performers will balance out to an average. Without added energy (like spending energy to organize your teams, coaching individuals or effective leadership communication), your culture can become tepid.

4. Heat and energy are not the same.

   Heat is the transfer of energy. If you want to raise the thermostat of your culture, think about how you can transfer energy. Your role as the leader is to know where to add energy. Who would use added energy most effectively? Which projects are most important to add energy to? How can the added energy create momentum?

Terrible leadership is easy to spot because it sucks the energy out of teams.

Poor leadership can be harder to see because it simply lets a culture degrade into average.