Lead with intention
WHAT I LOVED ABOUT SUSAN IS THAT SHE LED WITH INTENTION.
I know, big woo-woo self-help kind of word, “intention”.
My 18yr old would immediately call me out – “What does that even mean?”
It means she was thoughtful about every aspect of her leadership style and her choices of action.
Susan, a mentor of mine, was always intentional. She has a core of calm and thoughtfulness that I aspire to.
How was Susan intentional?
- She consistently explored and improved her emotional intelligence skills.
- She was thoughtful about how she communicated so that she did it with power.
- She finessed the art of influence with her network.
- She focused problem solving on solutions, not blame.
- She implemented processes to improve her productivity and avoid mindlessly wasting time.
- She put her energy towards relationships that rewarded her with joy, enthusiasm and a feeling of trust.
- She drew firm lines around her personal time and family time
- She managed her time and priorities through tools and systems – she did not wing it or go it alone.
When you think about it, those eight components of intentional leadership impact how we lead both our professional and personal lives. For example:
- Being thoughtful in our communications translates into both clarity and kindness for our coworkers and our loved ones.
- Choosing relationships that energize us bring higher collaboration and success at work as well as love and trust at home.
- Managing our time consciously means we show up and we’re mentally present no matter what task or which person is in front of us – and we can give it our full attention.
Susan is thoughtful, deliberate and conscious of how she moves through every one of those aspects of her business and her day.
When I asked her about how she got to be such a strong and respected leader, and how she never seemed to get frazzled or hurried, she told me simply:
“I had to. To succeed in my career, to then launch my own business, and then to take care of my terminally ill husband, I had to find a path that let me be me – but the most successful and powerful version of me.”
What would leading with intention do for you?
