Human energy has the power to transform and unite companies and communities, a concept rarely talked about; but when put into practice, it works.

Former CEO of Burberry and Senior VP at Apple, Angela Ahrendts is one of the world’s leading executives. During her tenure in her role at Burberry, she gave a powerful TEDx Talk about the power of human energy. In 2013 during her talk, Ahrendts predicted that brands, companies, and the world around us were bound to fully be run by mobile devices.

Ahrendts explains in her TEDx Talk that human energy is incredibly important for success in all areas of our lives, especially in the workplace. With this in mind, it is so important to increase our awareness of the emotional energy we are investing into our environment. As leaders, executives within a company, small-business owners, and members of our community, we have the opportunity to take in and emit energy, a concept very few leaders acknowledge and even fewer are able to master.

“Think of energy almost like emotional electricity. It has a powerful way of uniting ordinary people, their collective spirit to do extraordinary things,” says Ahrendts.

Although her approach during this presentation focuses on the power of human energy within large organizations, this topic reminds us that our community, local makers, and creators produce what Ahrendts refers to as “emotive energy.” This type of energy transcends normal communication and rational ways of working. It inspires people and electrifies our city.

“Think of energy almost like emotional electricity. It has a powerful way of uniting ordinary people…”

– Angela Ahrendts

“Energy is like discovering your passion, listening to it, exploring it. It’s like this forward charging spirit that creates challenges and embraces those changes in challenges,” explains Ahrendts.

Energy needs to come from a very deep core, with fundamentals in place such as trust, intuition, and belief.

Trust is the basis in every human relationship and the most powerful force of positive energy. When trust is in place it unlocks freedom. For brands and makers, trust can manifest itself between themselves and the customer; it gives them the opportunity to create freely.

Intuition is a form of wisdom, explains Ahrendts. “Why is it that we value thinking over feeling? Why aren’t we taught to follow our natural inclinations to protect the possibilities instead of just accepting the probabilities? Leaning into intuition is leaning into your heart when making decisions.”

Belief is the side of energy that is, in essence, more rational; for example, a positive mindset in place strengthened by facts and evidence to produce a positive outcome. “Think of it as kind of setting the energy in motion, the action before it happens — the mental source of alignment. Belief creates the success that breeds more success. It is the self-reinforcing part of creating energy,” says Ahrendts.

So how do leaders, makers, and business owners deliver a clear message to their respective audiences? As you lean into human energy, you begin to set the ego aside and it becomes less about you as a leader, maker, or business owner and more about your audience. This allows you to create compelling and authentic content that allows your audience to feel.

To wrap it up, Ahrendts believes that when this cycle of human energy comes together, it breeds “creative wisdom.” Creative wisdom occurs when energy takes on its most transformative power. Groups flourish at this state, creating greater things together than any individual could possibly obtain on their own.