Becoming More Intentional

SUMMARY

Intention is going from being scattered (just having everything come across your desk, day, or year and not really going beyond knowing what's happening at the moment) to being planned.

It is all about doing things on purpose. It's about setting a goal, sticking to it, committing to it, and moving towards it.

This week, I will talk about the three shifts in the area of personal leadership by talking about the shift of intention.

When you have more intentionality, you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep moving forward.

So, where do you need to be more intentional in your life?

TRANSCRIPT

Do you tend to run by the seat of your pants and just work to deadlines when they're almost there?

Well, I did that for many years, and I've worked with lots of people who do that too. So, stick with me because in this week's episode I want to help you understand how you can be more purposeful and end up getting more done and the desired results.

Hi, this is Grant Herbert, Emotional Intelligence Master Coach Trainer and Sustainable Performance Coach, and today I want to continue our conversation around the 9 crucial shifts that every leader needs to make by helping you to be more intentional.

For the last few weeks, I have been talking to you about the 9 crucial shifts you need to make in the areas of personal, professional, and people leadership. Two weeks ago, we talked about your identity, which is about shifting from being incongruent (feeling like a fraud) to being congruent with your values and who you truly are.

Last week, we talked about your intelligence which is about going from singular to multiple intelligence and realising there's more to you than what you know and can do. Your emotional, social, and creative intelligence has so much to give and adds so much value. So, this week, we want to finish the three shifts in the area of personal leadership by talking about the shift of intention.

Intention is going from being scattered (just having everything come across your desk, day, or year and not really going beyond knowing what's happening at the moment) to being planned.

I work with many people who tell me: "Well, Grant, I'm not an organised person." I want you to know that we are not just talking about organisation alone; we are talking about a mindset shift first.

I understand why some people don't have a plan. I understand why some people who used to plan and have a plan have let their plans go. I've been there, too, because life happened.

So, to go from being "scattered" to "planned" is to realise that having plans changed is okay. Part of emotional intelligence is the competency of personal agility. There's also resilience, which is having the skills you need so that if things change, you can just change with them.

Therefore, the shift in mindset is the first thing you want to do in this crucial shift of intention.

Intention is all about doing things on purpose. It's about setting a goal, sticking to it, committing to it, and moving towards it.

There are three things that I really want to work on when I'm helping people to build the competency of intentionality. The first is to look at your PURPOSE.

One of the questions I ask people who would like to know what their purpose is: "If you are given one opportunity to simultaneously speak to every person on this planet for 15 minutes, what is it that you would speak to them about?" If you can answer that question, you know your purpose.

The second thing is knowing what your VISION is and what your VALUES are. What is it that you can see out in front? What is it that you are longer-term aiming towards? Vision statements are not just for organisations; they start with individuals.

The third area is your PLAN. This is the area where you use a simple process to help you incrementally go from where you are now to where you want to go, whether this week, this month, this year, or beyond.

This process is called the R4 Method. It is a simple process I use in everything I do.

The first part is the RESULTS — working out where you want to be in the important areas of your life: your career, relationships, finances, family etc.

Then you return and look at your REALITY (where you are right now). Ask yourself: "How do those things look different to where I want to go right now?"

The third element is to look at the ROADBLOCKS — the things that are currently in the way or could get in your way. When you look at these roadblocks, I want you to look internally. Most of the roadblocks are your thinking, your belief structure, and your own behaviour that are keeping you back in your current reality.

The fourth R is for you to look at RESOURCES. "What are the resources you need to add to overcome your roadblocks and go from where you are now to where you want to go?"

When you have more intentionality, you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep moving forward.

So, where do you need to be more intentional in your life? Let's make the shift from being scattered to being planned.

Well, that's it from me for another week. Join me again next week as we continue this conversation around the 9 crucial shifts every leader needs to make by moving into the professional shifts.

I'll see you then.