Lead With Intent: Real Lessons From One Tough Week.

You know that feeling when Monday hits and you’re scrambling to finish weekend tasks that somehow didn’t get done? Yeah, me too. From a previous Monday, I found myself doing exactly that: wrapping up paperwork, making calls, and basically playing catch-up on life.

But here’s the thing I’ve learned after 20+ years in the Navy and now coaching leaders: it’s not the perfect weeks that teach us about leadership. It’s the messy, real-life weeks where we’re juggling family ice cream runs, late-night presentations, and trying to squeeze in meaningful conversations between appointments.

The Week That Taught Me Everything About Intentional Leadership

Let me walk you through a previous week. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was real: and that’s where the best leadership lessons live.

Monday started with that scramble I mentioned. But instead of beating myself up, I got intentional. EFMP re-enrollment letters? Done. E6 evaluations? Complete. Leave requests for family time in November? Submitted. Each task wasn’t just a checkbox: it was an intentional choice to serve my team and protect my family time.

Tuesday brought a leadership conference at church. Small group, big discussions about real problems and practical solutions. Later, swimming with my daughters (without swim trunks, because sometimes life doesn’t wait for perfect preparation). These weren’t separate events: they were both leadership moments requiring the same core skill: intentional presence.

By Wednesday, Dad’s birthday, I realized something profound. Whether I was celebrating family milestones, facilitating church leadership discussions, or keeping my girls entertained without electronics, every moment was an opportunity to practice intentional leadership.

The Intent Pillar: Where Real Leadership Begins

This anchors in the INTENT pillar of the I-IMPACT Brief: the foundation that transforms good intentions into measurable impact. Intent isn’t just about having good ideas; it’s about deliberate action aligned with your values, repeated consistently until it becomes who you are.

Here’s what I learned that week: Intentional leaders don’t wait for perfect conditions. They create impact through deliberate choices in ordinary moments.

When I made those calls to two old acquaintances, I wasn’t just networking. I was intentionally investing in relationships that matter. When I practiced my presentation for the Rotary lunch and learn, I wasn’t just preparing slides: I was intentionally preparing to serve others with valuable content.

Even the family moments carried intentional leadership. Ice cream with the girls wasn’t just dessert; it was intentionally creating joy and connection. Date night with my wife wasn’t just couple time; it was intentionally investing in the partnership that makes everything else possible.

The Framework: From Drift to Intentional Impact

Most leaders drift through their weeks reacting to whatever shows up. Intentional leaders operate differently. They use what I call the Daily Intent Filter:

1. Purpose Check (Morning): “What kind of leader do I want to be today?”
2. Action Alignment (Throughout): “Does this choice align with who I’m becoming?”
3. Impact Reflection (Evening): “How did my intentional choices create value today?”

During my week, this looked like:

• Purpose: Be a leader who serves others and protects family time
• Alignment: Every completed form, every call made, every presentation prepared served someone else
• Impact: Stronger relationships, clearer communication, better prepared for future opportunities

The breakthrough moment came during my first lunch and learn presentation. Small group? Yes. But I showed up prepared and intentional. “Gotta start somewhere,” I wrote in my journal. That’s the mindset shift: from waiting for the perfect opportunity to creating impact where you are.

Translation: Making Intent Work in Real Leadership

Let’s get practical. Here’s how intentional leadership translates to your world:

For Busy Executives: Your calendar isn’t just appointments; it’s intentional choices about where to invest your finite attention. Block time for leadership activities: coaching conversations, strategic thinking, team connection. Make every meeting serve your leadership intent.

For Parentpreneurs: Like my swimming session with the girls, family moments can be leadership laboratories. Intentional presence with your kids teaches patience, adaptability, and joy: skills that directly transfer to team leadership.

For Emerging Leaders: Start where you are. My Rotary presentation reached maybe eight people, but it was intentional practice for bigger stages ahead. Every small opportunity is preparation for larger impact.

The key insight from my week: You may not get to decide your future, but you do decide your habits. Make them good. (That’s straight from my September 15th journal entry, and it changed how I think about daily leadership.)

The Multiplier Effect of Intentional Habits

Here’s what happens when you lead with intent consistently:

Trust Compounds: When people see your intentional follow-through (like my completed evaluations and submitted forms), they trust you with bigger opportunities. Dave Trenholm called about Bank of America opportunities because he’d seen my intentional approach to previous projects.

Relationships Deepen: My call with an old friend happened because I intentionally reached out. “Been forever,” I wrote, but intentional effort bridges any gap.

Impact Scales: That small Rotary presentation led to connections for the Rock n Roll Marathon. Intentional service in small venues creates opportunities in bigger arenas.

Your Weekly Intentional Leadership Challenge

This isn’t theory: it’s your next seven days. Here’s your intentional leadership framework:

Monday: Define your leadership intent for the week. What kind of leader do you want to be? Write it down.

Tuesday-Thursday: Practice the Daily Intent Filter. Before each major interaction, ask: “How can I be intentional here?”

Friday: Reflect and adjust. What worked? What didn’t? How can you be more intentional next week?

Weekend: Apply intentional leadership at home. Your family needs your best leadership, not your leftover energy.

Remember: “Sometimes you gotta slow down to speed up.” Intentional leadership isn’t about doing more: it’s about doing the right things with deliberate purpose.

The Bottom Line

Leadership isn’t about perfect weeks or flawless execution. It’s about intentional choices that compound over time. Whether you’re completing paperwork, presenting to eight people, or playing with your kids, every moment is a chance to practice intentional leadership.

The week I shared wasn’t extraordinary by external standards. No major wins, no viral moments, no breakthrough deals. Just a regular week lived with intent. But that’s exactly the point: real leadership happens in ordinary moments lived with extraordinary intentionality.

Your leadership legacy isn’t built in the spotlight. It’s forged in the daily choice to be intentional when no one’s watching.

Ready to stop drifting and start building your intentional leadership legacy? The assessment I’ve created will show you exactly where you are and what specific steps you need to take next. It takes five minutes and gives you a personalized roadmap.

Take the Alignment Assessment now and discover how intentional your leadership really is.

Or if you’re ready for a deeper conversation about transforming your leadership approach, book a strategy call and let’s build your intentional leadership plan together.

The choice is yours. Will you drift through another week, or will you lead with intention?