Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark Change pdfdrive com

Build a Strong Intention (or How to Be More Steve than Stan)
Intention has the power to work for us or against us, so why not cultivate it for
good? In this book I discuss cultivating two types of intention:
— Your personal presence brand
— Situational intentions
Taking the time to consider, develop, and use both kinds of intention have
far-reaching implications for your presence.

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Your Personal Presence Brand: The Big Intention
Your personal presence brand is what you want your presence to convey overall.
It shows your core values and beliefs. It reflects your personality. Forward-
looking and far-reaching, it is how you aspire to present yourself at work, and
potentially in the rest of your life as well. Your personal presence brand is
backed by your actions, which I discuss in detail in Chapter 2. Like any brand,
your personal presence intention doesn’t change on a whim. It’s relatively static,
building over time. Ideally, it’s an internal touchstone, a reminder of how to
present the best version of you.
The sidebar “Determine Your Personal Presence Brand” contains an exercise
to help you cultivate yours.
Determine Your Personal Presence Brand
1. Fill out the following chart. Start with whichever column is easiest or
go back and forth as necessary.
Qualities I admire/value in others
What I want my presence to convey
2. Look at the column of qualities you want to convey and condense or
rank them into a top 5 list.
3. Reflect on your list. What do these qualities have in common? Try to
create a sound bite, acronym, or archetype for these qualities. For
example, “Jack Welch of the education industry.” Also abbreviate as
much as possible: “Credible and Compelling; Visionary and Vocal—
C2V2,” or “Catalyst for innovation—CFI,” or “Pinch hitter for critical
programs.” It can be anything you can keep in your thoughts—all that

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matters is that it has meaning and resonance for you.
Once you have your personal presence brand figured out, keep it top of
mind. Post it on your desk or on your computer desktop if that helps. Return to it
at times when you need to communicate strategically, exhibit presence, or even
make an important decision. It is an always-available reminder of what you want
to reinforce about yourself to others.
Your Situational Intention: “In the Moment” Calibrations
So, your personal presence brand—and the intentions that drive it—remains
steady. But you are constantly calibrating your situational intentions depending
on the circumstances at hand. And while situational intentions should build and
never detract from your personal presence brand, different situations require
different actions. A leader’s personal presence brand may be “inspirational
visionary,” but that’s going to be applied differently in a sales pitch than in a
corporate meeting to announce a restructuring.
Your situational intention is about creating a desired impact. Rarely is it a
one-size-fits-all scenario. I mentioned that people process information and
events in emotional terms, and often this is a good place to focus your situational
intention. Consider what emotion you want to invoke in your audience and you
are generally close, if not spot on, to what your intention should be.