Intuitions in decision-making – is it easy or difficult to rely on them?

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

Albert Einstein

The candidate comes in, his resume looks absolutely fine, his recommendations are perfect, but you still have some strange feeling. What could it be? You can't explain. You can’t collect, analyse more data here, you have to decide. Well, okay. You pick him. Then after a while it turns out that… You shouldn’t have chosen him, but the other candidate. You had that feeling, but you didn’t trust it. Or did you not trust yourself?

Making a decision is one of the main tasks of leaders. Because at the end of the day you tell me which way we should be going. And while you want to do this in the most established way, there are still situations where it is no longer possible to do more research and analysis. The logic and reasoning are finite and you have to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle with something. Last week, I wrote about the data and measurements, how important they are in decision-making. Many people think that intuition has little or no place in business, and decisions should be based on empirical evidence rather than relying on our gut-feel. Yet it is also used by Tim Cook, Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos.

But what if we thought of intuition as another source of information? Because what are we talking about? About that little tingling on your neck or spine, or the erect hairs on your arms, or that slight pressure on your shoulders when something doesn’t click, or you just have the aha moment and are 1000% sure it will work perfectly well, what you have figured out. Your mind can obscure your vision, heuristics work and you don’t deal with them, or your ego dictates - but of course you deny that because you can rationalize and explain just fine why or why not you chose something. Or it’s just wishful thinking, when you want something so bad to be there, to achieve, to come true, to believe that you will succeed, even though everyone but you see it as unreal.

Yet there is the inner voice within you, which is only yours, does not belong to the thousand external factors, colleagues, clients… If you calm down a little, you will hear it.

But somehow it became fashionable in the business to miss out emotions, intuitions, leave them at home, or save them for the private life. Yet it could be a good advisor many times.

Why are you afraid to listen to your intuition?

Trust

Do I trust myself enough to listen to my intuitions? Do I trust my intuitions to lead me in the right direction?

Credibility

How do I explain the background of my decision to the owners, the other leaders, the colleagues? Is it good enough that this was my intuition?

Because your fears are there that there will be little intuition. Of course, you know that you make decisions not only based on your intuitions, but still. In a rational, data-driven business world, listening to intuitions is not everywhere accepted.

However, there are a few points to help you check your decisions with this tiny test. The following five considerations will help you make the right decisions, even if you don’t have enough information, or are confusing, or downright contradictory, or need to make a quick decision, or the situation is ambiguous.

Motivation

Why am I doing this? What is the reason for this, what is my underlying motivation? If the reason is not correct, the direction your decision will take you will not be good either.

Intention

What do I want to achieve? If your intention is the filter through which you examine your decision, this will help focus and detach the extras. The clearer the intention is, the faster that certain feeling comes.

Responsibility

Should I really do this? For leaders, if they are striving to make a decision that benefits as many people as possible, it is beneficial to ask themselves if that is the most responsible decision they can make.

Emotional state

Do I feel good if I make this decision? Are you going to sleep well at night and have a clear conscience if you make that decision?

Values

Is my decision in line with my values? The more you are aware of your own values - not only your conscious but also your unconscious value system - this can be mapped out, for example, by NLP methods - the faster and clearer your decision will be.

So which is the most effective method? Data-based or intuitive decisions? Well, who knows. It probably depends on the situation. Maybe this one… or that one. Or a combination of the two. I have recently heard a special word for this, infotuitive decision making. It contains both knowledge and self-awareness. And the two together will guide you through difficult times (too). In any case, the above five aspects always serve you as a good compass.

And the point is to dare to think individually and keep the fire within you.