Good Intentions Need a Trigger in the Working Day

A manager can sincerely intend to listen more carefully and still interrupt the next colleague who brings a problem. The intention describes a desirable direction, but it does not necessarily identify the moment when the old response needs to change.

Research on implementation intentions by Gollwitzer and Sheeran examines plans that connect a specified situation with a response. Their meta-analysis found benefits for goal attainment across the studies reviewed. That evidence supports taking the design of a plan seriously; it does not establish that any particular workplace script will improve a business result.

For leaders, the useful application is to make a development intention concrete enough to recognise during an ordinary working day. The following examples are practical interpretations, not tested prescriptions from that research.

Choose a situation the leader will actually encounter

An intention to empower the team is too broad to guide a specific response. A more usable plan identifies the recurring situation: when a trained colleague brings a routine decision within their authority, the manager asks for their recommendation before giving an answer.

The situation must be recognisable and the response feasible. A complicated sequence that requires several minutes may be unsuitable during a critical service incident. The leader should also identify exceptions, including matters requiring immediate action or specialist escalation.

In an illustrative hotel, a supervisor might practise a different response to routine guest-recovery questions. The agreed plan could prompt them to ask what the receptionist proposes and why, then support an acceptable decision within the established boundaries. This creates an opportunity to develop judgement without abandoning oversight.

Remove the obstacle before blaming the plan

The planned behaviour may require conditions that do not yet exist. If the colleague has no decision authority, asking for a recommendation can become a ritual with no practical consequence. If the manager is constantly interrupted, a reflective conversation may be difficult to complete.

Check the permissions, information and time around the intended response. A small plan can help someone act on an intention, but it cannot independently redesign the organisation. The manager's own boss may need to change expectations or remove an approval step.

Practise the response using realistic examples. The aim is to make it easier to recall and use, while testing whether it sounds natural and produces useful information. Avoid turning leadership into a fixed script that ignores the person or situation in front of the manager.

Review attempts rather than confidence

At the next development conversation, ask where the situation occurred, what the manager did and what followed. Discuss a missed attempt without treating it as evidence that the person lacks commitment. Perhaps the cue was too vague, the response too ambitious or the boundary unclear.

Adjust the plan where necessary and examine the quality of the outcome. More questions from a manager are not automatically better if the colleague simply needs a clear decision. The behaviour is useful only insofar as it supports the work and develops appropriate judgement.

The broader challenge is training transfer. Development becomes more credible when the intended change has a place in the working day, support from the surrounding system and evidence that it is being used effectively. A good intention is a starting point; a recognisable occasion for acting on it gives the leader something practical to rehearse.