We love AI: ours is a development tool that not everyone is using!
We see AI: Attention and Intention — The Leadership Advantage Hiding in Plain Sight.
Of course when you think “AI,” you are probably thinking of the now ubiquitous Artificial Intelligence. Algorithms, automation, machines that can learn and will apparently be the answer to everything, or wipe us out, depending on who you believe. But there is another form of AI that is far older, and perhaps even more powerful! It is certainly far more underutilised in leadership and life, and most people are losing these skills, not building them!
Indigo Brave’s AI stands for Attention and Intention.
Mastering where you place your attention, and consciously choosing your intention, may be the most important leadership skill of the modern age. Not because it is new, but because it has become increasingly rare.
The World Is Competing for Your Attention - but only all the time.
Attention is your most precious resource. More than time. More than money.
Where attention goes, energy flows. Where energy flows, results follow.
Yet most leaders begin their day with their attention hijacked:
Emails before awareness
Notifications before purpose
Urgency before clarity
Attention, when left unconscious, defaults to reaction. And reactive leadership, no matter how talented the individual, inevitably produces fragmentation, stress, and short-term thinking.
Attention is not neutral. It is your power, your creativity.
What you consistently focus on shapes:
What you notice
What you miss
How you interpret events
How you show up for others
Untrained attention scatters. Trained attention directs.
Attention vs. Intention: The Crucial Difference
While attention determines what you are focused on, intention determines why you are focused on it.
This distinction is subtle, and profound.
Attention without intention is busy.
Intention without attention is wishful.
Together, they become powerful.
You can pay attention to a meeting while internally intending to defend your position. Or you can pay attention with the intention to understand, align, or create trust. Same meeting. Same agenda. Completely different outcome.
Attention is the spotlight.
Intention is the direction of the beam.
Leadership Is an Inner Game First
Great leadership is not only about strategy, execution, or decision-making. It is about state. Now, here's an interesting idea. What if your number one job today was to get into and remain in a Peak State. A creative state, a receptive state, a collaborative state?
Before you influence a room, you are influencing your own nervous system.
Before you lead others, you are leading your inner world.
When leaders consciously choose their intention, they shift from:
Control to curiosity
Reaction to response
Ego to impact
This is not “soft” leadership. It is precise leadership.
A leader who enters a conversation with the intention to listen will hear things others miss. A leader who begins a project with the intention to serve the long-term vision will make different trade-offs under pressure. A leader who starts the day with the intention to be grounded will regulate uncertainty rather than amplify it.
The Power of Intention
The beginning of anything matters more than we think.
The start of your day
The opening of a meeting
The launch of a project
The first moments of a difficult conversation
These are leverage points.
When intention is set consciously at the beginning, attention naturally organizes around it.
Consider this simple daily question:
“Who do I want/ need to be today?' How do I want to show up?
Not what do you intend to do, but what do you intend to be?
Clarity? Courage? Presence? Decisiveness? Compassion?
This single question shifts leadership from autopilot to authorship.
Attention as a Leadership Practice
Attention can be trained. It is not a personality trait; it is a practice.
Leaders who master attention:
Notice subtle dynamics in rooms
Sense when alignment is slipping
Catch reactive patterns before they escalate
Stay with complexity instead of escaping it
They do not just manage information — they manage awareness.
In a world overloaded with data, the leader who can hold steady, focused attention becomes a stabilizing force. People feel seen. Conversations deepen. Decisions improve.
Intention as a Compass
If attention is the engine, intention is the compass.
Intention gives meaning to effort. It answers:
Why does this matter?
Who am I being while doing this?
What outcome am I committed to beyond my ego?
When intention is clear, energy consolidates. When it is vague, effort leaks.
This is why two people with equal skill can produce radically different results. One is operating from habit and pressure. The other is operating from choice and purpose.
A Simple Leadership Ritual
You don’t need a retreat or a transformation program to begin. You need a pause.
At the start of:
Your day
Any meeting you lead
Any meaningful project
Take 30 seconds and ask:
Where is my attention right now?
What is my intention for this moment?
That pause alone can change the quality of leadership you bring.
The Real Competitive Advantage
The future will belong to leaders who can:
Hold attention amid distraction
Set intention amid uncertainty
Act from clarity rather than compulsion
This is not artificial intelligence.
It is human intelligence, consciously applied.
Attention and Intention — AI in its most original form, may be the most powerful leadership advantage available today. It is a master skill and one that can improve all aspects of your life.
Next time you are facing a challenging situation, ask, what is my Intention here? What do I want to create?
Next time you reach for your phone, remember you are giving it your most powerful gift. Your Attention.