Go Through the Finish Line: Translating Intention into Action

I learned an important life lesson when I joined a self-defense class for women early in my career. As a single professional woman who occasionally had to work late at night in a large city, I decided I would feel more peace of mind if I knew some self-defense basics. Over the one-day workshop, I learned the best stance to keep my balance if confronted, how to break the grip of someone trying to grab me, and the vulnerable points to aim for if faced with an attacker.

The final task of the workshop was to break a wooden board with my bare fist. As my fellow participants and I dubiously handed out the boards to each other, we all looked skeptical. These boards were solid and heavy. I didn’t want to break a bone.

The instructor shared a key tip on how to break the board successfully, without injuring your hand in the process. “To break the board, you’ll need to use a lot of force as you bring your hand down. But don’t make the mistake of stopping the force when you contact the surface of the board, otherwise, you will hurt your hand,” she cautioned. “Instead, visualize a point an inch or two below the board and bring your force down to that point. If you do that, you’ll be able to break the board easily, and you won’t feel a thing.”

After psyching myself up, I followed her instructions and was amazed that not only did I break the board in my first attempt, but that my hand didn’t hurt at all. You might think, sure, that’s easy enough to do with a regular 2×4 board. But years later, I witnessed my son-in-law, a Black Belt in Tae Kwan Do, apply the same principle (with considerably more skill and confidence) in breaking three concrete blocks stacked on top of each other – with his bare hand, in a single blow. It was an incredible feat to witness, and my palms still sweat just thinking about it.

The same principle applies to achieving meaningful results in any endeavor. It’s not enough to have an idea or make a plan for something you need to do. What ultimately makes a difference is the implementation of that idea.

Take having a meeting, for example. The purpose of a meeting isn’t just to have one and check a box. It’s about taking the energy from the meeting conversation and bringing it out into the workplace in some tangible and measurable way. The meeting is a means to an end for accomplishing a set of specific objectives. Whether the work is solving a problem, launching a product, or setting new priorities, the conversation is in service of something being different from the status quo. Leading a conversation that counts includes the crucial step of considering how you follow-through and support the group to transfer the collective decisions and momentum of the meetings into tangible next steps that get done.?

The purpose of the meeting is not achieved when the meeting is over. It’s achieved when the work gets done.

Investing time and resources to bring people together—whether for collaboration, problem-solving, or decision-making—is significant. The real value lies not just in the conversations or ideas shared, but in how effectively those ideas are transformed into action. Consider the risk if the insights and momentum dissipate after the moment passes. What is the cost when clarity fades, or when well-intentioned plans fizzle due to inaction? How much potential, goodwill, and innovation is lost when follow-through falls short and change fatigue sets in?

Solving big problems and making great plans is one thing, but we must carry through on that commitment and allow time to make it specific, actionable and memorable. A big part of our job as leaders is to design strategies and structures for translating the goodwill, momentum and positive intention you’ve created with your teams into intentional, purposeful, effective action.

Do you want support with leading impactful and action-oriented meetings or planning sessions? My award-winning book, Lead Conversations that Count: How Busy Managers Run Great Meetings, can help or we can connect directly here.?