“Everything worthwhile is uphill.” – John Maxwell

When facing a mountain, you have to have a strategy to get up that mountain, being intentional with every step you take. It isn’t easy as it seems, but what worth having is? Having a strategy, and a plan, is being intentional. To be intentional you have to be deliberate in your steps, planning them carefully in order to accomplish an anticipated outcome. When leading others, having intentional leadership means that you calculate your moves and you move with purpose. Every move that you make, and each conversation that you have should be powered with purpose.

John Maxwell, is super powerful in delivering the intentional leadership message. I’ve learned so much by reading his materials. His book, Intentional Living, is bursting with guidance on this subject and I encourage you to read it. As leaders we should understand that building a good team will take strategy and preparation. If you currently have a team, you will find that the strategy never stops. You are constantly finding ways to improve your team, driving them to do greater things. I had the privilege to listen to John Maxwell in person, and he pointed out these 5 Steps of intentional leadership that we should use every day so that we live a life that matters:

5 Steps for Intentional Leadership

1. Value People
2. Think of Ways to Add Value to People
3. Look for Ways to Add Value to People
4. Go from Knowing to Doing – Do It!
5. Encourage Others to Add Value to People

I’ve had a lot of time to absorb John’s direction and the 5 Steps of Intentional Leadership and how it applies to my life and working in this event planning industry. Here are my 5 takeaways based on these steps of intentional leadership.

Value People

Everyone in this industry should be values for what they bring to the table. The service staff that sets up the tables has the same value as the person that is planning the event.

Think of Ways to Add Value to People

We should constantly be thinking of how we can add value to other people that we interact with. This can be as simple as studying, understanding what drives them, and what are they passionate about.

Look for Ways to Add Value to People

After you think of ways you can add value, you have to start looking for the opportunities in which you can add value to a person’s life. Making them feel like their role in your life had a purpose, that you welcomed and valued.

Go from Knowing to Doing – Do it!

This is pretty simple. If you see you can add value to someone’s life, then take action and do it. Don’t be afraid to help someone up when they are down, or tell someone how much you appreciated what they did for you. It will create a tremendous sense of value in them, wanting them to do more and be more purposeful.

Encourage Others to Add Value to People

Once we experience how adding value to others can be rewarding, we should pay it forward. Teach, lead, and show others how to add value. Take the lead in showing the example of how to lift others up with words of aspiration.

Leading Intentionally

Prepare your day in advance by thinking of ways of how you can go out of the way to lead intentionally.  It can be a new way to live your life and create so much value for you. While reflecting on this post, I come face-to-fact with the fact that being in this industry is very hard work. Truthfully, there are sometimes were I wonder if I’m living out my purpose in this field. However, going through this exercise and living more intentionally brings such a purpose to my every day that I couldn’t have ever dreamed of. If you follow these steps, you will start to see that you not only bring purpose to the events that you plan, but also can bring value to every person that you encounter in the planning process. In return, when more people are built up with value, then more people will be creating value, and that is very powerful. When you think about the magnitude of how many people’s lives can be changed by such a small step, and it makes it sooo worth it.

Jon Maxwell, I think said it best that week at the Global Leadership Summit, when he said: “Having a heard to help people and add value to them makes you a better person. But  if you don’t act on it in an intentional way, it won’t make a difference.” We have to strive to “make every day our masterpiece”. Significance is not about someday, it is all about today. Be intentional.

In what ways has being more intentional in your leadership been rewarding for you? I would love to hear your stories of inspiration.