What happens when you bring a room full of ambitious women together?

After months of planning, promoting, organising and wondering whether people would actually come, the day had finally arrived. As I looked around the room on the morning of The Intentional Leader, a few thoughts passed through my mind. Who will arrive first? Will they find the place okay? Have I forgotten anything?

The room was ready. The breakfast and refreshments were set out. The workbooks were waiting on the tables. The Good Question cards were ready. And now there was nothing left to do but wait for the women to arrive. I was excited and nervous at the same time. I'd spent months imagining this day, but there was one thing I couldn't plan for: what would happen when I gave a room full of ambitious women the space to really talk?

I wanted the women to leave with something they could actually use: greater clarity about what needed their attention, a better understanding of their strengths and practical steps they could put into action straight away.

The room started to fill up. Some women already knew each other. Others were meeting for the first time. Within a short while, there were conversations happening around the room, people getting to know each other over and the atmosphere beginning to change. That was when I started to realise that The Intentional Leader was becoming more than an idea I'd been working on.

Why I created The Intentional Leader

I wanted to bring ambitious women together and give them something we don't always give ourselves: time and space to step away from the day-to-day and think. A space to think about what they want, where they're heading and what needs their attention. A space to explore their strengths, share their ambitions and connect with other women who understand what it's like.

Because you can be successful and still need space to think.

From the outside, you might look like you have everything under control. You're progressing in your career, building a business, leading others, managing responsibilities and somehow keeping everything moving. But behind the scenes, there may be decisions you've been putting off, ideas you haven't had time to explore or goals that keep getting pushed further down the list.

When you're capable and people know they can rely on you, it can be very easy to become the person who takes everything on. You keep solving the problems, making the decisions and supporting everyone else, without always stopping to ask whether the way you're working is actually helping you lead well. That's where intentional leadership comes in.

Creating space to think

The Intentional Leader wasn't designed to be another networking event where you exchange details and move on to the next thing. And it wasn't a workshop where you sit quietly, take notes and leave with more information. It was designed to give women space to think, talk, reflect and actually work through some of the things that often get pushed aside when you're busy leading everything else.

Each woman picked up a Good Question Card from At My Best. Around the room, women began turning to the person beside them, reading their question and starting a conversation. Some answers came quickly. Others made people pause and think. Within minutes, women who had arrived as strangers were already sharing thoughts they probably hadn't expected to discuss that morning. These weren't questions with quick answers. They gave people something to think about and someone beside them to challenge, encourage or offer a different perspective.

We then explored what each woman already had on her plate. This exercise alone uncovered a lot for some of the women. Because you can't keep adding to an already full plate. If you want to make space for something new, you first need to look at what's already there and decide what can be released, delegated or given less attention.

From there, we explored how they approach decisions. The Six Thinking Hats activity got everyone moving around the room, using the beautifully designed posters by Cat Hase to look at a situation from different perspectives. We then looked at how each woman naturally approaches situations and began to understand the strengths she brings to the way she leads. I also used the strengths card deck from Cat to help bring this part of the workshop to life.

The cards were spread across the tables as women considered which strengths felt most like them. Some immediately recognised themselves in a card. Others stopped to think about whether a strength they had always taken for granted was actually one of the things that made them effective.

We quickly ran out of time and could have spent much longer on some of these conversations. But we had to stick to the schedule. And that became one of my clearest takeaways from the day: there was a real appetite for this kind of space. The aim wasn't to leave with a longer to-do list. It was to leave with greater clarity about what deserved attention and a realistic plan for moving forward.

One of my favourite parts of the day was the conversations that happened. Nobody seemed in a hurry to leave the conversation. One discussion would finish and another would start. Women were sharing experiences, comparing perspectives and encouraging each other, even though some had only met that morning. At times, I genuinely didn't want to interrupt them. There was something powerful about seeing women realise that they weren't the only ones thinking through these things.

This wasn't networking for the sake of networking. The conversations were part of the experience. Sometimes you don't need someone to solve a problem for you. You need someone who understands, asks a good question or offers a different perspective.

What I took away from the day

The first thing is that we don't always need more information. Sometimes we need space to think. We can spend so much time looking for what to do next that we forget to stop and ask ourselves what we already know. Sometimes the answer is there; we simply haven't given ourselves enough space to hear it.

The second is that our strengths matter to the way we lead. It's easy to focus on the things we need to improve, but understanding what we naturally do well can help us make better choices about how we communicate, make decisions and use our time and energy. We don't have to be good at everything, and we don't have to do everything ourselves.

And finally, leadership can feel lonely when you're the person everyone looks to. The women in the room were all managing different responsibilities, but there was a shared understanding of what it is like to have decisions to make and people relying on you. Being around other women who understand that can make a difference.

And perhaps most importantly, the women didn't just leave having had a good morning. They had spent time thinking about what needed their attention, what they could let go of, how they naturally approach situations, what strengths they bring and what they wanted to focus on over the next 90 days.

The day ended with one of the women reciting the Quran. It was a beautiful moment of reflection that brought us back to our purpose.

Could you use some space to think?

Maybe you don't need to do more. Maybe you need a few hours away from the day-to-day to ask yourself some different questions:

• How am I actually leading?
• What am I naturally brilliant at?
• What needs my attention now?
• What could I let go of?
• What am I going to do about it?

That's what intentional leadership means to me.

It's about being deliberate about how you lead rather than simply reacting to everything that comes your way. It's about understanding yourself, recognising your strengths, making decisions with greater clarity and choosing where you want to put your energy.

That's what I wanted The Intentional Leader to create: a space where ambitious women could step away from the day-to-day, think differently, have meaningful conversations and leave with something they could actually put into practice. After seeing what happened in that room, I know there is more to explore.

The Intentional Leader was one morning, but the conversations, questions and ideas didn't feel finished when the morning ended. If anything, we could have carried on for much longer. So if you weren't there this time, but reading this has made you think, I could really use some space like that, I'd love to hear from you.

Because you can be successful and still need space to think.

Thank you for reading.

Hanane