Leading With Intention
One of the biggest challenges that leaders face is carving out space in their calendars to think, plan, and be strategic.
It makes sense that they would feel that way when they have so much to accomplish and a never-ending to-do list. However, what we talk about in coaching conversations is how they can slow down and focus, which ultimately helps them speed up. It helps them to lead with intention and not just be in reactive mode.
This isn’t an easy concept to grasp at first. There is usually resistance to try the slow down method for various reasons. However, what generally happens though is after implementing this change is they see how it actually frees them up and they can accomplish more.
Here are some examples of how the leaders I am working with are doing this for themselves.
Block out time in the morning. The first half-hour of their morning is blocked out for them to plan their day. They decide what three things they want to accomplish today and schedule it in their calendar. It gives them time to look ahead at the week or even into next week and see if there is anything that will need their attention. This is something that could also be done at the end of the day in preparation for the next day.
Hold time blocks on their calendar to think and plan. For the leaders who live by their calendar, if it doesn’t get scheduled, then it won’t happen. When they have to work on big things that require a lot of strategic thinking then they block their calendar to give themselves that time. They take the opportunity to find a place to go think. It may be a conference room or somewhere else that is quiet if they are working from home. It is a strategy to let them run their calendar vs having their calendar run them. Some leaders will hold this time each week or even daily to give them the time to slow down.
Free Write. Leaders have a lot of ideas, thoughts, and challenges running through their heads at any given moment. Sometimes I will suggest that they just need to clear it all out, so they can focus. One way to do this is to get up in the morning and write down all of the things that they are thinking about down in a notebook. It can be anything that they want to write. It could be their to-do list, conversations that they need to have, ideas for new projects, or possible solutions to a challenge, Whatever comes to mind is written down on 2–3 pages. It has to be written though, not typed. Writing taps into other parts of your brain and allows you to free write the thoughts that show up. Some people like to start with a prompt. An example prompt could be: A problem that I need to think about is… fill in the blank and then write about what the challenges are, possible solutions, who could help you, etc.
In all of these approaches, it is the simple act of taking the intentional time to think that makes all the difference. It frees up space for you to see new possibilities and look at alternatives.
When things get too busy, it becomes easy to select the options that are right in front of you, but those may not be the right choices for the situation. Leaders may not be given the time to think, so they have to find a way to create it for themselves.
Give yourself space to lead with intention.
Taking Time To Be Intentional Each Day
One of my clients had a difficult situation happen at work yesterday. The simple version of what happened was that decisions about a new program were made a few months ago. He learned new information and wanted to make some changes to the program. Unfortunately, the launch is about to happen right now, so it is too late in the game to be changing things. He was frustrated and upset that the other people in the organization wouldn’t change things for him.
I asked him what his responsibility was in this situation? This is always a tough question to ask, but it is the type of question that creates a great deal of insight for the person. He took a few minutes to think about his answers. He remembered our previous conversation where he felt overwhelmed and needed a way to prioritize his time better. He could see that he has not taken the time to slow down and how that played a role in this situation. He had been so busy during these original discussions that he didn’t take the time to think about all of the potential impacts. We talked about the importance of leading with intention each day and how it can impact you when you don’t take the time.
Intentional leaders spend at least half of their time focused on thinking, planning, and strategy.
There will always be a million things to do each day, but it is important to take the time to focus on the right things. Everyone can be so much more productive when the leader takes the time to focus with intention each day so the team can do the same.
2 Easy Ways to Be Intentional and Achieve Your Goals
One of my friends wants to move to a healthier weight. She began to change what she eats last year and has now started to add exercise in to help her achieve her goal. She proudly announced to our group that she is going to work out every day this year and she hasn’t missed a day yet. She has attempted weight loss in the past, but she is doing something different this time. She knows that she will need help to stay motivated, so she declared it to friends and a Facebook group of people who are also doing the same thing. It gives her the support when she needs it to help her achieve this goal for herself.
It works the same way with goals at work.
Everyone starts out with the best of intentions, but other priorities come into the picture or the goal seems really big and overwhelming. It becomes hard to maintain your motivation and in some cases even get started. This is why many people will get to the last quarter of the year and realize that they are almost out of time to complete their goal. This can be avoided simply by an intentional approach and the recognition that you are not the only one who can help achieve this goal.
Each morning set an intention to do one thing that moves you forward on one of your goals.
It can be a small step, but just take one action. If you have multiple goals, you can select one goal to work on each day of the week or if you want more focus choose one goal to work on each week of the month. You will be motivated each time you take the next action and you see the progress that you have achieved over time.
Remember that you also don’t have to do the work on your goal all on your own.
Yes, you are accountable to achieve the goal, but you can ask for help from others to accomplish it. Once you have identified the actions that need to be done, be intentional and think about how you can get help from others in the team. They can help you review your actions to see if there are other options to consider, partner with you to accomplish deliverables or simply be there to support you when you need it. They can also hold you accountable to keep you in action when you need the motivation. Help is there for you, all you have to do is ask for it.
“Success is the sum of small efforts — repeated day in and day out.” — Robert Collier
Everyone has the same amount of time to accomplish things. Leaders who achieve success know it comes down to the intentions that they take each day. It is a matter of being intentional with the time that you have so that you get the results that you want.
Susan M Barber, President of Susan M Barber Coaching & Consulting, LLC, works with individuals, teams, and organizations to build skills that leaders need to attain breakthrough results. Her passion for coaching and leadership development is driven by seeing the transformation of leaders as they reach far beyond their own ideas of success. She continues to drive custom programs for groups that want to make changes in their careers to become more powerful leaders.
