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Something I’ve Created to Help You Discover Your Work Energy Type

By Sénamé Agbossou "After Hundreds of Requests for an Assessment..." The messages started coming after my third post in this series. "How do I know which Work Energy Type I am?" "Can you create a quiz to help me figure this out?" "I see myself in multiple types—how do I know my primary pattern?" After 25 years of coaching leaders, I know that self-awareness without practical application is just interesting information. You need to know not only who you are, but how to leverage that knowledge for better results and deeper satisfaction in your work. That's why I've spent the last six months developing something special. The Work Energy Types Assessment Today, I'm excited to share the Work Energy Types Assessment: a focused, research-based tool that helps you identify your primary energy pattern and understand how to align your work with your natural wiring. This isn't another lengthy personality test that gives you complex results you'll never use. It's a practical assessment designed to give you immediate insights you can apply to your current role, team dynamics, and career decisions. Why This Assessment is Different Most leadership assessments tell you what you already know about yourself or categorize you in ways that feel limiting. The Work Energy Types Assessment is built on the Ubuntu principle that your individual energy becomes most powerful when it's in service of collective success. Here's what makes it unique: 1. It's Action-Oriented Every result comes with specific strategies for optimizing your energy, improving your team relationships, and aligning your role with your natural patterns. 2. It's Relationship-Focused Your assessment results include guidance on how to work effectively with other energy types, because the Ubuntu philosophy reminds us that our individual gifts are only fully realized in relationship with others. 3. It's Immediately Practical No complex theory or academic jargon. Just clear insights about how you naturally work best and what you can do about it starting today. What You'll Discover The assessment takes just five minutes, but the insights last a career. You'll learn: Your Primary Work Energy Type - Explorer, Builder, Connector, Driver, or Sensemaker, and what this means for your daily work experience. Your Natural Strengths - The specific ways you add value that you might be taking for granted. Your Energy Sources - What types of work, environments, and challenges naturally energize you versus drain you. Your Growth Edge - The one thing that, if you focused on it, would most amplify your natural gifts. Your Team Dynamics Guide - How to work more effectively with people whose energy types complement yours. Arsène's Discovery Let me share what happened when Arsène, a marketing director at a Brussels-based startup, took the assessment. Arsène had been struggling with what he thought was burnout. Despite loving marketing strategy, he felt drained by his role and couldn't understand why. His performance was strong, his team respected him, but he felt like he was working against his natural grain. The assessment revealed that Arsène was a primary…

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9 septembre 2025

Sénamé Publication

Why Sensemakers Feel Exhausted in Fast-Paced Teams (And What This Teaches Us About Energy Alignment)

By Sénamé Agbossou The Strategy Meeting That Changed Everything Raphael sat in the corner of the conference room, watching his colleagues rapid-fire through decisions that would impact the next six months of product development. As Head of Strategic Planning, he'd prepared extensively for this meeting; analyzing market trends, competitor movements, and potential risks. But every time he tried to raise a strategic concern, someone cut him off with "We don't have time for analysis paralysis" or "Let's just move forward and adjust as we go." Three hours later, the team had made decisions that Raphael could see would create problems down the road. But in that fast-paced environment, his natural Sensemaker energy (the deep thinking and pattern recognition that made him invaluable), felt like a liability. Sound familiar? If you've ever felt like your thoughtfulness is seen as slowness, or your strategic perspective is dismissed as overthinking, you might be experiencing what I call energy misalignment. Understanding the Sensemaker in a Speed-Obsessed World Sensemakers are one of the five Work Energy Types I've identified through decades of leadership coaching. They bring clarity to complexity, see patterns others miss, and provide the strategic insight that prevents costly mistakes. In our Ubuntu philosophy, Sensemakers serve as the navigation system for the collective journey. While others focus on speed and immediate action, Sensemakers help ensure the team is heading in the right direction. But in today's business environment, with its emphasis on "fail fast" and "move quickly and break things," Sensemakers often feel like they're swimming upstream. The Real Cost of Speed Without Wisdom Here's what I've observed in organizations that consistently prioritize speed over strategic thinking: Short-term gains, long-term pain. Teams move quickly in the wrong direction, creating expensive course corrections later. Decision fatigue. When every choice is made rapidly without proper consideration, teams burn out from constantly dealing with the unintended consequences. Strategic blindness. Organizations lose the ability to see around corners, missing both opportunities and threats until they're unavoidable. Sensemaker exodus. Strategic thinkers leave for environments where their contributions are valued, taking critical institutional knowledge with them. Raphael's experience illustrates this perfectly. His team's rapid decisions in that strategy meeting led to three major product pivots over the following year; pivots that Raphael's initial analysis could have prevented. The Sensemaker's Dilemma Maria, a senior analyst at a consulting firm, described her frustration this way: "I can see the patterns that lead to client churn, but by the time I've done the analysis properly, my colleagues have already moved on to the next fire drill. Then six months later, we're dealing with exactly the problems I predicted." This is the Sensemaker's dilemma: their greatest value often lies in preventing problems that haven't happened yet, but fast-paced environments reward visible action over invisible prevention. Creating Ubuntu Teams: Balancing Speed and Wisdom The solution isn't to slow down every fast-paced team or to speed up every Sensemaker. It's to create what I call Ubuntu Teams: environments where different energy types can contribute their…

