The other day, I found myself second-guessing a decision I was making. I had researched the topic, had weighed the pros and cons, and just like any savvy businessperson, I went with what all of the logical proof suggested, but I still had a feeling that I made the wrong decision.
Time will tell whether I made the right decision or not, but it got me thinking about how we try to ignore our intuition in the face of graphs and pie charts. The thing is, our intuition is a tool that we should be leveraging, since it’s something we should be good at using.
Trust your instincts
Learn to listen to your intuition and follow it. There is a reason that the little voice in your head is whispering to you. Pay attention to it and try to determine what is “off” and is causing you to feel this way. (It’s been shown that women are very adept at reading facial expressions, deciphering vocal tones and picking up on moods).
Learn to express “gut feelings” tangibly
Saying that something “just doesn’t feel right” to a board of investors or your manager won’t get you any results. Figure out a way to express why you had an emotional reaction to a situation.
For example, if you go to a meeting with a potential new investor, but at the end you don’t feel good about going forward with the deal, tell your boss why. Explain, “The investor was very fidgety during our meeting and they seemed distracted. I think they have something else on their mind right now and they would not be able to focus on our company the way we would like.” When you express your gut more thoroughly, it makes much more sense to those around you and they will be more likely to side with you.
Use your intuition as a tool
Use your intuition! Hone your senses even more and learn how to read the tone of interviews, meetings, etc. When management sees how good you are at using your intuition for something profitable, they’ll want you in all of the important meetings. Believe me, there are people who make very good money reading the tone of a room – that could be you!
