Magic in the Room #64: What is Intentional Leadership?
July 14, 2021
Many people are in leadership positions. They might be a manager with direct reports, a parent, or the president of a civic organization. These people have influence. However, few people are intentional in how they lead. In this episode of Magic in the Room, Hannah, Chris, and Luke discuss the elements of Intentional Leadership. Intentional leaders understand the practice of leadership, themselves, and the needs of the people around them. They can draw out the best in everyone.
Throughout the Magic in the Room podcast, there has been an entire series dedicated to EQ. The team has discussed the importance of the awareness of our emotional states and how they impact the people around us. Today, Chris begins the episode by asking his co-hosts and listeners to share what intentional leadership means to them.
Hannah shares how she focuses on understanding how she shows up and the impact that she can have. She believes that we gain awareness of our behavior and emotions by starting with ourselves because emotion drives all human behavior. Everything we do, everything we don't do, is influenced by emotion. These are just a few of the many reasons why Hannah believes that intentional leaders need a high level of EQ. This allows them to understand others and how their behavior is formed, shaped, and changed.
Luke has observed that some people are intuitively really positive leaders, but they embrace their style. They also seem to instinctively know what their organization is calling for. If people understand the discipline of leadership, they know themselves enough to know where they're effective, how they can leverage their unique strengths, and they know the people around them.
For Luke, there is something beautiful in the art of pulling all these things together and making good leadership decisions. For some, this will occur intuitively, and for others, it will be the result of a thought-out and strategized plan. But when reflecting on these beautiful emerging leadership experiences, we all have interacted with an intentional leader that made a difference in our lives.
On the topic of influence, Chris shares how he has had many experiences with people who might have had influence over him, but he would never define them as a leader. They influence because they have power. They sit in a different spot on the hierarchy. But in no way would he compare them to a leader or that they were good leaders. Leadership is something else.
We all are aware that we have influence and power. We can make this world better and the lives of the people around us with that power. Those of us who are aware of it have a moral obligation to be intentional in how we lead. Chris wraps up by discussing how everything comes down to our personal decisions and what we commit in this arena and invites listeners to share what intentional leadership means to them.
If you would like to start a conversation with Hannah, Luke, and Chris about intentional leadership or any topics we have discussed, please email your hosts at info@purposeandperformancegroup.com. Remember, you can also get a free Magic in the Room hat by going to www.magicintheroom.com.
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