Do The Best Leaders Rely On Their Intuition?

There's a lot of talk about the power of intuition and how it has enabled people to achieve great success. But the question is, can one really rely on their intuition? How do the world's best leaders use their intuition to get ahead?

Of course, leaders have to take many important decisions daily. There's so much they have to handle, like establishing a direction for their team, setting priorities, organizing tasks, and so on. There are two approaches that people can use to make a decision, one which is driven by facts and logic and the other where they let their intuition be their guide.

Bill Gates has been spotted saying that there are quite a lot of times when one has to rely on intuition. This is because there are times when conscious reasoning does not enable you to make the right decisions. Sometimes, it becomes vital to pay attention to your decisions. Of course, leaders use facts and information to make their decisions.

But not everyone has complete information all the time. And at such times, it's your intuition that can come to your rescue and become a valuable asset to your leadership. So yes, many of the best leaders indeed rely on their intuition.

The Importance Of Intuition: What You Must Know

Contrary to what people believe, intuition is not about doing something without thinking. In fact, more often than not, your intuition is based on information, and that to information that you are not paying attention to due to outer noise.

Basically, your intuition tells you what you want and also enables you to pick up the cues being given subconsciously by the people you are communicating with. As a leader, you have to make connections with your team, and your intuition can help you in this endeavor significantly.

So what exactly is intuition, and where is it? Not many people realize this, but intuition is actually in your body rather than your mind. Have you noticed how a tingle goes down your spine, or do you feel a knot in your stomach when you feel something but are unable to pinpoint it? This is your intuition telling you that you are missing something.

You can't exactly see the problem or the solution, but you can feel that it's nearby. This intuition is based on the information stored in your body. Remember, every experience you go through, good or bad, is recorded in your body. Not everything registers in your mind. After all, there are only so many memories you can hold in your mind.

You can't go through all your experiences and memories every time you have to make a decision. That will take forever! However, your body does not forget! It has a record of everything, and you get alerted about these memories via your gut instinct.

But why is it that some people have great intuition while others are unable to pick these signals? It's because we have become so engrossed in other matters that we have lost connection with our bodies. We have been trained to rely on knowledge and remain focused on what we see. Hence, we don't pay much attention to the signals our body is giving us. And this is precisely what sets leaders apart from others.

What Encourages Leaders To Follow Their Intuition?

It's pretty common for leaders to rely on their intuition for making aligned decisions in the face of challenges. And why does this happen?

There's no denying that analysis and reasoning are highly beneficial. But let's face it. They have their own limitations. If you make decisions solely on the basis of reasoning, you are limiting your thoughts to measurable factors and existing knowledge. But if there's one thing that can be said about the future, it's that it is pretty unpredictable.

No matter how well-prepared you are, your information will always be incomplete or sometimes overwhelming. This can prevent you from taking the right decisions. And then there's intuition which is all about complexities and connections. Hence, your intuition can make it pretty easy to take complicated decisions. And this is what leaders rely on.

It has often been seen that when people are in complicated situations, conscious deliberation and excessive thinking prevent them from taking the right decision. You spend so much time weighing many factors that you are unable to arrive at a conclusion timely.

And, of course, there's always a chance that you overthink some factors while not giving enough importance to others. This misalignment also causes a problem, leading to a decision that's not in line with your values and priorities.

Your intuition feeds into your emotional intelligence. There are times when you just know what's right for you, and you have to work on your instinct. Great leaders often comment that for success, emotional intelligence is more valuable than your IQ. You have to learn to recognize and process your emotions. This enables you to take decisions quickly on your feet. You don't have to worry about missing out on opportunities when you trust your instinct.

How Leaders Benefit From Intuition

The best leaders dedicate quite a bit of time to deepening their sense of intuition. Why? Here are some of the benefits of an intuitive mind that can take you to greater heights.

Better Creativity

When you have a strong intuition, your creative mind is more open and is able to communicate freely. Hence, you will come up with many creative ideas. You will recognize newer opportunities. Your intuition will help you recognize different patterns and truths.

And what's the one trait of leaders that everyone talks about? They always think out of the box! And their gut instinct has quite a significant role to play in this.

Self-Knowledge

Let's be clear. Your personality is mainly apparent in your subconscious mind. Hence, your intuitive decisions are the ones taken by your true self. When you learn to trust your instinct, you basically come to terms with your desires. You learn more about yourself.

It's often said that leaders are completely aware of what they are and what they want from life. This is because they have established a connection with their inner self, which guides them.

