Sensory-Strength
The vigilant gatekeeper of energy and focus
Everything that comes in through the senses either costs energy or delivers it. A full bucket makes thinking, planning and talking harder, even for someone who has everything the job needs. Concentration is not weaker, it is more expensive.
What you may notice at work
- At the end of the day someone is more drained than the rest, even after ordinary work.
- Headphones on, always the same quiet spot, or a preference for working from home.
- After a busy meeting or after-work drinks, someone is quiet or short with people for a while.
What helps
- A fixed desk out of the walkway, not with their back to the room.
- Blocked focus hours, and the agreement that headphones on means: not now.
- Being allowed to keep the camera off in online meetings, and after-work drinks as a choice rather than an expectation.
- Grouping meetings together rather than spreading them across the day.
Tools for Sensory-Strength
Workplace sensory scan
Noise, light, busyness and interruptions mapped out, with measures from small to large.
Agenda item in three lines
Your point, what you are asking and what you need, plus phrases to bring the discussion back.
Unwritten rules
The rules that are written down nowhere, made visible together.
Meeting agreements
Cameras, the chat as a way to contribute, and breaks.
Focus hours
Fixed quiet blocks for the whole team.
Early signals
What you might notice when someone is overloaded, and what to do then, without labelling anyone.
More in the toolkit
In the toolkit, the card for Sensory-Strength also explains what may be underneath what you see, and gives sentences you can use in a conversation. Try it free for 14 days.