As a leader striving to be more purposeful, you want to remember a few things. To get the engagement, we will want to put forth the effort. A keynote speaker rarely speaks off the cuff. They may allow room for improvisation at specific points in their presentation. Yet most improvisation is carefully rehearsed in our intentional preparation for thinking on our feet, being in the moment, and simply remaining present to whatever is around us. That way, we can easily use the world around us because we are steeped in the present moment.

When you strive to be a more intentional leader, think about development in these areas:

1. Approach each situation with a clear mission, goals, objectives, and priorities: Know the big picture and why your team should care.
2. Control the speed of the decision: Ensure you have the facts and opinions of others before making a final decision. This is where you give your team a say and get buy-in. This is also a time when you shine. It’s perfectly acceptable to step back and clarify details as needed rather than heading off in a direction based on the heat of the moment.
3. Keep lines of communication open: Conversations and relationships among your team ebb and flow. Emotions, feelings, and thoughts all factor into the process. As an intentional leader, you are aware and react with mindfulness.

My parent company is Triple Axel, the name of a jump in figure skating and adapted to a triad of what you think, say, and do. According to Consultant and Business Coach David Meltzer, these are three of the five levels of intention. Let’s take a look at them.

1. What you do: Follow up with actions and ensure those actions align with your feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and words.
2. What you say: Becoming intentional with our words is about controlling their impact. Consider how the recipient might respond. Say what you mean and mean what you say.
3. What you think: Beliefs lead to the formation of thoughts. We have many thoughts each day; not all are positive or helpful. Intention lies in sorting these thoughts and controlling which ones come from our mouths.
4. What you believe: Beliefs are formed from feelings and our personal experiences. We have underlying subconscious beliefs that serve as our guide and limiting beliefs that do not serve us. It’s essential to examine our beliefs to discover how valid and valuable they truly are.
5. What you feel: This is your intuition – that ache in your gut that screams, “Run!” or “Go for it!”. When we learn to listen to our gut, we can connect to our inner guidance.

Intentionality seeps through into each aspect of our leadership experience. Not only do we strive to become intentional with our feelings, beliefs, thoughts, words, and actions, we can cultivate these in our employees. We do this by creating a culture of continuous improvement. Here are a few ideas to put this into action.

• Lead by example: Set your intentions and encourage your team to do the same.
• Communicate regularly: Be clear in your requests and ask for input from your team. Encourage participation from all members.
• Empower employees: Happy employees are the ones that feel heard. Be aware of your team’s thoughts and feelings and address issues as they arise.
• Small steps lead to big success: While focusing on the big picture, it’s essential not to forget the process. Minor, incremental improvements are critical to the end result.
• Celebrate successes: Results achieved through continuous improvement should be celebrated.