‘Acting on a hunch’ and ‘letting the heart rule the head’ are just some of the terms we use to belittle intuitive decision-makers.

But is this correct?

In an article from the MIT Sloan Management Review, Professor Gerald Hüther, a neuroscientist at the University of Göttingen in Germany, defines what we commonly call ‘intuition’ as a combination of knowledge, experience and emotion, and that research shows that intuition in itself is a highly complex and developed form of reasoning.

That said, naturally intuitive and/or innovative people are often described as being able to put forward an idea without sufficient concrete research to back it up. As a result, their vision can get shot down before it has a chance to fly.

Navigating these situations requires deep work on the Self, fine-tuning the emotional intelligence needed to bring new ideas forward.

A Case Study

I was approached by a female Founding Director of a data analytics research unit at a public university. They wanted to get approval to create a commercial arm of their department, an endeavour that required a deep process of negotiation and strategy planning with various (mostly male) peers. Their vision, at least to themself, was clear. Their challenge was to influence others within an established time frame. In their words:

“I am a serial innovator. I am driven to bring innovation to organisations and companies. This is often challenging since a new idea may take more time to implement.”

I had worked with the client before in different situations, so our initial conversations included a recap of lessons already learned. With these in mind, we made a wish list of success measures and preventive mechanisms for the task at hand. These included:

• Communication in a calm and engaging way
• Pre-meeting coaching
• Overcoming ‘triggers’ during meetings
• Elaborating a clear structure of the new company
• And of course…managing their own wellness and stress levels during the process!

The Methodology We Used

The overall approach was pragmatic and simple, a complementary perspective to my client’s passionate ‘serial innovation.’ The format used was individual coaching in the shape of ‘practice sessions’ before each scheduled meeting, predicting scenarios and discussions that were likely to take place. Gender-specific Issues  were worked on, along with strategic mapping to analyse the best approach with certain board members. Feedback received from other colleagues about their communication style was studied and acted upon.

During the entire process, I witnessed a tangible transformation. My client came to understand what was important for key stakeholders, the assurances they needed, the stumbling blocks they had, and how to gather and present specific data to back up their ideas and present them in an effective, convincing and concise way.

They were successful! The new department they proposed, which aimed to support sustainable development and green jobs in partnership with public and private research sectors, became a thriving reality.

Since then, my client has gone onto even greater things. They have continued their path of supporting change in other industries, building from their discoveries, and remained committed to their purpose and projects that have real social value and impact. Along their career journey, they received several accolades and professional recognition, including being named one of the 100 most influential technology leaders in their native country.

Thoughts and Conclusions

Serial innovators thrive in environments of change and curiosity. The challenge for many, particularly in leadership situations, is putting their ideas forward convincingly, and not caving to self-doubt, a condition we are all at risk of.

Our unique CICRE approach is about embracing our own ‘ perfect-imperfect’ beings. It’s about discovering our ‘secret spots’ where our unique powers lie. It’s about creating a ‘safe space’ for intuition to thrive as it explores new horizons and possibilities. It’s about harnessing our intuitive and emotional assets and using them to create real change.

During our coaching sessions, my client expressed the value of being able to understand themself better in ‘moments of truth’ and decisions. Being able to connect with, and trust, their intuition enabled them to hurdle over perceived limitations and often unconscious negative beliefs – the bridge to the next chapter of their illustrious career.

Of course, this takes courage and hard work. It’s almost a ‘blind’ leap of faith and partnering with a coach can provide optimal support to the path to leadership.

Now more than ever, none of us really know what the future will bring, which is why faith in our sacred self is the best survival tool we have.

As Albert Einstein allegedly said; “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”

Do you want to develop your intuition? Try these exercises:

• What type of information do you observe the most in films you watch? What does this tell you?
• Do the same exercise with books. Are there similar topics in the books you read? How are they interconnected? Can you find a pattern?
• Interpret a symbol. What does it suggest you add, remove, or enjoy from your life?
• Try again with another symbol. Is it the same? Can you interpret different meanings?
• When you wake up, even if you don’t remember a specific dream, write or draw whatever comes into your mind.
• Imagine yourself in six months, one year or five years. Imagine that you enter a scene, as if you were walking into a movie. What do you see yourself doing? What makes you happy? Imagine it happening now.