Setting Your Intention: How a Word of the Year Can Center Your Work

New Year's resolutions often falter (and are even discouraged in many circles) for the ways they set you up to think of yourself from a deficit perspective and not scaffold your success in smaller steps. A word of the year, which represents an intention, is much more applicable. A word is something we can easily remember and incorporate into our day-to-day lives. I began my 'word of the year' practice after reading this post by Melinda Gates , where she outlined her reasons for the practice. What stood out to me was how it aligned with what I know to be true about human development and transformation -- that to make something 'stick', it needs to be simple and directly relevant. In leadership development land, intention setting is also very relevant to vertical development .

I love the simplicity of the word (or two) of the year. I have stuck mine on a sticky note on my computer, for example. And, when my team members and I do this practice, I change my 1:1 notes file to include their word in parentheses next to their name, so that I can remind them and we can discuss it throughout the year. For 2024, I'm even asking friends if they have one and updating their contact info on my phone so that when we text or chat about things, I can help them remember the intention they set.

For the past two years, in my professional work, I have also been immersed in emergent learning (EL). I have been incorporating the practices of emergent learning into my evaluation and strategy work with great success. I can see the many ways that the practices can help groups and organizations learn intentionally and strategically. It's no surprise then that I quickly saw how setting a word/intention for the year and emergent learning go hand in hand.

It was through the emergent learning lens that my practice of setting a word/intention for the year took on new meaning. In emergent learning, one of the core principles is 'keeping your work at the center '. It's the idea that, by using EL practices, you can keep the focus and intention of what it is you're trying to do at the forefront of your vision. Instead of allowing it to get obscured by the day-to-day stresses and activities that often get in the way. When we 'keep our work at the center', we stay engaged, we understand what we are seeing more deeply, and we are better able to see the connections between our ideas (hypothesis) and results, which furthers our learning.

In past years, my ability to hold my word/intention for the year has deepened my understanding of my leadership and development. Has it been perfect? Absolutely not. I often stray and forget my word, which prompts me to go rummaging through my sticky note piles and resurface it. But merely knowing I have it somewhere and digging it up often helps to reground me. I'm also always pleasantly surprised by how the word really fits whatever it is I need most for the year (though I'm sure there's some confirmation bias in there, of course!). In some ways, any word might work in any moment where you're feeling unmoored, but how much nicer it is when the word feels connected to a deeper intention that you reflected on and determined would be valuable for you to explore.

My past words -- and I have to say plural because I often choose two and enjoy playing with the interplay between them (or, I'm indecisive) -- have been: bravely curious (2019), grace & care (2021), perspective & energy (2022), and invitation & courage (2023). I swear that I had one in 2020 but, like so many things, it is lost to the before-times. I love reflecting on these and remembering the ways I chose words to call upon what I anticipated needing or wanting to leverage in the new year. In 2019, I was in the midst of some professional change that I knew would require both bravery and a need to stay open and curious. In 2021, I was meditating more on how motherhood could inform my leadership, and how I could offer myself grace amidst balancing my career after having a second child. In 2022, I was feeling tired, and wanting to focus on what provided or depleted my energy so that I could be more intentional. I also recognized that I was my own worst critic, and wanted to leverage perspective-taking to bring calmness to my self-perspective. And, in 2023, I was enamored with the idea of invitations, wanting to build on the words from 2019 to explore the ways the challenges in front of me were invitations to see, understand, or experience things differently (and have the courage to do so).

For 2024, I am looking forward to sitting with "resonance" and "cultivation". Just two weeks ago, when my colleagues threw me an amazingly thoughtful going-away party (it felt more like a launch party, to be sure!), a theme that emerged from the comments was that of ripples (a metaphor near and dear to my heart ). Thus, when I came across Morgan Harper Nichols's use of 'resonance' in her word of the year post , I felt pulled toward it. The word grabbed me and would not let go.

Resonance involves reverberation and deepening, and I was moved to think of how the ripples felt and created in my time at CCL might deepen and reverb back to me. Resonance is also a challenging word for me, as it isn't one I've spent a lot of time with and it doesn't easily settle into my brain. I know that I will need to think about it more intentionally to understand throughout the year why it has grabbed me so. Cultivation is a longstanding favorite of mine. As I prepare to spend the year continuing to build my own coaching and consulting practice, I know that the metaphors of cultivation -- soil, nutrients, rain, planning, and sowing -- will be helpful as I consider where I spend my time and how to be patient with the process (and trust it!).

I'm appreciative that in my EL advanced practitioner certification session last month, we 'turned inward' to think about applying EL practices to ourselves. It was in that discussion that a seed was planted for me to consider the ways I could expand my word/intention practice through EL. I guess you could say, that practice resonated with me! To 'keep your work at the center', it is helpful to use a few framing questions and practices. These can be helpful for words/intentions as well.

• Ask yourself -- what will it take to do this? For me, what will it take to see the resonance in my work? What will it take to focus on cultivation?
• Think more deeply about the 'if/thens' -- If you can hold your intention, what will it open up for you? If I can focus on resonance, then I will understand the ways my work is connected to the impact I want to have. If I can think about cultivation, then I can strategically organize my work for the coming year.
• Conduct reflections/reviews. (This one will be a challenge for me, for sure). Take a few minutes to think about your word/intention and consider what it is that you want to see or accomplish by doing this practice. How will you know if you're achieving it? You can revisit this at the end of the month or quarter, and see the ways you've remembered the word/intention, ways you've leveraged it in a challenging moment, or noticed the gifts it has taught you in the interim. (Spoiler alert, this is a before/after action review, for yourself!).
• Sharing and accountability. If there is one thing I've learned about learning, it's that creating shared practices in groups can be powerful. Ask your friends, partner, team-mates, or whomever you hold dear or regularly engage with, to try this practice with you. Then, commit to bringing up your word/intention for the year and exploring it together. The great thing about a word/intention is that it's a 'no fail' experiment -- whatever insight you draw from playing with it during the year will be valuable.

Over the years, I've seen firsthand how an annual intention word can positively transform one's outlook and growth. I've gained focus during turbulent times, grace while balancing motherhood and leadership, and perspective when self-doubt crept in. Whatever things come your way in the next year, a single guiding word roots your work and gives meaning when things feel adrift.

As we head into 2024, I encourage you to carve out some reflection time and discover what word (or words!) captures your hopes for how you aim to be (or who you aim to become) in the year ahead. The simple act of writing it down and revisiting it often can set off ripples that widen further than you know.

Tips for Choosing & Using Your Intention/Word:

1. Reflect on the past year - what went well? what do you want more or less of?
2. Imagine the best possible self/future - what values or qualities matter most?
3. Review old intention words - what themes emerge?
4. Brainstorm words that encapsulate your growth intentions -- there are many areas you could focus on, but what feels like it would be most useful to you now?
5. Get inspired: Check out Morgan Harper Nichols's blog posts and beautiful art, or use a Values Deck like CCL or Lisa Congdon provides to consider how values might inform your intentions
6. Test drive top choices - do they inspire/resonate? Do you come across a word that just won't let you go?
7. Display the word prominently (sticky note, phone wallpaper, etc). Even better, create a piece of art around the word.
8. Share the word with friends/colleagues for mutual support
9. Periodically review impact over the past month
10. Revisit your word during challenges as a guiding reminder
11. At year's end, reflect on how word shaped your journey

So, what do you say? I would love to hear your words/intentions for the year. I'd also love to help you keep them at the center of your work. And if this is a practice you usually do, what have you found valuable about it?