Energetic Leadership Index (ELI)

The other night, I was sitting on a bench outside Walmart waiting for my husband and daughters to pick me up after ice skating. It was around 11 p.m. I had an ice cream cone in one hand, an audiobook playing through my phone, enjoying the night to myself.

Then a parking lot sweeper started making its rounds. Getting louder as it came closer. I found myself irritated every time I had to pause my audiobook.

Thinking – “I was finally enjoying a quiet moment, and this truck had the audacity to show up.”

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Since completing my iPEC coaching training, I've spent a lot of time learning about the different levels of energy and how they influence the way we interpret our experiences. In that moment, I made a conscious choice to access what iPEC calls Level 6 energy—a state of synthesis, appreciation, and flow.

I turned off my phone and put it down.

I stopped fighting the noise and started paying attention.

The parking lot was alive. People wandered in and out of the store. The evening was cool and refreshing. As the sound of the sweeper truck grew louder and softer with each pass, I found myself feeling grateful.

A few weeks earlier, I had experienced sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), a condition that can lead to permanent hearing loss without immediate treatment. For a brief period, there was a real possibility I could lose hearing in my left ear.

But that night, I could hear.

Clearly.

Crisply.

The noise that had annoyed me only minutes before became a reminder of something I almost lost.

The world around me was alive, and I got to be part of it.

The night felt a little cooler. I felt calmer, happier, and unexpectedly connected.

Nothing around me had changed.

Only the way I was experiencing it.

Today, I received my Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner Certification.

What excites me most isn't the certification itself. It's the opportunity to help others develop the same awareness and choice that made such a difference for me.

The Energy Leadership Index (ELI) provides insight into how we typically show up under stress and how our thoughts, assumptions, and emotions shape the way we experience the world. More importantly, it helps us recognize that we have more choice than we often realize.

As an engineer, I naturally analyze everything. Numbers help me make sense of the world. One of the reasons I connected so strongly with the ELI is that it gave me a framework—and yes, even data—to better understand what I was experiencing internally.

The sweeper truck didn't change that night.

I did. And it made all the difference.