Intentional Leadership

Last week Louise Thompson wrote a post about IMPACT and leadership. You can view her full post here. I responded that the only way we can have any hope of directing that impact was to ensure that our leadership is intentional.

I just want to expand on that and maybe provide some additional insight about intentional leadership.

Have you heard the phrase that not making a decision is a decision? Or that doing nothing is as well? I’m guessing you have. So let’s apply that to leadership.

Deciding not to be deliberate in your leadership is a decision. That means that you are willing to just go with the flow, fly by the seat of your pants, (insert your favorite phrase), etc. To me that’s like saying I’m going to sail the ocean but not decide which direction. Not deciding is a decision and as a consequence I am also deciding to not worry about the final outcome.

Those are not the kind of leaders I want to follow, nor is that the type of leader that I want to be. Instead, I want to have at least a general idea (depends on the situation) of where I’m headed so that decisions can be made along the way that keep me on the path to my goals. I have my family and others that depend on me to be the captain and keep us on track.

From a professional standpoint, leaders need to intentionally decide where they and their team are headed. They need to understand the impact of that direction and what it’s going to take to get there. Even with that, there will still be many tweaks along the way. Sometimes it will even seem like you are going with the flow. But if you always have that end in mind and know what impact you want your leadership to have, you will intentionally move in that direction.