This document summarizes a capstone project on the importance of intentionality in organizations. It argues that intentionality is vital for organizational success and defines intentionality as acting with purpose and reason. It discusses how intentionality should be implemented in an organization's structure, leadership, and employees. It provides examples of how lack of intentionality can lead to failure or mediocrity. Overall, the document advocates that intentional planning and goal-setting are necessary for an organization to thrive.

1. Capstone Project Final
Lara Newman
CLED 489-B01
October 16, 2015

2. Newman 2
I. Thesis
A. Intentionality is vital for every part of organizations in order for them to succeed and
thrive.
II. Introduction
A. Often the leadership of organizations does not take the time to discover what makes
an organization thrive, and what holds organizations back.
B. Organizations often merely flow along with the current, unknowingly letting
themselves be affected by any obstacle or advantage they encounter rather than
intentionally striving to move themselves faster down the river.
III. Body
A. Intentionality is to act with purpose and reason.
B. Intentionality must be implemented in the structure of an organization.
1. Intentionality is necessary to learn what is wrong with a failing or merely
mediocre organization in order to establish a cohesive team.
2. Intentionality is needed to promote clarity throughout the organization.
C. Leadership takes intentionality.
1. Leaders’ private lives must exhibit intentionality.
a. Leaders must realize the need for order in the private realm.
b. Leaders must seize control of their time.
c. The healthy private life of a leader gives rise to a healthy organization.
2. Intentional leadership allows and helps an organization’s employees to get
closer to reaching their full potential.
D. Without intentionality, organizations will often fail, or simply get by.
1. Apathy is what keeps most organizations from becoming great. They may
survive, but they will not thrive.
2. Without intentionality and clarity, organizations cannot accomplish their
goals, missions, or purposes for existing.
E. Christ exemplified intentionality.
1. Christ did not do things on a whim; there was purpose to everything He did
and said.
2. Much of Christ’s teachings were instructions on how we are to live purpose
driven lives.
IV. Supporting Evidence/Case Study
A. Case 1; becoming a good leader takes determination and commitment.
B. All types of leadership take planning and determination.
V. Conclusion
A. God calls us to a life of purpose, and that call carries over into every area of life. True
organizational health can only be achieved when it is pursued with purpose; it does
not happen by chance. Intentionality is vital to the leadership and management of
every organization, and only through intentionality can an organization achieve
success.

3. Newman 3
There are many obstacles that can affect the life on an organization. Economic change,
the relevance of a company’s product, or the appearance of a rival corporation can hinder the
success of an organization. There are also internal factors that can hold an organization back
from success. For instance, politics in the work place, inefficient meetings, and poor leadership
can have hugely negative effects on the productiveness of an organization. In order for a
company to move from ordinary to exceptional, something drastic has to be done. Often, the
leadership of organizations does not take the time to learn about the internal factors that can
make an organization thrive or hold it back. Leaders spend too much time focusing on the task at
hand and the factors outside the organization, and they neglect the overall self-observation
necessary to improve the organization. Organizations often merely flow along with the current,
where any obstacle or advantage they encounter can affect them, rather than intentionally
striving to move themselves faster down the river. However, as this paper will show,
intentionality is vital for every part of an organization in order for it to succeed and thrive.
Webster defines intentional as something done purposely; intended.1 It is doing
something with intention as opposed to doing something accidentally, or for no particular reason.
All through the book of Proverbs, there are examples of commands to be intentional and
cultivate wisdom. For example, Proverbs 13:20 says, “The one who walks with the wise will
become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm” (HCSB). This verse is commanding
intentionality when choosing companions. Likewise, Proverbs 3:3 teaches, “The one who guards
his mouth protects his life; the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin” (HCSB). This
proverb tells what will happen when people speak with intentionality rather than carelessly say
1 Webster’s New World Dictionary, 2nd College ed., s.v. “intentional.”

