Leading Ourselves with Intention
Being busy is not the same as being effective. A full calendar or a constant stream of emails may feel productive, but without intention, much of the day is spent reacting to whatever comes next. Over time, that makes it harder to focus, prioritize, and make thoughtful decisions.
At 3M Chem Ops, prioritization begins with leading yourself. It means setting your own direction, protecting your focus, and building small habits that align your time with what truly matters. This is less about strict routines and more about creating daily clarity.
Even a few minutes of planning or reflection can shift how you approach the day. Interruptions will still come, but how you handle them depends on the clarity you have established at the start.
Self-Assessment: Leading Ourselves with Intention
Please take a few moments to contemplate the following self-reflection questions. Where can you identify opportunities for personal growth in your leadership?
What part of my day or week feels the most reactive?
Do I regularly name my top priorities, or just jump into tasks?
When do I do my best thinking, and am I protecting that time?
Where am I saying yes out of habit instead of alignment?
What’s one habit that helps me stay focused during busy days?
What small structure could help support my focus?
Do I allow flexibility in my schedule without losing structure?
At the end of the day, do I feel aligned with what mattered most?
Remember, this self-assessment is just a starting point for understanding your knowledge of Leading Ourselves with Intention as a leader. It's essential to reflect on your responses and actively work on areas where improvement is needed. Additionally, working with your ECFL Leadership Coach or seeking feedback from a trusted mentor can provide valuable insights into your strengths and weaknesses.
“The more intentional you are about your leadership growth, the greater your potential for becoming the leader you’re capable of being.”
Strong prioritization begins with how you lead yourself. When you do not pause to direct your energy, everything can start to feel urgent. That shift fuels reactivity, burnout, and confusion for you and for those around you. Leaders who are constantly in reaction mode often struggle to distinguish what truly drives outcomes from what merely demands attention.
Leading with intention requires clarity at the start of the day and the flexibility to adjust when the unexpected happens. It also depends on asking the right questions before you commit. This balance allows leaders to respond to challenges without losing sight of their core responsibilities.
Practical habits make the difference. Protecting 30 minutes for uninterrupted work creates space for deeper thinking. Identifying the work that must be finished before the shift ends provides a reference point when new demands appear. Saying no to a request that distracts from priorities reinforces to others what the work is truly centered on. These are not grand gestures but steady, repeated actions that shape consistent leadership over time.
Intentional leadership strengthens trust because people know where your attention is directed and why. It reduces wasted effort by aligning energy with the work that carries real impact. Most importantly, it creates steadiness under pressure, showing others that clarity is possible even in demanding conditions.
Pre-Work Check-In: Leading Yourself with Intention
Spend five quiet minutes before your shift or workday begins to center yourself. Ask:
What kind of situation or day am I in right now?
How am I feeling—physically, mentally, and emotionally?
What are the three most important things I need to focus on today?
Am I protecting the time when I think most clearly?
What can I postpone, decline, or move to later?
What would help this day feel steady instead of scattered?
“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”
Leading yourself with intention involves more than setting priorities; it requires having the energy and resiliency to see them through. A task list can guide the day, but without focus and stamina, the work that matters most is left unfinished.
Resiliency is what keeps leaders steady when the day doesn’t go as planned. Interruptions, setbacks, and shifting demands are part of the job. The ability to recover quickly keeps small disruptions from consuming attention or momentum. Leaders who build habits that help them reset return to their work with clarity, even when pressure is high.
Managing energy is part of that process. Constant task switching drains attention and increases mistakes, while protected blocks of focused time restore both accuracy and pace. Short recovery practices (stepping away briefly, deep breathing, or taking a short walk) also protect focus and stamina. Leaders who guard their energy make sharper decisions and give their teams a model of consistency.
Consistency gives these practices weight. Following through on the priorities you set—completing a safety check as promised or protecting time for a coaching moment—shows that commitments can be trusted. Each act of follow-through strengthens credibility, and over time that reliability builds stability across the team.
Together, intention, resiliency, and consistency create a pattern of leadership that is both steady and sustainable. Leaders who practice them stay grounded in their own work and set the conditions for others to do the same.
There’s an old saying: “If you don’t set your priorities, someone else will.” Leaders know this all too well. Without intention, the day quickly fills with other people’s requests, distractions, and noise. The best practices for leading yourself with intention are less about complicated systems and more about steady, repeatable habits. They protect your focus, conserve your energy, and help you make clear choices when the day starts to pull in too many directions.
Best Practices for Leading Ourselves with Intention
Manage your time before it manages you: Take five minutes at the start of your shift to name what matters most. Choose two or three priorities that must be completed. That short list becomes your anchor when new demands appear. For example, a leader who decides early to finish a safety review and meet with a new operator is less likely to let those tasks slip when unexpected requests arise.
Shape the day instead of chasing it: Problems and interruptions will always show up. The difference is whether you let them dictate the day. A proactive leader keeps goals in sight and addresses issues without losing control of focus. For instance, instead of rushing from one crisis to the next, they may step back, assess which issue ties most directly to safety or performance, and handle that first.
Make deliberate tradeoffs: You cannot do it all. Prioritization means choosing what gets your energy and what doesn’t. Tradeoffs are part of leadership. If you don’t decide them clearly, they still happen—but they might not be the right ones. When you make tradeoffs on purpose, you protect the work that matters. You also give yourself permission to let go of what can wait, without guilt or confusion.
Build simple structures you can rely on: Structure does not need to be complex to be effective. It can be as simple as reserving one block of time for uninterrupted work, reviewing priorities with the team at the same point each day, or setting a clear cutoff time for shift notes. The key is consistency. A steady rhythm reduces decision fatigue and keeps priorities from being lost in the shuffle.
Protect your best thinking time: Every leader has windows when energy and focus are highest. Use that time for work that requires clarity: reviewing production data, preparing a coaching conversation, or planning improvements. Save routine tasks like email or paperwork for lower-energy parts of the day. Protecting your best time helps ensure your most important decisions are made when you are at your sharpest.
Pause before committing: Quick yeses add up quickly. Taking a moment before agreeing to a request helps you weigh priorities and capacity. For example, if someone asks you to join a non-critical meeting, a short pause may remind you that your time is better spent on the floor. That space to think helps you avoid overload and keep focus on what matters.
Operational discipline depends on leaders who stay clear and consistent when demands compete for their attention. That steadiness comes from how you manage your time, your energy, and your focus. Prioritization helps you recognize what matters most, resiliency helps you recover when conditions change, and intentional leadership keeps your decisions aligned with long-term goals.
Together, these habits shape leaders who can respond without losing perspective and follow through in ways that earn trust across the operation. The call is straightforward: protect your focus, use your energy with care, and reset when pressure is high. By leading yourself with intention, you set a standard that strengthens both safety and performance.
Reflection Questions:
What is one small change I could make to slow down this week?
What habit helps me stay grounded when things get busy?
Where am I acting out of pressure instead of intention?
What would it look like to plan my day around what matters, not just what’s next?
How can I give myself more space to think, rest, or decide?
Strengthen your understanding of Leading Ourselves with Intention by sticking with the following resources. Use this opportunity to note new insights and adhere to practices that will enhance your leadership journey.
How To Live And Lead With Intention
Living With Intention at Work and at Home
How to gain control of your free time
Laura Vanderkam (11:44)