“If you want to find the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.” — Nikola Tesla
If I placed two pianos next to each other and stuck a key on one piano, the other piano would resonate at that same vibration and thus play a sound. This is a phenomenon called sympathetic resonance or harmonic resonance, which is when one thing vibrates at a certain frequency, it will cause other things to resonate at that same frequency.
When an orchestra plays in harmony, the whole is literally greater than the sum of the parts. Instruments are all played separately but are in harmony because the sounds are being played in harmony and vibrating in harmony at the same time. Vibrational harmony adds a deeper dimension to the term “all playing from the same hymn sheet.” This Thursday Thought explores sympathetic resonance as the result when people in organisations, teams, and collectives are literally in sync.
We Are All Energy: Why Misery Loves Company
Do you light up a room when you enter it or when you leave it? You know the people I am talking about. We all know at least one of them. You meet them, they talk, you listen, you empathise, your energy crashes. You leave the meeting mentally and physically exhausted with what feels like the mother of all sugar crashes. You have just been drained by an energy vampire. In life there are radiators and there are drains, those who radiate positive energy and those who drain us.
I once worked in a complex, bureaucratic organisation. I vividly recall when I first entered the building. I felt a void of energy. I wondered if the ceilings were too high or perhaps it needed new furniture. Soon, I realised there was no physical reason; but there was an energetic one. The people who worked in that department worked in a climate of fear and disengagement, where a few toxic workers reigned supreme.
One of the beautiful things you notice when you work in organisational transformation and innovation is that changemakers emit positive energy. This is because we have to, by finding those of a similar energy, you build positive alliances, which energise you in the daily battle for change. In that same organisation, i worked in, I quickly found the positive radiators, those who we on the “same level”, those who wanted change. I imagined it was as if we all were beacons and we found each other by emitting a signal that others would pick up. Once I learned about sympathetic resonance, I realised how close it was to the truth.
There is a flip side to emitting energy, characterised by the saying that “misery loves company”. While I have been a radiator and emitted positive energy, I have also been a drain and emitted negative energy. When I played professional rugby, I was often injured. When you play in that state of injury, you struggle to keep your place in the team. When your raison d’être is to play in the team, it can become quite a dark place. To my detriment, I complained quite a lot during that period and, as a result, made a bad situation even worse. Misery loves company and because like attracts like, I attracted more injury. Every time I recovered, I got injured again. If we set our dimmer switch to a low setting, then we attract energy of a similar setting.
Many call it mumbo jumbo, as Roger Seip tells us on this week’s innovation show. We are all made of energy, so working on our “setting” can change our reality. Plato once said, “Reality is created by the mind, we can change our reality by changing our mind.” Science shows that our brains pulsate with waves of magnetic energy. These waves are affected by our emotions, our state of being and our health. Just as a piano plays a certain note that is met by energy of similar vibration and reflected back. So too is our energy, the frequency of energy we emit is mirrored back upon us. Hence, when I dwelled on always being injured, I became always injured. (We explore this phenomenon on this week’s Innovation Show with Roger Seip).
In a similar vein, if we change our setting, we change what we attract. This brings me to leaders of any team, of any organisation, of any collective. If the leader ensures she sets the energy emitted to positive, more positive energy will be mirrored back upon her and her team. This means the CEO must also look after her energy. She and her team must manage energy as well as time. The further role of the CEO is to be COO, Chief Orchestral Officer, where she sets the tone of the organisation. The energy emitted by the CEO is essential for organisational success. The harmonisation of an organisation to the same (positive) frequency means the organisation is singing from the same hymn sheet. This harmonisation of energy is powerful and will lead to great success.
An example of the powerful effects of resonance is when a particular note shatters a glass, even though the sound is not especially loud. The glass vibrates sympathetically or resonates at the same frequency as that of the surrounding sound. Certain notes can create a forceful frequency within the unique structure of the glass, and it shatters. The same can happen in organisations, resonance can shatter new barriers and achieve perfect harmony.
Thanks for Reading
Today’s episode offers a bit of perspective and a lot of insight for anyone seeking long-term success.
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