Have you ever made a decision from your gut?
Have you thought about where you make the majority of your decisions?
Heart?
Head?
Gut?
Risk-calculator in a speadsheet?
I’m learning about the power of our gut – or our unconscious – as I’m reading a lot about how we can feel good, and that essential assurance or confidence in our decision-making process.
I was surprised to learn that the majority of ‘good’ decisions, or those that have a beneficial outcome in some way, are made in split seconds. Literally, an emotional response based on accumulated experience up to the present date.
This goes against everything we are taught –
Weigh up both sides.
Ensure you have supporting evidence.
Don’t be emotional or ‘bias’.
Listening to your gut is a woman’s thing, “feminine intuition”.
It’s actually a human thing. Your whole life is one giant Wikipedia of experiences. You’re pulling on those experiences at lightning speed to make, what is most likely, a good decision.
“Gut instincts are the sum total of those experiences – millions and millions and millions of them. And that sum total enables you to make reasonable decisions.”
Former Disney CEO, Michael Eisner.
This is great news for us overthinkers!
Those of us who are deliberating back and forth, utilising energy and trying to rationalise answers, responses, expert-sought-decisions are getting it right.
And I know you are, because in our conversations together there’s a nugget of self-awareness, “Usually I get it right.”
“99% of the time, it’s correct.”
“I know I’m probably right.”
And you are! The brain science supports you – your gut intuition connects directly to your decision-making process, and yes, we can’t get it 100% right all the time, but where we are waiting to do all the sums, weight it all up and rationalise our decisions – we are just wasting time, energy and a chance of making a good decision.
It’s a real problem out there for leaders. How do you rationalise a gut-decision? How do you tell the business or the market, “I just know that’s right because I feel it.”
Sounds bananas.
But it’s true that a lot of leaders out there are having to provide a rational path response for their decisions, finding evidence, sometimes after the gut decision is shared – to back up their decision.
But what about those people who need to come up with the evidence first before sharing a gut-based-decision? – Well, unfortunately, sometimes the best decision, i.e. from the gut, is sacrificed to make way for the finding of evidence first. And that can sometimes cost time, resource of energy and sadly, a ‘good’ decision.
It’s much easier for leaders to choose the decision which bears the least risk, for fear of their head being chopped off. It’s safer to bear a bad decision based on empirical evidence than a gut decision, based on years of ‘experience’.
The key message is – if you’ve got a good set of war stories under your belt, you’re getting it right most of the time –
So, trust yourself in the process.
And if you’re a newbie to this world of working – keep asking questions and don’t be afraid to sometimes just go for it because your ‘failings’ are your best learnings.
How many of us remember the most uncomfortable, or the hardest learning curves in our working life? It’s because we gain the most experience from it and that’s really good for our intuition-based-decision-making.
You notice those people who might nod, look up toward their brain for a few moments, sway their head from side to side, or adjust their posture and then – Bam! – decision made, response given confidently – and you’re left in awe.
Some people call them wise.
I call them courageous.
Don’t overthink too much, be courageous and follow your lightning response; intuition has got your back.
