leading with intention: a daily practice
For years I led with purpose, but that purpose was based on my “To Do List.” Projects were my focus and deadlines determined how I prioritized my work and scheduled my day. And while I reflected on these tasks throughout the day, which helped me to make improvements and grow, I still felt like I was missing something. Once I found it though, it made all the difference.
How do I want to lead?
Along with deciding on my top priorities for the day, I began setting a daily leadership intention. An intention is what you plan to achieve, and that plan guides your actions, it is thoughtful and purposeful. A leadership intention is focused on how you plan to lead. For me, a leadership intention is not about what I plan to do as a leader, but how I plan to be as a leader. One of my early leadership intentions was to be a better listener. I realized that my tendency to be fast-paced was both a blessing and a curse. While my pace allowed me to accomplish a lot, it was often at the expense of those I supervised, who sometimes felt like we did not thoroughly vet ideas together, or they did not have time with me to fully express their thoughts. I wanted to become a leader who took the time to listen and allowed people the time they needed to process, while also being a model to those I supervised. And so, I set a leadership intention: to be a leader who actively listened.
How do I want to feel when I lead with this intention?
When this was my daily leadership intention, I thought about how I would feel if I was a leader who listened intently to team members. For me, this meant feeling calm, calm enough to focus on their words and reflect on their meaning, while also being silent and patient. Calm enough to be curious about what they were sharing. Rather than providing a quick response or finding solutions for them, I focused on being present with them. It also meant feeling proud about how this leadership practice of actively listening was empowering them to hone their own skills, solve challenges, and scaffold their learning to the next level.
What do I need to accomplish this intention?
I reflected on what I would need to accomplish this level of listening. It would mean adding time and allowing space in my schedule to accommodate informal conversations. I knew I would also need to shift my mindset. When a team member came to my door, being present and listening to them would become my priority. In many cases, this meant putting aside what I was working on and mentally shifting my thoughts to being present with them. In a few instances, this meant taking the time to determine their needs and respectfully carving out another time to explore the issue further.
To accomplish this level of active listening I knew I would need to make some physical shifts as well. I had been sending mixed messages. When someone needed to talk, I would invite them into my office, yet still be positioned with my computer in front of me and my eyes occasionally wandering when I heard a ping or noticed an email pop-up on the screen. I decided that whenever someone entered my office to talk, I would physically turn my body and move my chair so that the computer was no longer an easy distraction and a barrier between us. This simple act made a world of difference. It was a physical reminder for me to listen, it helped me to refocus my attention on them, and it was a visual act of respect for the person I was talking to.
What opportunities are there to practice this intention?
I also reflected on opportunities to practice this leadership intention. Not only could I do this when someone entered my office, but there were plenty of other opportunities to practice during meetings as well as hallway and phone conversations. I also considered what I would need to be a more active listener in these different settings. Ideas for how this might look varied depending on the type of meeting. In meetings where I had been a leading voice, I became more patient before responding. I took the time to process the dynamics of the meeting as well. In some cases, I even took notes to help me focus on the meaning behind the words people were saying before thinking of a response. I found myself finding more and more opportunities to practice active listening which meant that I was also increasing the amount of active listening I was doing, thus accomplishing my intention.
When will I build reflection on this intention into my day?
Lastly, I thought about when I could reflect on my achievements related to this intention. I knew that for active listening to become integrated into the core of who I am as a leader, I would need to reinforce the practice on a regular basis. Along with identifying daily opportunities to actively listen, I would need to create some habits to support this new practice. Building in time to reflect was critical. Yet, carving out time for this immediately after every conversation was not realistic. Instead, I decided to take advantage of my commute home to analyze my successes and reflect on areas for improvement. I also used that time to think about leadership lessons. I went through this process daily and eventually; active listening became natural. One of my early signs of success was when someone I was supervising referred to me as a thought partner.
The Beauty of a Daily Leadership Intention
Over the years I have had a number of leadership intentions. Sometimes my leadership intention only lasted a day and other times, as in the example above, it took place over a longer period. There were days when I accomplished my intention and there were days when I did not. The beauty of a daily leadership intention is that when things don’t go as planned, you have a chance to try again tomorrow.
This process of creating a leadership intention ultimately led me to begin a new business focusing on intentional leadership in early care and education and building intentions into professional development experiences.
If you are interested in creating a daily practice of leading with intention, the following is a series of questions to begin and end your day with. If the list seems too daunting, simply ask yourself, “How am I going to show up as a leader today?” and then work toward your answer.
