Intent-Based Leadership
Replace permission-seeking with 'I intend to...' to transform passive followers into active leaders
Intent-based leadership replaces the traditional cycle of subordinates requesting permission and leaders granting it. Instead, team members state their intentions using the phrase 'I intend to...' followed by their planned action and the reasoning behind it. The leader's role shifts from decision-maker to approver, responding with 'Very well' when the stated intent is sound. This seemingly minor language change profoundly shifts psychological ownership: the person stating intent owns the plan, has thought through the rationale, and takes responsibility for execution. Over time, the team members begin proactively providing all relevant context -- safety considerations, readiness status, situational awareness -- so the leader only needs to give a simple approval. The mechanism transforms 135 people waiting for one captain's orders into 135 independent, energetic, emotionally committed people thinking about what needs to be done.
- The person with the information should own the decision, not relay data upward for someone else to decide
- Language shapes behavior -- changing how people speak changes how they think and act
- Ownership of the plan must reside with the person executing it, not the person approving it
- Leaders should resist providing solutions and instead let team members propose their own
- The goal is for reports to be so complete that the leader only needs to say 'Very well'
- When the leader is wrong in a top-down model, everyone goes over the cliff together
- Eliminate permission-seeking languageReplace 'Request permission to...' and 'What should I do about...?' with 'I intend to...' throughout the organization. This applies to all levels, not just senior members on watch. Use a ladder of language from passive ('I'd like to...') to active ('I intend to...') based on the significance of the decision.Pro tipThe ladder of language ranges from weak ('I'd like to...', 'I plan on...', 'I would like to...') to strong ('I intend to...'). Start wherever feels natural and progress upward.WarningThe leader will initially worry about statements made while they are unaware or uninformed. Set ground rules -- Marquet initially required 'I intend to...' only when he was awake.
- Resist providing solutionsWhen team members bring problems, avoid jumping to solutions. Instead, ask what they think should be done. Force yourself to let the silence sit until they propose an action. Your job is to evaluate their proposed intent, not to generate it.Pro tipIf you catch yourself about to give an order, pause and ask the person what they would recommend instead.WarningThis is harder for the leader than the team. The impulse to direct is strong, especially under pressure.
- Require complete context with each intent statementOnce team members begin stating intentions, coach them to include all the information you would need to evaluate safety and appropriateness. Instead of asking your usual follow-up questions, ask what they think you are wondering about. They will learn to anticipate your concerns and address them proactively.Pro tipMarquet would ask the OOD 'What do you think I'm thinking about your intent to submerge?' The officer quickly learned to include water depth, rig status, and watch team certification in every report.
- Shift to simple approval once reports are completeWhen team members consistently provide sufficiently complete reports with their intent statements, your responses should shrink to 'Very well.' This confirms you are informed and approve, while keeping ownership squarely with the person executing the action.Pro tipA good test of maturity: if you find yourself saying 'Very well' to nearly every intent statement, the team has internalized the model.
When Stephen Covey visited the submarine, he observed officers continuously approaching Marquet with fully formed intent statements. An officer said 'Captain, I intend to submerge the ship. We are in water we own, water depth has been checked and is four hundred feet, all men are below, the ship is rigged for dive, and I've certified my watch team.' Marquet simply responded 'Very well.'
Marquet ordered the officer of the deck to execute a maneuver that was physically impossible on the Santa Fe's class of submarine. The OOD dutifully repeated the order and tried to execute it. When the helmsman could not comply, the error was exposed. Marquet asked the OOD why he had repeated an impossible order, and the OOD admitted he knew it was wrong but did it because the captain said to.
The seed was planted on USS Sunfish when Captain Pelaez noticed young officer Marquet asking permission to go active on sonar. Instead of simply granting it, Pelaez suggested he rephrase: 'Why don't you just say, Captain, I intend to go active on sonar for training?' The result was transformative -- Marquet felt genuinely in charge for the first time. Years later on Santa Fe, after a dangerous incident where Marquet gave an impossible order and the entire crew blindly tried to execute it, he vowed never to give orders again. The crew adopted 'I intend to...' as their standard operating language, and it spread from officers to the entire crew.