January 2007
Leadership Intuition: Is it valid?
At the National Speakers Association’s national meeting last weekend, there was a lot of discussion about the role of intuition, or, as referred to in Servant Leadership models, foresight. At first, I totally rejected the concept of intuition. After all, I’m a process-oriented, pre-med, scientific person who’s been a student of the Malcolm Baldridge/Quality Movement! My mantra is, “I need data!” Since intuition seemed a little “fuzzy” for me, I feverishly searched for scientific evidence that validates intuition (our “gut”) and its role in leadership and decision-making.
In my research, I was reminded of the explanation in Primal Leadership (see Book Reviews) about why great leaders are so effective. According to the authors, leaders work through the emotions, both in understanding their external world (social awareness and relationship awareness) and their internal world (self-awareness and self-management). If emotions are leadership assets, let’s not dismiss intuition. Maybe we need to learn more…
I’ll submit the fruits of my research for your consideration. Both of the following articles discuss how understanding neural transmitter operation can help us in leading change.
- The Neuroscience of Leadership
http://www.strategy-business.com/press/freearticle/06207 - Intuition: A Social Cognitive Neuroscience Approach
http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/phi663/intcog.pdf
In addition, a survey conducted in May 2002 by executive search firm Christian & Timbers revealed that 55% of corporate executives believe they make decisions on facts and figures while 45% indicate they rely more on instinct in running their businesses.
- People hire for experience, fire for human qualities
http://www.recruiter.com/071602_p_5.cfm