4. Newman 4
whatever they please. Therefore, to live intentionality is to make decisions and live life with
purpose and determination despite circumstances or accidents.
The first way intentionality must be used in an organization is to discern what the
structure of an organization needs. The church from Case Study 1 discerned what the problem
was in their church leadership, but they were not as intentional as they could be. The pastor
merely noticed the structure problem in the church. However, Patrick Lencioni prescribes four
disciplines that should be implemented to uncover the problems that are hidden within an
organization and to establish the foundation needed to cultivate organizational health.2 Rather
than taking a year for him to notice the structural problems, the pastor in the case study could
have begun discerning the needs of the church when he first began his pastorate. Lencioni’s four
disciplines are the following: build a cohesive leadership team, create clarity, overcommunicate
clarity, and reinforce clarity.3 These four principles were designed to both uncover the problems
that are plaguing a company and to establish a healthy structure for an organization to build
upon. Every new leader coming into an organization should begin by implementing these
principles to both evaluate the current needs of the organization and to intentionally cultivate a
healthy structure.
Building a cohesive leadership team serves the purpose of intentionally building trust,
embracing healthy conflict, instituting commitment, establishing accountability, and focusing on
results. By doing this, the leadership team becomes like-minded and is able to carry out its
purpose. This kind of team playing cannot happen without intentionally putting it into place, and
it must be put into place so that an organization can have a solid structure to build its clarity
upon.
2 Lencioni, The Advantage (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2012), 15-16.
3 Lencioni, 15-16.

5. Newman 5
Lencioni’s following three disciplines are about clarity. These build upon the like-
mindedness that is established when a cohesive leadership team is built. Clarity is needed on
every level of an organization. Everything from why the organization exists, to what it does, to
who specifically does what needs to be intentionally communicated to every member of the
organization. Without intentionally establishing clarity throughout the structure and functions of
an organization, there will be doubt and questioning among its members, and inefficiency or
even failure will be inevitable. Lencioni’s four principles help an organization intentionally
establish core values and organizational clarity that will get petty issues and distractions out of
the way, allowing the organization to be more productive and successful.
Intentional leadership begins with the private lives of leaders. Dave Kraft speaks to this
point when he quotes Brian Tracy saying, “Eighty percent of what you do on a daily basis needs
to be intentional as opposed to responsive.”4 To be a good leader one cannot simply react to daily
problems and surprises. A good leader takes control of the circumstances in which he finds
himself. This intentionality in a leader’s private life begins with the realization of the need for
order. Gordon MacDonald speaks in depth to this point. He describes how busyness and the
desires of other people often distract leaders from intentional living. MacDonald states the
problem thus:
How do we escape such interference in order to gaze into the inner space of our
private world? That question remains dangerously unanswered in too many lives.
Men and women who command the leadership of large organizations and
churches too often are unable to answer the question for themselves. Simple
people, busy earning a living and trying to keep up with the Joneses, are wrestling
4 Dave Kraft, Leaders Who Last (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 60.

6. Newman 6
with the question. It yields no easy answer – only a simple one. We escape into
the space of the inner world only when we determine that it is an activity more
important than anything else we do. 5
Only once a leader sees the importance of ordering his private world can he become the kind of
leader God meant for him to be.
One of the most important ways to order one’s private life is for a leader to properly
manage his time. MacDonald describes the ways that unmanaged time will not only hinder his
daily life but will actually keep him from achieving greatness. One of the ways that unmanaged
time will hinder a person is that unmanaged time tends to flow toward a person’s weaknesses.6
MacDonald uses himself as an example to show that he often spent too much time on things in
his work that he was not as good at, rather than delegating those tasks to others more capable and
focusing on what he does best.7 Intentional leaders, however, invest their time in areas where
they can do the most good.
In addition to a leader managing his time, MacDonald describes many other practical
recommendations for leaders to get their private lives in order. The reason the private life of a
leader is so vital is that everything a leader does stems from how orderly or disorderly his private
life is. If a manager is unable to be intentional about his private time, this will have a negative
effect on his work. However, if that manager knows when to say no to distractions and which
activities he should spend his time doing, his work life will improve.
MacDonald’s in-depth analysis of the personal life of a godly leader shows how much the
private life affects his work life as well as his peers and subordinates. MacDonald builds his
5 Gordon MacDonald, Ordering Your Private World (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.), 274.
6 MacDonald, 106.
7 MacDonald, 106.

