From Intention to Impact: Making the Changes That Matter This Year
"Beginnings invite intention; endings offer insight. Between the two, we are shaped by what we choose and what we learn."
I recall one such insight in a conversation with a seasoned school leader over coffee in June. She had just finished a demanding year and was reflecting on how, despite her best intentions back in August, she ended up feeling overextended, reactive, and disconnected from the work that mattered most to her. “I started the year clear on my purpose,” she said. “But somehow, by October, I was just surviving the calendar.”
Many leaders will be familiar with a version of this reality, where the pace and demands of the work carry us away from our deeper intentions and aspirations. My client was not lacking in effort or care. In fact, like many dedicated educators, she was working harder than ever. But urgency, expectations, and external demands crowded out intentional choices. The system’s pace and complexity had hijacked her sense of agency. She had grown efficient at managing others’ needs, but was less skilled at managing her own priorities and energy.
The truth is that the culture of school leadership, and perhaps the culture in general, too often sees this type of self-abandonment in service of the work as a virtue. The benefits to others and the system are undeniable. However, a law of diminishing returns is at play. The pattern is draining and ultimately unsustainable.
There is a better way. We know from research that sustaining professional efficacy requires more than time management—it requires inner alignment. Self-leadership research indicates that individuals who regularly reflect, act with purpose, and regulate their emotional and cognitive patterns are more likely to sustain both performance and well-being (Neck et al., 2020). Positive psychology adds that intentionality—the alignment of values, strengths, and goals—predicts both satisfaction and impact (Ryan & Deci, 2000). And adult development theory reminds us that growth often requires leaving behind familiar scripts to create new patterns of being and leading.
In the complex and demanding world of international school leadership, you might start the year full of good intentions to prioritize wellbeing, develop your team, or lead more strategically—but quickly find yourself back in old patterns: packed agendas, constant reactivity, and quiet self-sacrifice. To others, it may look like you’re doing a great job. You’re busy, productive, even successful—but not necessarily thriving.
A better approach might begin with pausing long enough to ask, “What’s the change I need to make this year to feel more fulfilled in my work?” That question invites a shift from reacting to adapting. From default to intention. It opens the door to practices like reflective journaling and values clarification - not just recognizing your values, but giving yourself permission to guide and inform your actions and reactions. What you say yes to, and what you decline., strategic scheduling, or working with a coach or peer to articulate and stay accountable to the changes that matter most to you. It might mean unlearning a habit of over-responsibility or choosing to show up with more presence, even when it’s uncomfortable. It might mean learning how to say no with grace.
As a result, you move into the school year with a different kind of leadership: one rooted in self-awareness and agency. You say no with clarity and yes with conviction. You find energy in the work that matters and compassion for yourself when the days get busy. You model not just resilience but also alignment — for your team, your students, and yourself.
Try this: before the year begins, set one clear, courageous intention. Not a resolution or a task, but a way of being. Write it down. Share it with someone. Align your calendar with it. Check in regularly. Let it be the compass that guides your choices when the storm of the school year begins.
Courageous Intention Worksheet
To your thriving!
Bridget
"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." — Howard
