Women who lead . . . what does it take to be an intentional leader?

Leading with intention is intellectual and energetic work.

Do you ever find yourself moving from one thing to the next, getting to the end of your day and wondering . . .

“what difference did I make today?” OR

“how did I show up today?” OR

“how did I help someone else succeed today?”

If you have, you are likely a woman who strives to lead with intention.

This can be challenging!

It requires us to pay attention to our thoughts, our emotions, our energy, and our actions.

It means that we are aware that in a position of influence or positional power, how we communicate and the energy we bring into a room (physical or virtual) makes a difference.

There were days during my tenure as a vice president, when I would arrive back in my office from a meeting and I wondered how I could have handled it differently.

Did I miss something about what was going on in the room?

Could I have communicated differently?

How did my energy impact others?

We ALL miss stuff.

We ALL get focused within our own thought processes and miss seeing and sensing what is happening around us.

We ALL have times where we are completely unaware of our emotions and how they are impacting others.

As women, we can be REALLY good at ruminating about all of that. But ruminating is not helpful.

What IS helpful is acknowledging those missed opportunities, identifying what we can do differently next time and move on.

What IS helpful is understanding how our emotions and our energy impact the way that we lead and using that information to be more mindful and intentional.

In the picture, Stacey is taking Jack through an Opportunity Station. It is a powerful way to become aware of our energy and intention. And one you will not soon forget.

Until you have this opportunity, I invite you to consider this.

If you could be more mindful of one thing that would help you be more intentional, what would that be?

shannon@redchaircoaching.com