7 Secrets to Unlocking Stronger Decision Making

Do you make business decisions based soley on research, facts, and analysis?
Do you allow yourself the opportunity to listen to your gut feelings or intuition?

Research shows that great leaders balance logic, facts, and analysis with gut sense and intuition. FedEx is a perfect example of turning a hunch into a winning opportunity. Had Fred Smith listened only to the logic and reasoning of his Yale professors he more than likely would have never started FedEx. Another great example can be seen in the corridors of 3M where they are provided 15 percent of their time to work on any project they want. Wildly successful products such as post-it notes, scotch tape, and thinsulate didn't come from analysis alone. Each of these products had someone's intuition or hunch behind them.
The following seven secrets will help you to build stronger decision making capabilities.

1. Logic alone is not enough
C.K. Prahald, prof of bus admin Univ of MI, stated that "one of the biggest impediments to effective decision making today is that all the literature and all the consultants have recommended that emotion and passion be taken out of management. They think that strategy is a purely analytical exercise."
Did you know that eighty-two out of ninety-three Nobel Prize winners agreed that intuition plays an important role in creative and scientific discoveries?
Listening to your gut feelings can support critical decision making. Allow your intuition to flow.

2. Let go of your ego
In order to listen to your intuition you have to calm the voice of the ego. The ego brings you all of the elements that are outside of oneself. By calming the ego you can pay attention to what you are feeling inside. Your inner wisdom can support and guide you if you let it.

3. Let silence work for you
Use silence to your advantage. Allow yourself the space to be quiet and think even if it initially feels uncomfortable. Take a few extra moments of silence after speaking. Embrace the pause. It will convey a sense of confidence and elicit more information from others.

4. Go for clarity
Ask questions that go for deeper insight. Do not take things at face value. Ask questions based on feelings in addition to questions based on logic. For example, How do you feel about it? or What caused you to feel this way?

5. Suspend judgment
The logical side to you may tell you that listening to intuition is silly. You may be able to successfully sell yourself on the idea that rational and analytical ideas are the only ones that make sense. Put that judgment on the back-burner until after you've allowed yourself to experience your gut feelings or intuitive sense.

6. Move through the fear
Do not allow the slight and brief fears that arise, particularly at those times when it takes courage to speak up about your gut feelings or a hunch, get in your way. If you are having trouble with it, ask yourself what is the worst thing that could happen if you put your fears aside and shared your hunch? The answer is probably not as terrible as you might imagine. Fear should not keep you from expressing your intuitions.

7. Strengthen your emotional connections
When ambiguous situations are created, whether it be with words or actions, intentionally or unintentionally, we are typically left with a losing situation. When things are ambiguous people typically assume the worst. The ability to candidly express what we are thinking and feeling with a certain amount of clarity can be accomplished when we use our intuition and empathy. Ask people you are communicating with to repeat back the message to ensure it was accurately received. I take the time to include statements such as "this is what I experienced" or "this is what I need".

Stronger decision making starts with leveraging your intuition. Are you fully aware of your feelings? Do this exercise and find out. At each hour on the hour throughout one full day write down how you are feeling. This exercise can help you increase your emotional awareness and allow for intuition to more easily be used as a tool in the decision making process.

Written by Jennifer Mounce, President, Coach Effect. Coach Effect is a coaching, consulting and development firm focused on engaging employees through leadership and organizational effectiveness. For more information, please contact us.