The Twin Engines That Keep Our Energy

This week’s theme? Trusted relationships and realistic expectations, the twin engines that keep our energy (#NRG) sustainable when life and work get busy.

The Weekly Debrief

Last week was busy, busy, busy. It was all about people and impact: dinners with friends and family, and meeting AGP clients face to face. It was such a pleasure to spend time with people who are just as passionate about business as I am. Those conversations reminded me that how you connect makes all the difference. Establishing a trusting relationship is never something to be taken for granted; it’s something you work at over time.

It’s in the way you show up when you say you will, the way you listen properly rather than just waiting for your turn to speak, and the way you remember the small details that matter to them. That’s what creates those relationships where you can pick up a conversation after weeks or months apart and it feels like you never really stopped.

The week ended with a very different kind of experience: a frustrating journey back to France. Normally, travel days are productive for me. A quiet train, a few hours of focused work, and everything feels efficient. This time, it was my first “non‑working” journey in a long while. I was distracted by a difficult work scenario, the trains were delayed, and there were plenty of frustrated people hanging around stations. I left the house at 5am and arrived home just before midnight. No meaningful work done, just a very long day and a very tired me.

The Week Ahead

This coming week is, thankfully, more relaxed, which is just as well given the high temperatures (36–39 degrees is a lot of #NRG on its own). I’ve got client meetings and some executive coaching in the diary, but I also want to get ahead with some household paperwork and life admin that has been quietly stacking up in the background.

The aim isn’t to create the “perfect” week, but a realistic one: a few key commitments, some protected time for thinking and paperwork, and enough flexibility to adapt to the heat and how I’m actually feeling on the day. If it all goes exactly to plan, brilliant. If it doesn’t, that’s okay too.

Lessons Learnt

This week has reminded me that trusted relationships and realistic expectations are key to sustainable #NRG. The best conversations, with clients, colleagues, friends and family, are built over time through small, consistent moments of showing up, listening and following through. That’s what creates the kind of trust where you can reconnect after a gap and feel instantly at ease.

On the flip side, not every day will be productive, no matter how carefully it’s planned. Sometimes delays, heat and difficult situations derail our intentions. The real lesson is to protect our energy, be kind to ourselves when plans change, and keep investing in the people and work that matter most.

Here’s to a week of realistic plans, good conversations and relationships that make even the tough days worth it. Just the right dose of #NRG.

Who in your world gives you that “we never really stopped talking” feeling, and what small thing could you do this week to nurture that trusted connection?