7. Newman 7
argument upon biblical truths. He is referring to Romans 12:2 when he says, “[Paul] was
directing his readers to make a right choice. Are we going to order our inner worlds, or hearts, so
that they will radiate influence into the outer world?” Leaders can only intentionally influence
others when they have intentionally ordered their own private worlds. The Journal of
Management Studies attests to the importance of the health of the leader’s life: “We suggest that
the healthy leader is at the heart of organizational health, is the touchstone for organizational
health, and is the seed that gives rise to individual and organizational health.”8 As this article
reiterates, the private life of a leader needs to be healthy in order for the organization he leads to
be successful. Jeremie Kubicek echoes this point in his article about intentional leadership. He
explains, “The growth of organizations happens through the intentional capacity improvement of
leaders over time, along with a strategic demeanor toward a focused success.”9 He explains that
many people have hopes and well wishes for their company and leaders. However, true leaders
cannot be formed and organizations cannot grow or succeed without the intentionality to do both.
This kind of order and organization of the private life is also a reflection of God’s
character, and He reveals this all through Scripture. Bob Welch describes the orderliness of God
in his chapter on the subject. He writes, “God is a God of order. God’s creation, from atom to
galaxy, displays for all to see God’s eye for design and detail.”10 Intentional ordering of the
8 James Campbell Quick, Marilyn Macik-Frey and Cary Cooper, “Managerial Dimensions of
Organizational Health: The Healthy Leader at Work,” Journal of Management Studies 44, no. 2
(March 2007): 193, accessed October 15, 2015,
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/doi/10.1111/j.1467-
6486.2007.00684.x/epdf.
9 Jeremie Kubicek, “Intentional Leadership,” Leader to Leader 2012, no. 64 (March, 2012): 39,
accessed October 15, 2015,
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/doi/10.1002/ltl.20021/epdf.
10 William R. Yount, ed., The Teaching Ministry of the Church, 2nd ed. (Nashville: B&H, 2008),
26.

8. Newman 8
private world is the most effective way to influence others as a leader and it is a reflection of the
order and design God put into every part of creation.
The intentional private life of a leader makes for an intentional leader at work, and this
allows for employees or members of a congregation to strive to get closer to their full potential.
When there are negative internal politics or inefficient methods of communication within an
organization, employees are hindered from performing to the best of their abilities. Intentional
leaders will do what they can to minimize distractions and implement organizational clarity so
that the organization can function the best that it can.
The most effective way a leader can facilitate the productivity of those under him is
through meetings. Leaders must be very intentional when calling for meetings and when
conducting meetings. Lencioni describes the prevalent problems poorly led meetings can cause,
the biggest problem being a lack of communication.11 This happens because leaders often cover
too many topics in only one meeting rather than dividing up meetings by topics and importance.
To counter this problem, Lencioni prescribes having different kinds of meetings in order to best
use the staff’s time and encourage communication. By intentionally dividing up issues between
different kinds of meetings, leaders create clarity for their staff and give them the freedom to do
their jobs rather than worry about the issues that have been cleared up during the meetings.
Lencioni explains, “They’re able to address minor issues so quickly so they can be more focused
on the right topics during the other three kinds of meetings they need to have.”12 He is describing
daily check-in meetings that have the sole purpose of getting small daily issues out of the way so
that the staff can focus on things specific to their jobs. This is how intentional leadership can
create clarity and allow the staff or congregation members to better do their jobs without being
11 Lencioni, 174-175.
12 Lencioni, 178.

9. Newman 9
hindered by confusion or miscommunication. The case study pastor implemented this principle
when he called a specific meeting to discuss the rotary system he proposed. The rotary system
was intentionally discussed amongst the leaders and the congregation, and clarity was
established when the meeting was held on the subject.
An organization that lacks this type of intentionality will often fail, and certainly never
become great. Usually, a company will only be mediocre if it is unintentional or apathetic in
certain areas, such as staff morale, or if it is unaware of issues the organization may have, such
as confusion of duties among staff. A company like this may be able to survive the
circumstances it runs into; however, it will never be able to reach the point of thriving.
Companies and organizations tend to focus all of their time and attention on the areas they know
best. A pastor may only focus on his preaching, rather than trying to better the relationships
among his fellow church leaders. A manager at a restaurant may spend all of his time concerned
about how the assembly line functions and neglect the morale of his workers. Both the pastor and
the manager are hindering success.
Lencioni explains that an organization needs to pay attention to its health. Internal health
issues such as relationships between and the morale of the workers play a big part in moving an
organization from average to advantageous. Lencioni says, “I am convinced that once
organizational health is properly understood and placed into the right context, it will surpass all
other disciplines in business as the greatest opportunity for improvement and competitive
advantage.”13 Giving attention to organizational health is key to success.
Often, an organization is apathetic in certain areas because it believes those areas to be
secondary to the more obvious functions of the organization. For example, the pastor of the case
13 Lencioni, 4.

