Bocelli sings like an angel, but he was wrong when he said, “All that counts in life is intention.”
“The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.” Anonymous
Intending:
Intending is a necessary beginning.
The path to achieving leadership development goals begins with “goal-intention.” Only the most pathetic leaders don’t intend to improve their leadership.
Goal-intentions require a how, when, and where. Gollwizer and Brandstatter label it, “implementation intention.”
An implementation intention includes a situational context.
- When I sit down at my desk in the morning, before I check email, I’ll record a point of gratitude in my journal.
- The first thing I will do when I see Bob this morning is inquire about his overdue project.
- When I feel frustrated I’ll ask myself, “What do you want to do about that?”
Deadly good intentions:
Good intentions become deadly when they have children. You decide, for example, to work on delegating, communication, and giving feedback at the same time.
Goal-directed action works best when focused on one goal.
Dalton and Spiller’s research indicates that people who work on multiple goals at the same time find reasons to not follow-through.
Suppose you want to improve delegating, giving feedback, and addressing tough issues. Focus on the most relevant goal. Address the others later.
Multiple goals:
If you must work on multiple development goals at the same time, find a way to connect them. For example, giving feedback and addressing tough issues seem connected.
Tips:
- Clearly defined goals are easier to implement, but broad goals are better than no goals.
- Keep implementation intentions simple even for challenging goals.
- Commit to rest. Fatigue diminishes the likelihood of success.
- Quick success produces false confidence. Don’t declare victory too soon. It takes between 18 and 254 days to form a habit. (Lally, et al)
What blocks leaders from developing their leadership skills?
What has made leadership development work for you?