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9 septembre 2025

Sénamé Publication

The Driver Who Learned to Lead

By Sénamé Agbossou "If you're always the one pushing projects forward..." Roxane's message came through LinkedIn at 11:47 PM on a Tuesday: "I'm exhausted from being the only one who seems to care about getting things done. My team thinks I'm too intense, but if I don't push, nothing happens. How do I lead without burning everyone out?" Sound familiar? If you're nodding as you read this, you might be what I call a Driver: one of the five Work Energy Types I've identified in my years of coaching executives. And while your drive is likely your greatest asset, it might also be your biggest leadership challenge. Meet the Driver: Roxane's Story Roxane runs operations for a tech startup in Amsterdam. Brilliant, decisive, and results-oriented, she'd built a reputation for delivering the impossible. When the company needed to launch their product six weeks early to beat a competitor, Roxane made it happen. When their biggest client threatened to leave over service issues, Roxane personally fixed every problem in 72 hours. But by the time she reached out to me, Roxane was leading a demoralized team with 40% turnover in eight months. "I don't understand it," she said during our first conversation. "I give them clear goals, I remove obstacles, I celebrate wins. But they say I'm 'too much.' How is wanting excellence too much?" Roxane was experiencing what I call the Driver's Paradox: the very intensity that makes you effective can create the conditions that make you less effective. Understanding the Driver Energy Pattern Drivers are energized by momentum, achievement, and breakthrough results. They see what needs to happen and make it happen, often before others have finished discussing whether it's a good idea. In the Ubuntu philosophy of "I am because we are," Drivers serve as the catalysts who transform collective potential into actual outcomes. But here's what Roxane was missing: leadership isn't just about getting results through your own energy; it's about creating conditions where others can contribute their natural energy to achieve shared results. Core Driver Strengths: Action-oriented: You take charge when others hesitate Decisive: You make confident decisions that keep projects moving Focused: You cut through complexity to what really matters High standards: You drive excellence in yourself and others Energy Sources: Clear, urgent goals with real deadlines High-pressure execution where stakes matter Visible, direct impact from your efforts Breaking through obstacles and getting teams unstuck The Driver's Growth Edge Three months into our coaching work, Roxane had a breakthrough moment. During a team retrospective, her lead developer Rebecca said something that changed everything: "Roxane, your energy is incredible, and it's what makes our impossible deadlines possible. But sometimes I feel like a passenger in a car that's going too fast. I want to contribute more than just hanging on." Roxane realized she'd been leading like a solo performer rather than an orchestra conductor. Her natural Driver energy was getting results, but it wasn't creating space for others to bring their unique contributions. The Ubuntu Shift:…