10. Newman 10
study could have easily thought that the power structure in place at his church was merely
something he had to deal with. He could have shown apathy toward the power structure and
given his attention to his daily and weekly activities. However, the power structure was
hindering practically every area of the church and keeping it from achieving its mission; the
problem needed the pastor’s attention. He exhibited the intentionality needed to treat the
underlying problem in the church rather than simply treating the symptoms. If he had not paid
attention to the issues outside of his daily and weekly routine, the church may have survived, but
it would not have thrived or accomplished the purpose God gave it.
When an organization is not clear on its purpose or mission for existing, it has nothing to
measure its efforts against to discern its success. Lencioni emphasizes how important it is for a
company to know why it exists, how it behaves, what it does, its plan to succeed, what’s most
important right now, and who must do what.14 These are the six critical questions he puts forth so
that a company can intentionally hold onto its answers to those questions as it carries out its
obvious functions. When a company does not establish its answers to these questions, it would
be akin to a traveler blindly taking turns down paths with no clear goal ahead of him. Instead, a
company needs to be like a studied, informed traveler who is intentionally making his way to his
destination.
Christ is a model of an intentional life that every Christian needs to learn from. Purpose
flowed from everything Jesus said and did. For example, the narrative of Jesus’ conversation
with the Samaritan woman at the well displays excellent intentionality (John 4:4-26). Jesus
stayed behind at the well, He asked the woman for a drink of water, and He asked her probing
questions, all of which were intentionally planned to show her, and us, His greater purpose. Don
14 Lencioni, 77.

11. Newman 11
Howell, describing Christ’s life, says, “Jesus was on a mission to search for and find those who
are lost and to bring them under God’s saving rule.”15 Jesus knew his purpose in life, and He
knew the tasks He had to accomplish, just as Lencioni prescribes leaders to know. In Luke 4:43
He states clearly what His purpose was. He says also in John 18:37, “I have come into the world
for this: to testify to the truth” (HCSB). Christ knew His mission, and He intentionally ordered
His life so that He could accomplish it.
Jesus also commanded intentionality of His followers. Matthew 22:37 evidences the
intentionality Jesus expects. To love God with every part of a person’s being is not something
that comes naturally or that happens by chance. There is no room for apathy in Jesus’ instruction
in Matthew 22:37. Matthew 6:19-21 is another strong command of Christ to live intentionally.
What great intentionality it takes to place desires in eternal, heavenly things rather than in earthly
things. Earthly needs are more obvious in this life; therefore, it is very unnatural for a person to
hold heavenly things as more important than earthly needs. Only through intentional, daily
choices can one obey this command of Christ.
This kind of intentional living takes determination, and it is just what the pastor of the
case study needs. Albert Mohler states, “The most effective leaders know to stay on the job,
determined to see the task done.”16 And as Paul said, “I pursue as my goal the prize promised by
God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:14, HCSB). Every aspect of a Christian’s life, as
MacDonald explains, must be intentionally brought into order. The case study pastor must begin
with this realization and determine to achieve the order that MacDonald describes. In order for
the pastor to be an effective leader, he must obey the commands of Christ and intentionally order
15 Don Howell, Servants of the Servant: A Biblical Theology of Leadership (Eugene, OR: Wipf
and Stock, 2003), 153.
16 Albert Mohler, The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership that Matters
(Bloomington, MN: Bethany House, 2012), 191.

12. Newman 12
his life so that he can be an effective leader. In order to influence the members of his leadership
team and congregation, the pastor must first get his own private life into order, and then he must
determine to see the task done.
In the same way that Christians cannot reach their full potential or honor God fully
without intentionality in every part of their lives, an organization cannot accomplish its goals or
its mission without intentionally assessing its every part and striving to improve where
necessary. This is true for every church, non-profit, or for-profit organization. The case study
reveals the benefits that can come from proper assessment and improvement in an organization.
Once the rotary system was implemented, the church leaders were better able to do their jobs,
communication improved, and the congregation became more involved and more compliant to
the improved church leadership. The pastor’s intentional leadership through implementation of a
thought out leadership structure allowed for the rest of the church to better perform its job.
Intentionality is needed in any form of leadership change. A study on leadership
succession confirms that intentional efforts to change board members of a nonprofit can be
successful.17 Among those in the study, they revealed that they were prompted to change board
members because of confusion over areas of responsibility, lack of help from board members,
and too many decisions not made for the good of the organization, among other factors.18 These
17 Jeffrey L. Brudney and Vic Murray, “Do Intentional Efforts to Improve Boards Really Work?
The Views of Nonprofit CEOs.” Nonprofit Management & Leadership 8, no. 4 (Summer, 1998):
338, accessed October 15, 2015, http://rx9vh3hy4r.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-
2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-
8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.g
enre=article&rft.atitle=Do+Intentional+Efforts+to+Improve+Boards+Really+Work%3F+The+V
iews+of+Nonprofit+CEOs&rft.jtitle=Nonprofit+Management+and+Leadership&rft.au=Brudney
%2C+Jeffrey+L&rft.au=Murray%2C+Vic&rft.date=1998-07-01&rft.issn=1048-
6682&rft.eissn=1542-
7854&rft.volume=8&rft.issue=4&rft.spage=333&rft.epage=348&paramdict=en-US.
18 Brudney, 339.

