Raising the Lid: Leading with Intention
At ConsciousLead, we often return to a foundational understanding of leadership: Leadership begins within.
As we step into 2026, we are grounding our monthly reflections in selected principles from John Maxwell’s Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. These laws continue to resonate because they speak to something essential. Leadership is shaped as much by inner capacity as it is by skill or experience.
We begin the year with the Law of the Lid, paired with our theme of Leading with Intention. This law suggests that leadership effectiveness is shaped by a leader’s personal capacity. Mindset, habits, self-awareness, and willingness to grow, quietly influence what becomes possible. Teams and organizations often reflect the inner world of those guiding them.
Leading with intention invites leaders to pause and notice what is shaping that capacity right now. Intention supports awareness. It helps leaders recognize patterns, beliefs, and behaviours that influence how decisions are made and how people are engaged.
Most of us operate from habits shaped by past experience or unexamined expectations. Intention creates space to choose rather than react. It allows leaders to bring clarity into conversations, steadiness into decision-making, and alignment into action.
This practice does not require doing more. It requires noticing more.
- Where is energy being directed automatically?
- Where might greater awareness open new possibilities?
- What assumptions are influencing leadership behaviour?
At ConsciousLead, we view leadership as a moment-to-moment practice. Intention is what gives that practice direction. It supports grounded leadership that remains steady even when complexity or pressure is present.
As we move through this year, each law will offer an opportunity to reflect on leadership through a conscious lens. The Law of the Lid invites leaders to begin by looking inward and engaging growth with care.
Stay tuned for our upcoming blogs as we explore the next leadership laws and the practices they invite in the months ahead!
—ConsciousLead