Good leadership begins with a quiet inquiry that sits beneath every model and every technique. What is it you want your leadership to do? It is an uncomfortable question because it asks for intention, not performance. Yet without it, leaders drift. Work becomes effort without direction. Presence becomes noise.

Leadership is an organising force. It shapes how people feel, how they think, and how they move together. It can open space or close it. It can spark confidence or quieten it. The effect may be subtle or bold, but it always comes from a choice. When leaders forget this, they imitate others. When they remember it, they step into purpose.

The answer lives in attention. If you want your leadership to help people grow, you must create safety, curiosity, and room for mistakes. If you want your leadership to create clarity, you must speak with structure and invite understanding. If you want your leadership to build trust, you must act with consistency, courage, and respect.

Leadership is not a trait. It is a practice. Every act gives shape to a climate. Every meeting shifts the emotional temperature. You are always creating conditions for others, even when you do not notice.

The better question brings this into view. It returns authorship to you. It lets you choose how you wish to be experienced. It keeps your leadership human and deliberate.

Ask it often. Ask it before you speak. Ask it when you feel lost. Ask it when you feel proud. What is it you want your leadership to do? The answer will move with you as you grow, and that movement is the essence of leading with intention.