13. Newman 13
are similar issues to the case study church. Also, these are the issues that Lencioni describes as
hindrances. The pastor of the case study sensed these issues, as did some members of the other
church leaders, then he chose a strategy to fix the issues and improve the leadership.
J.P. Calareso explains the necessity of strategy when planning for leadership successors.
Calareso is speaking of universities; however, the principle can apply to any nonprofit. Calareso
explains, “succession planning is the ongoing process of identifying future leaders in an
organization and developing them so that they are ready to move into leadership roles.”19
Healthy leadership, whichever form chosen, does not happen without intentional planning.
Before the new pastor came to the case study church, apathy was prevalent throughout
the church structure and its members. Without direction, the church was only surviving, not
thriving, nor was the church living up to the purpose God had for it. The intentional leadership of
the new pastor caused great improvement in the church. It went from being an organization
fraught with structural problems to one that is motivated and full of purpose and direction. God
calls us to a life of purpose, and that call applies to every area of life. True organizational health
can only be achieved when it is pursued with purpose; it does not happen by chance.
Intentionality is vital to the leadership and management of every organization, and only through
intentionality can an organization achieve success.
19 J.P. Calareso, “Succession Planning: The Key to Ensuring Leadership,” Planning for Higher
Education 41, no. 3 (April-June 2013): 28, accessed October 15, 2015,
http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=vic_liberty&id=GALE|
A381056259&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon&userGroup=vic_liberty&authCount=1.

14. Newman 14
Bibliography
Brudney, Jeffrey L., and Vic Murray. “Do Intentional Efforts to Improve Boards Really Work?
The Views of Nonprofit CEOs.” Nonprofit Management & Leadership 8, no. 4 (Summer,
1998): 333-348. Accessed October 15, 2015.
http://rx9vh3hy4r.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-
2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-
8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journ
al&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Do+Intentional+Efforts+to+Improve+Boards+Really+Wo
rk%3F+The+Views+of+Nonprofit+CEOs&rft.jtitle=Nonprofit+Management+and+Leade
rship&rft.au=Brudney%2C+Jeffrey+L&rft.au=Murray%2C+Vic&rft.date=1998-07-
01&rft.issn=1048-6682&rft.eissn=1542-
7854&rft.volume=8&rft.issue=4&rft.spage=333&rft.epage=348&paramdict=en-US.
Calareso, J.P. “Succession Planning: The Key to Ensuring Leadership,” Planning for Higher
Education 41, no. 3 (April-June 2013): 27-33. Accessed October 15, 2015.
http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=vic_liberty&id=
GALE|A381056259&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon&userGroup=vic_liberty&authCount=1.
Howell, Don. Servants of the Servant: A Biblical Theology of Leadership. Eugene, OR: Wipf
and Stock, 2003.
Kraft, Dave. Leaders Who Last. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010.
Kubicek, Jeremie. “Intentional Leadership.” Leader to Leader 2012, no. 64 (March, 2012): 38-
43. Accessed October 15, 2015.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/doi/10.1002/ltl.20021/epdf.
Lencioni, Patrick. The Advantage. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2012.
MacDonald, Gordon. Ordering Your Private World. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003.
Mohler, Albert. The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership that Matters.
Bloomington, MN: Bethany House, 2012
Quick, James Campbell, and Marilyn Macik-Frey, and Cary Cooper. “Managerial Dimensions of
Organizational Health: The Healthy Leader at Work,” Journal of Management Studies
44, no. 2 (March 2007): 189-205. Accessed October 15, 2015.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/doi/10.1111/j.1467-
6486.2007.00684.x/epdf.
Yount, William R., ed. The Teaching Ministry of the Church. 2nd ed. Nashville: B&H, 2008.