In my last post I introduced the concept of working with ‘intent’. I made the distinction between your ‘intentions’ (what you intend to do) and your ‘intent’ (how you wish to be or be seen). Acting with intent is a powerful way of achieving goals whilst staying true to yourself.

Introducing the notion of intent to your life is not difficult, and there are some simple and effective ways to get started.  For example:

  • When starting out, the best way is to state your intent each morning for the day ahead. Do this by choosing a word or words that best describe the way you would like to be today. Ask yourself the question: “How do I want to be in the meeting? How do I want to be seen during the session?”

    Last time I mentioned some possible words you might use: ‘confident’, ‘inspiring’, ‘engaging’. Other common words for leaders are ‘present’, ‘focused’, ‘relaxed’ or ‘connected’. But these are only suggestions. The dictionary is at your disposal. The trick is to keep it short: one word is preferable.  Also, make sure you choose words that have ‘real’ meaning relating to the way you want to be, not the effect you want to have on others (there’s a difference). For instance, words like ‘challenging’ or ‘assertive’ are more outward looking and can easily translate to ‘aggressive’.
  • When stating your intent, it must be verbalised. Your intent must ‘leave your head’. A good way to do this is to tell someone else: your partner or a trusted work colleague. (Ideally in this case you will share each other’s intent.)If you can’t share your intent with someone else, send a voicemail to yourself. Or just say it out loud: dogs and cats can be good listeners. Other strategies are to write your intent on a piece of paper – any piece of paper – or to write it in a journal. Journals can be a good way of tracking your intent over time.
  • Don’t actively review your intent. This point can be hard to comprehend for many ‘you manage what you measure’ managers! But the point of stating an intent is not to constantly remind yourself of it during the day, nor to mechanistically review its success or otherwise at the end of the day. Rather than actively seeking feedback – “Was I inspiring today?” – look for signs: the glint in the eye of someone you are working with, or a newfound enthusiasm in one of your staff members.

All of this can take some practice and it is important that you stick at it. Don’t expect instant results, and never expect specific results – “If I act with confidence I will get that deal.” Rather, get into the habit of stating your intent every day and, over time, you will start to notice the impact that it is having.

It has to be said that for some people this can be difficult. Many leaders require support or coaching through the initial stages, either to help them identify the right words for their intent, or to help them see success (as success is not always obvious).

As you become more comfortable with the idea of acting with intent yourself, you can broaden the application of the idea. Instead of just stating your intent for a day, try stating an intent for a project, a business, a year. There are few limits: Global Leadership Foundation has a committed intent for our planet.

You can also expand the idea of intent to your team. Shared intent, with a colleague or a team, is possible – provided everyone involved plays a role in verbalising the intent. Eventually, your whole team might be able to agree on a given intent for a meeting, or a planning weekend.

Just remember: no matter the scale of your intent, it must be succinct and verbalised … and not over-measured.