In the business world, we don’t talk about intuition with a serious tone, it’s usually a term we associate with new age hippies: vegans who mediate for hours in sweat lodges and who use coconut oil for everything.
Ok, that might be a little dramatic but you get the point.
A study done by TalentSmart found 58% of success in all job types is related emotional intelligence and concluded that 90% of top performers are also high in emotional intelligence. In addition, these individuals make on average $29,000 more a year, specifically, every point increase in emotional intelligence adds $1,300 to an annual salary.
I once had an employee on my team who was extremely intuitive. He used it to give me a pulse on the group morale so I could ensure they all felt supported. He would take coworkers for drinks when he sensed something was off.
When it came time for extra equity, I always made sure he was awarded something extra because his intuition was a great added benefit to my team. Not only did it help build the community of the office, but it helped reduced turn-over.
I’m not the only leader to recognize this importance.
Heather Wilde, Director of Global Technical Support at Evernote, says that using her intuition helped the company’s customer satisfaction rate. “I actually have relied on my intuition a lot to give me that extra emotional intelligence that you need to understand the context of a situation,” she says. “When handling customer interactions, you need to be able to look beyond the surface information and find the root cause of any issue they may have - and that is very difficult.”
I have seen leaders who have difficulty processing their emotions and relating emotionally in their relationships, which often leaves employees feeling distant and lonely.
Welcome to your CIO, your Chief Intuition Officer.
This is a sense that taps into both your experiences, facts, feelings and senses and provides you with a “yes” or a “no” feeling. Your CIO helps you thrive in life by making decisions that are not only fulfilling but help you pay your bills. Your CIO helps you know what’s ethical and morally right (even if it’s not a law or rule). Your CIO helps you find creative solutions by using your conscious and unconscious knowledge.
Take Action: Check In with your CIO (read more in Chapter 4)
Listen to yourself:
· The Mind: Ask what do I think I should do?
· The Gut: What feels like the best solution/next step/answer?
· The Heart: How do I use the facts and feelings to lead to the best outcome for all?
We often make decisions based off our mind, on bias, on rigid assumptions and agendas that just lead to blind spots.
Rather than just using one of our tools, why not utilize all the tools at your disposal? By checking in with both the facts and our feelings, you will tap into the highest likelihood of success with the least chance for error.
Professionals in touch with their Go and Flow can be both results and process-oriented. Nurturing leaders who provide employees with clear direction based on their intuition and analytical abilities are able to increase success.
Reach out to learn more about my corporate training and 1:1 coaching to help you develop this critical Performance-Based Mindfulness method.