What do you do if your leadership decisions are lacking intuition and gut instincts?

In this, it’s very easy to confuse your gut instinct with habitual responses, which feel right simply because they’re familiar. Habitual reactions can easily masquerade as intuitive because they’re familiar and comfortable, yet they may not necessarily lead to beneficial outcomes. Mindfulness helps us to tell the difference by cultivating greater self awareness. It makes us slow down and observe our immediate reactions to situations. This pause allows us to gain insight into what’s truly driving us, helping us to then make better decisions.

To develop and trust intuition in leadership, consider reflecting on past experiences, practicing mindfulness, listening to your body, trusting instincts, seeking feedback, testing intuition, expanding awareness, embracing uncertainty, learning from mistakes, and balancing intuition with data. These strategies can lead to more confident and insightful decision-making in leadership roles. By incorporating these strategies, leaders can navigate complexity, learn from mistakes, and ensure their decisions are grounded in both intuition and evidence.

To enhance your gut instincts, I find mindfulness exercises that focus on body awareness can be particularly effective. Gut instincts are a blend of insight and emotional response, both of which are felt within the body. By increasing your awareness of bodily sensations, you can sharpen your intuition. Mindfulness practices that cultivate body awareness, like the body scan, help you tune into these subtle signals, enhancing your ability to make intuitive decisions. Incorporating body-focused mindfulness exercises into your routine can significantly boost your intuitive capabilities, leading to more confident and informed decision-making.

Sometimes, the hustle and bustle of leadership can cloud our natural instincts. One helpful approach is to take a step back and create space for reflection. Find a quiet moment to tune into yourself. Meditation or mindfulness practices can be particularly effective for this. As you cultivate awareness of your thoughts and feelings, you may start to notice subtle signals from your intuition guiding you in the right direction. It's also helpful to reconnect with your core values and vision for your team or organization. When your decisions align with these guiding principles, they're more likely to feel intuitive and authentic. Finally, don't be afraid to seek input from trusted colleagues or mentors.

Nobel laureate Daniel Kahnman showed us through research that often our "gut" is actually our fast, unconscious, and often biased thinking. This can lead us to make decisions with blind spots or bias built in. Mindfulness helps us bring the slow, conscious thinking into the mix, leading to better decisions.

Engaging in mindfulness practices such as meditation, deep breathing, or body scans help to quiet our minds, giving us the ability to tune into our inner wisdom. Mindfulness helps us develop the clarity and presence needed to recognize and trust our intuition. Allow yourself to experiment with trusting your intuition in small decisions or low-risk situations. Pay attention to the outcomes and learn from the experience, regardless of the result. You'll become more comfortable and confident in relying on your intuition with practice. Pay attention to physical sensations and cues in your body; these can be signals from your intuition. Notice any discomfort, unease, or resonance when considering different options or courses of action.

Mindful breathing is an accessible practice for all. It requires no unique posture or specific location. One can engage in this form of meditation by merely shutting their eyes and taking a deep breath. This technique stands out for its ease and is widely recognized as one of the most straightforward meditation methods available.

I absolutely love this suggestion! Taking time for reflection is always extremely beneficial for me. Self-reflection helps us understand why we may be disconnected from our intuition. You may discover any barriers or biases that could be blocking your ability to trust your instincts. When we avoid rushing into decisions impulsively, it gives us the time to slow down, reflect, and listen to our inner voice. We can learn to trust our intuition, and it will guide us towards the right choice when given the space to do so.

Overall, journaling is a versatile self-care strategy that can support mental health in various ways, from managing stress and anxiety to fostering a greater sense of gratitude and well-being.

It may feel safest to rely on historical data and learning to make decisions. However, it needs to be balanced with the willingness to take risk and courage to accept new outcomes. Otherwise your work can only be as good as the past, not better. Worse, you may lose out. There is inevitable uncertainty in the future and those who can embrace it will thrive.

In my experience, having a lot of expertise actually often hinders creativity and flexible decision making. Leaders fall into the trap of "I'm an expert, so I must be right" or "Those less expert than me have little to teach me here". This can make them more likely to go with the "gut", e.g. their first idea of what to do, rather than seeking diverse opinions and feedback.

Gut instincts must be balanced with data and analysis. When you’re young in your career, check in with your seniors, mentors or managers about your gut instinct about certain matters. Be willing to be wrong and it’s okay because you’re honing your instincts too. The watch out is silencing yourself, resulting in inability to access this important part in you as you grow in your career.