“You are not a dynamo!” These are the words that Mike Sturm once spoke to me. When individuals complete the 5 Dynamics assessment, they receive a report that indicates their natural Energetic preferences (or Energies).

Here are my results: Explore = Effortless Plus, Excite = Deliberate, Examine = Deliberate Plus, and Execute = Effortless. There is no measurement for the 5th Dynamic, Evaluate, as it is simply a part of the process which must be completed both throughout and at the end of any cycle to enable learning and growth.

Initially, I was bothered by my relatively low Energy in Excite. After all, I had built my companies and my career by being a solid educator, facilitator, speaker, and salesperson. How could I be low in Excite?

When I asked Mike this question, he simply looked at me and said, “Karen, I am sorry, but you are not a dynamo.” This was quite typical of Mike, especially in his later years; he told it like it was and held nothing back. He went on to say that a person can only have so much Energy and that if I had more Energy in Excite then I would have less in Explore and Execute, and it was my Explore/Execute combination that enabled my entrepreneurial drive and vision.

I bought into that thinking and definitely did not want to relinquish any of my Explore or Execute in service of my Excite—but with my lower Energy in Excite, how had I been able to compel and engage audiences over the years?

Well, the truth is, when I walk into a room I am not the life of the party. I am not great at making small talk, connecting with strangers, or holding the attention in the room by my spell-binding stories. When entering into new social situations I sit back, I listen, and I learn. I am rarely the first to speak, and I only share thoughts that I believe are truly valuable.

Your 5 Dynamics Energies do not limit you. I may have less Energy in Excite and Examine, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t get fired up about a topic or cause and win over others effortlessly. It simply means that I reserve my Excite Energy for those things about which I am most passionate—in my case, and probably in this order: my family, animal welfare, equality, opportunities for those less fortunate, and 5 Dynamics.

The same holds true with my Examine Energy. I can assess facts and figures with the best of them, but it doesn’t mean that I want to do it all day. As a business owner I have been forced to become well versed in budgets, forecasts, cash flows, and projections. I am able to approach these areas holistically and never miss the forest for the trees, but on any given day are these tasks that energize me?

I can tell you that they do not. I understand these are necessary elements of any successful business, and I do like seeing the pieces of the puzzle coming together—numbers aligning with strategy—but ask anyone who has ever worked with me, and they will tell you that when asked to put anything in an excel spreadsheet, I all but break into a sweat and leave the room kicking and screaming.

So this leads me to a question which I have been asked many times: “What is the perfect score?” Well, even though it may seem trite, the answer is, “Your score is the perfect score.” That’s right, there is no ideal score (and we refrain from even thinking of it as a “score,” as that subconsciously causes us to rank ourselves against others).

What sets you up for greatest success is not your results but your knowledge of those results. When you understand why you do the things you do and in which direction you are naturally pulled from an Energetic perspective, then you can see your blind spots more clearly, and you will work to surround yourself with people who are drawn to those Energies from which you shy away.

I find it wonderful that we were created in such a way to become better versions of ourselves once we learn to be open to the gifts of others. I may not be a dynamo, but I do have enough Energy in Excite to know that I am better with you and you are better with me.