As you may recall, all Purdue IT staff and key university partners participated in an introductory session on Intent-Based Leadership in March 2022. The first organization within the university to do so, Purdue IT is working with Intent-Based Leadership International (IBLI) to roll out this approach across our organization. This will be led by a team of internal coaches who are being trained by IBLI to provide the development and coaching on the practices and language that will help us embed this method. Sessions for all staff will begin in February. 

IBL challenges the traditional model of Leaders and Followers and instead focuses on building leadership at every level in an organization.  It starts with the idea that teams work better when decisions are made as close to the front line as possible, rather than being pushed up for approval. It combines a set of practices and language that help teams to work better together, to improve the quality and speed of decision-making and to ensure that teams make the optimum use of the knowledge and skills of their people. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

What’s in it for me as a manager? 

The Intent-Based approach provides a system of practices and languages that make it easier to delegate decision-making and increase ownership and involvement in teams.  It’s an approach that will give you the “how to” tools and practices to increase engagement and participation. As a manager you will also have more opportunity to be involved in and make decisions which currently are made higher up in the Purdue IT team. 

What’s in this for me as team member? 

The Intent-Based approach is based on the idea that people who have more control, and influence over their work are healthier, happier and more fulfilled.  You can expect to have more opportunities to be involved in, or to make decisions about your work, and to be part of a team that has clarity on their respective roles and works together effectively to a shared purpose. 

When will we see the impact of this approach? 

The Intent-Based approach uses practices and simple changes to language to change the way teams work together. It’s like learning a new language – you should see some immediate impact as people try out the new approaches, but it takes time to become fluent in this approach.  We ask you to be patient as your colleagues and leaders try these new practices out. 

What other organizations use this approach? 

There are a wide number of organizations who have engaged with this approach including IT service providers and teams. In the last 18 months IBLI has worked with teams in nuclear plants, financial services, ride share businesses, telecom providers, cyber security businesses and even NASA.