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9 septembre 2025

Sénamé Publication

The 5 Work Energy Types That Transform Teams

By Sénamé Agbossou The Missing Piece in Leadership Development After 25 years of working with executives and business owners, I've noticed something profound: the most successful leaders aren't necessarily the smartest or most skilled. They're the ones who understand their natural work energy and align their roles accordingly. This realization led me to develop what I call the Work Energy Types framework: five distinct patterns that determine how we naturally bring energy to our work. Today, I want to share this framework with you because understanding your Work Energy Type isn't just helpful; it’s transformational. Beyond Traditional Assessments Most leadership development focuses on skills, competencies, and behavioral styles. These are important, but they miss something fundamental: how you're energetically wired to work. Your Work Energy Type isn't about what you can do; it’s about what naturally energizes versus drains you while doing it. It's the difference between working hard and working in harmony with your natural design. The Ubuntu Foundation Before diving into the five types, let me share the philosophical foundation that guides this work. At Obuntuo, we operate from the Ubuntu principle: "I am because we are." This ancient African philosophy reminds us that our individual energy doesn't exist in isolation. It flows in relationship with others, creating the collective energy that drives teams and organizations forward. Your Work Energy Type isn't about putting you in a box; it's about understanding how your unique energy contributes to the whole. When each person operates from their natural energy pattern, the entire team becomes more alive, more productive, and more purposeful. The Five Work Energy Types THE EXPLORER: "I thrive on innovation and breakthrough thinking" Core Drive: Discovery and innovation Explorers thrive when venturing into uncharted territory. They bring energy through curiosity, experimentation, and pioneering new approaches. These are the people who see possibilities where others see problems, who get excited by the unknown rather than intimidated by it. Natural strengths: Breakthrough thinking, adaptability, vision, creative problem-solving Energy sources: Variety, innovation projects, brainstorming sessions, learning opportunities Watch out for: Starting too many projects without finishing, getting bored with maintenance tasks Explorer Insight: Explorers often feel guilty about getting bored with successful projects. But boredom isn't a character flaw; it’s your energy calling you toward innovation. THE BUILDER: "I create lasting systems and turn visions into reality" Core Drive: Creation and construction Builders find their energy in turning ideas into tangible reality. They love creating systems, establishing processes, and building something that lasts. When others are spinning with possibilities, Builders are asking, "How do we actually make this work?" Natural strengths: Systematic execution, reliability, focus, long-term thinking Energy sources: Project completion, creating lasting systems, seeing plans become reality Watch out for: Perfectionism paralysis, resistance to necessary changes Builder Insight: Builders often feel pressure to be more "visionary" or "innovative." But their superpower is taking brilliant ideas and making them actually work in the real world. THE CONNECTOR: "I bring people together for collaborative success" Core Drive: Relationships and collaboration Connectors are…

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9 septembre 2025

Sénamé Publication

The Explorer Trapped in a Builder’s Prison (And How She Broke Free)

By Sénamé Agbossou "I should be grateful. My agency is successful, my clients are happy, my team is growing. So why do I dread Monday mornings?" That's how Rebecca introduced herself during our first coaching session three years ago. On paper, she had everything a business owner could want. In reality, she felt like she was running someone else's company. The Success That Wasn't Sustainable Rebecca had built her marketing agency from nothing. Starting as a solo freelancer eight years earlier, she'd grown it to 25 employees and consistent seven-figure revenue. Industry awards lined her office walls. Client testimonials praised her "innovative approach" and "breakthrough strategies." But Rebecca was burning out. "I feel like I'm managing the business instead of leading it," she told me. "Every day is the same: client check-ins, project reviews, operational meetings, budget discussions. I'm good at it, but it's killing something inside me." This is what I call the "Golden Handcuffs Syndrome": your success becomes the very thing that traps you. The Energy Misalignment Crisis During our work together, Rebecca took the Work Energy Type Assessment I'd developed. Her results were immediately revealing: she was a pure Explorer energy type. Explorers are naturally energized by: Innovation and breakthrough thinking Variety and new challenges Creating something that's never been done before Working on cutting-edge projects Experimenting with fresh approaches But Rebecca's role had evolved into: Managing established client relationships Overseeing repetitive campaign execution Running routine operational meetings Following proven processes and workflows Maintaining systems rather than creating them She was spending 80% of her time in Builder-type work: systematic execution, process management, and maintenance activities. For an Explorer, this is energetic poison. The Ubuntu Moment The breakthrough came when Rebecca realized something profound: "I built this business to express my creativity and innovation. But somewhere along the way, I started running it like someone else's company." In Ubuntu philosophy, we understand that when we deny our authentic nature, we not only diminish ourselves; we rob our community of our unique gifts. Rebecca's team had hired on to work with an innovative creative leader. Instead, they were getting a frustrated operations manager. Her energy misalignment was affecting everyone around her. The Alignment Solution The solution wasn't selling the agency or starting over. It was redesigning her role to match her energy type. Here's what we implemented over eight months: Energy Alignment Changes: Hired a Builder-type COO (David) who thrived on systematic execution and operational excellence Rebecca focused on innovation work: developing new service offerings, exploring emerging marketing technologies, creating breakthrough strategies for select clients Redesigned client relationships: Rebecca now leads strategic visioning sessions and innovation workshops rather than routine check-ins Created partnership opportunities: building relationships with cutting-edge tech companies and industry innovators Speaking and thought leadership: sharing insights at industry conferences and through content creation The Results Were Remarkable: Personal energy transformation: Rebecca started looking forward to Monday mornings for the first time in years Business growth acceleration: agency revenue grew 60% through innovative service offerings Team…

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9 septembre 2025

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