by Michelle Cummings

We all want to believe that good intentions make good leaders. And intention does matter—it’s where leadership begins. In our Heart of a Leader module, we focus on leading from a place of care, connection, and integrity. But intention alone doesn’t always shape the experience others have of us. That’s where the gap begins—the space between what we meant and what actually happened. That’s the intention–behavior gap, and we’ve all felt it on both sides.

Research by Rhodes, Pfaeffli Dale, and Mansell explores this very gap, showing that the strength of an intention plays a key role. Strong intentions are more likely to predict consistent behavior, and they tend to hold steady over time. But they also come with a risk: when an intention becomes too rigid, it can close us off to feedback or new perspectives. A leader may be so focused on achieving a goal that they stop noticing how their behavior is landing—or whether it still reflects their original values.