Decision-Making Skills

Decisions based on intuitions take less time and are, most of the time, better than the ones you take after thinking objectively about something.

Leaders have to be quick on their feet, as good opportunities don't wait for long. Hence, they rely on their intuition to take better and faster decisions. And they prove to be highly beneficial too.

Good For Your Physical Health

Yes, a strong intuition is actually pretty good for your overall health too. It's pretty common for people to ignore their body's message and cues. You might be feeling exhausted, but you push these feelings down to focus on your work. All this can take a toll on your health.

Leaders ensure that they don't get worn out as they trust their instinct. They recognize the signs when their body tells them to take a break, and they are quick to act on it.

How Do Leaders Strengthen Their Intuition?

Now you know how your intuition can pave the way for your success. The question is, what can you do to strengthen your intuition? Keep in mind that it takes time to understand your gut instinct. And it's not uncommon for people to be misguided by what they feel their intuition is telling them. Fortunately, there are some measures you can take to make your intuition more potent.

Work On Your Expertise

You must realize that strong intuition is not possible without experience. As we have already explained, intuition is all about the experiences and memories your body has gone through. So if you want strong gut instinct, you have to develop your expertise which wouldn't be possible without practice.

Usually, beginners and novices use their analysis and knowledge to respond to challenges and perform well at work. But leaders can outperform them using mainly their intuition. And this is because it has taken years of effort and experience to build this intuition.

Give Yourself Time To Tune In

Life has gotten pretty hectic, hasn't it? In this fast-paced world, it's pretty easy to lose touch with yourself. But if you want to join the ranks of the best leaders and strengthen your intuition, it's vital to slow down and give yourself time.

Whenever you have an important decision to take, make sure to give yourself enough time. Get out of your head, and take a break to ponder on it. Use the time to tune in to emotions and let your intuition guide you on what should be your next step.

Acknowledge Your Biases

Many leaders comment how their intuition has made them commit mistakes at times too. But more often than not, this is due to their own unconscious biases. Everyone has their personal preferences, which causes misleading assumptions.

When your decisions are influenced by biases, they are seldom accurate. But interestingly, it's these decisions that you will be most confident about. As a leader, you have to learn to differentiate between bias and intuition.

Be In Touch With Your Inner Critic

Naturally, your mind is trained to keep you safe. Hence, there will be times when your brain will try to keep your gut voice down to protect you from pain. But you have to ensure that your inner critic does not remain unheard.

This is done via practice. You must practice listening to your inner critic, which will always help you make informed decisions.

Work On Your Observational Skills

You cannot learn without observing the happenings around you. It's these observations that help you strengthen your intuition. To become a leader, you have to learn to observe people and their tactics. Try to predict how people are likely to respond in particular situations. Of course, this will take time, but with practice, you will become more observant. And this will improve your decision-making skills.

Work On Your Hunches

There are many times when your instinct takes notice of small details that you did not notice at the moment. These are hunches. For instance, you might have noticed a team member being unusually quiet in a meeting. You can't figure out what's bothering you but you have a hunch that something's not right.

Don't dismiss these ideas instantly. Instead, take some time out to actually listen to them and consider what your body is trying to tell you. Picking on these details can help you form a better connection with your team.

Don't Force Yourself

Remember, your intuition will not always guide you instantly. There will be times when you won't get an answer right away! You have to learn when you shouldn't trust yourself.

You have to practice understanding your body's rhythms. Activate your intuitive brain and stop thinking about everything else. You must give yourself some time to process everything instead of forcing your mind to come up with an answer.

Whenever you want your intuition to guide you, take some time out. Practice meditation, deep breathing or similar relaxation techniques. Don't be too hard on yourself. Give it some time, and you will get the answers you are looking for.

Let Your Strong Intuition Be Your Guide!

Leaders often have to make vital decisions without any substantial data. And their intuition helps them sail through such situations without any failures. One does not become a leader without taking some gutsy calls than eventually play out well.

An excellent example of this is Steve Jobs, who was famous for his intuition. And his gut helped him become a billionaire! You, too, can do the same. Learn to use your gut, and no challenge will be able to come your way!

Additionally, when you let your intuition be your guide, you become more adjusted to changes. You don't mind adapting your ways due to new information. Of course, sometimes, your intuition will give you immediate answers. And at other times, you will try to get more information before deciding your next step. However, in any case, you can always use your intuition to show you the right way.