While not yet the status quo, openly talking about intuition at work is increasingly common. Articles such as The Best Leaders Use Intuition (Yale University), Iconic Entrepreneurs Use Their Intuition to Succeed (Inc.), and Why Is Intuition in Business Important in the Age of AI? (Forbes) are only a few examples of the concept being explored in mainstream business publications.
Purported benefits of incorporating intuition into a leadership toolkit include:
- Enhanced ability to navigate situations where data is incomplete or unavailable
- Ability to make decisions faster
- Fostering innovation and creativity
- Breaking from conventional thinking
- Sensing trends or risks before the data reveals them
- Ability to better “read the room”
It’s important to note that intuition is not a replacement for data and analysis but rather is a useful complement to those activities.
But exactly how do you go about tapping into your inner wisdom when it comes to business?
Here is a primer on intuition and using it at work.
What is Intuition?
In everyday parlance, people use the words “insight”, “gut feeling”, or “I just knew” when describing how they experienced intuition. More formally, intuition is characterized by:
- Knowing something without having evidence for it
- Attaining direct knowledge or cognition without rational thought or inference
- As an ability to interpret information and reach conclusions without conscious thought
Scientifically, the mechanism by which intuition functions is thought to be subconscious pattern recognition. It’s processed in the amygdala and other limbic areas of the brain and is sometimes felt as a sensation in the physical body (e.g., gut feeling, goosebumps).
Intuitive Intelligence
Intuitive intelligence is the ability to reliably recognize intuitive signals and be consciously aware of any meaning inferred from them.
This is a competency that anyone can learn to become proficient in, though it does take time and practice. Once honed, intuitive intelligence is not only useful on its own but also acts as a powerful amplifier for other professional competencies such as emotional intelligence.
Is It Intuition or Something Else?
It’s easy to confuse intuition with other signals, so it’s important to do a quick check-in with yourself.
First, you’ll be a more reliable interpreter of intuition if your nervous system is in a regulated state. If your stress response is running high or you’re feeling strong emotions, then there is a lot of “noise” relative to the intuitive “signal”, or it may not be an intuitive signal at all.
Second, basic human impulses such as hunger, fear, or lust, as well as cravings for addictive things like caffeine, sugar, or social media, can masquerade as intuitive hits.
Finally, if you know you’re an empath, have anxiety, or OCD tendencies, you’ll want to be extra judicious before you attribute something to intuition.
Building Your Intuitive Intelligence
There are four foundational practices that underlie facility with intuitive intelligence in general.
1. Get Embodied
It’s key to get out of your head and into your body. Stress and tension held in the body “lock up” pathways for information in the body and obscure intuitive signals.
Bodywork such as massage, assisted stretching, acupuncture, and fire cupping can be beneficial for releasing chronically tight areas. Whole-body movement practices like yoga, dance, and tai chi can help you mindfully relate to your body.
2. Regulate Your Nervous System
A well-regulated nervous system helps you to distinguish intuitive signal from noise. You’ll need to adopt practices that you can use on demand during the workday (e.g., intentional breathing, 30-second heart centering, quick walks, etc.) and those you do outside of work (e.g., meditation, time in nature) that allow you to more completely reset your nervous system.
3. Identify Your Intuitive Antenna
It ‘ important to be able to identify exactly from where you receive intuitive signals. There are four areas to consider as you hone in on your intuitive “antenna’s” location:
- Somewhere specific in or on your body
- An overall bodily sensation
- Outside your body but near you
- Something that you “see” in your mind’s eye
Start by thinking about a time in the past when you received an intuitive hit. Where was the signal received?
4. Focus on Noticing the Signal
Once you’ve identified your antenna’s location your practice is to notice when you receive a signal, and to then immediately pause to check for nervous system regulation and human impulses.
For some people, spending time in nature or daydreaming can be a helpful practice for honing their ability to notice intuitive signals.
Inferring Meaning from Intuitive Signals
As a starting point, give the intuitive signal some words:
- I have a hunch that …
- I wonder if …
- My instinct says …
- My sense is …
Then continue with curiosity. Think of intuition as a helpful “nod” about direction but that it’s not an indicator of certainty.
A reflective journaling practice can help you learn from past intuitive information and the decisions you made with it.
Pitfalls to Avoid When Using Intuition at Work
Remember that intuition is one useful input when it comes to making a decision or charting a path forward. Watch for these pitfalls:
- Moving too quickly without proper consideration of other factors, even when there is time.
- Being biased towards intuition and feelings at the expense of data.
- Using intuition to confirm what you want to be true.
- Relying on intuition while it’s still an underdeveloped skill.
- Following your intuition without taking the time to get your team on board.
What to Do When Your Intuition Conflicts with the Data
When the data say one thing and your intuition says another, it’s an invitation to step back and be curious.
Reconsider the Data
Perhaps your intuitive hit is a signal to check the data for accuracy, completeness, or applicability to the situation. Maybe it’s nudging you to consider any omitted or overlooked factors. It could be useful to gather different data or additional information.
Check Your Bias
If you’re feeling resistance to what the data reveal, perhaps it’s because you’re partial to a particular path forward that is now not in line with the evidence. It could also be the case that you’re attached to your original preliminary decision and are having a difficult time letting it go.
Fostering a Work Culture that Values Intuition
If intuition is a novel concept in your workplace, you can start to normalize it by sharing articles in business publications that focus on it. Invite an open discussion where people are free to share their reactions to the articles as well as their current opinions on using intuition at work.
As you feel comfortable, you can model using intuition in your own decision making, as part of a robust set of inputs. You can use language like “I have a hunch that …” or “My instinct says …” to make it more explicit. During discussions, you can ask colleagues, “What does your gut say about this?” as a routine course of action.
Please note that psychological safety in your workplace is usually a necessary condition before overt use of intuition will be widely adopted.
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