Intuit - Yes; Assume - No.

By their very nature, leaders back themselves to be right - for most founders, leaders & entrepreneurs… it is why they are where they are.

When a leader becomes successful they progress, and find themselves at the helm of an organisation or team. Charged with leading people and setting the standard for culture, it is a vastly different world to the one of gut-led execution and success they are used to. People come with nuance.

Whilst intuition remains important, ensuring clear communication with our team means we must understand the line between intuition and assumption.

INTUITION is trusting your expertise,

ASSUMPTION is filling the gap of what you do not know.

Intuition and Assumption

Intuition is best described as an unconscious expertise - using our past experiences, knowledge, skills, perceptions, and feelings to instinctively act. It allows leaders to make swift decisions without the need for deliberate thought or judgment. (Highly recommend Blink by Malcolm Gladwell for more on this.)

Assumptions, on the other hand, are conclusions drawn based on ‘what we think know’ because of past experience. Less about expertise, they often fill gaps in knowledge with unsubstantiated information which can lead to misunderstandings or misjudgments.

Generally, the distinction is trivial. However, when leading organisations and people making the distinction is necessary. Intuition is instinctive and immediate. Assumptions involve a rational thought process - often where incorrect information leaks in.

The Role of Intuition in Leadership

Effective leaders leverage intuition to navigate complex and uncertain situations. This ability to make quick, yet sound decisions is particularly valuable in high-pressure environments where time is of the essence. Like all good skills, there is a time and place. Gut-led decisions as a solo-preneur or individual contributor results in exponential growth and high-performance.

And it too may happen as a leader, though, never without the input of your team.

A leader’s role is no longer to be the smartest one in the room but to foster a collective brain, smarter than all the individuals in the room. Aim for collaborative, team intuition.

Assumptions are detrimental in a leadership context. One, they lead to decisions based on inaccurate or incomplete information; but even worse, they erode the feelings of autonomy and value from our team members.

To create an environment where your people perform their best for you and your organisation, it is crucial to differentiate between intuitive insight and impulsive assumption. Gather all information and be self-aware. Do not skip over the collective input and assume with emotions, unfounded beliefs or projection. Leader’s decisions and intuition must be informed by genuine expertise based on all the facts and everyone’s perspective.

It is a skill that can be taught and grown.

Being More Intuitive.

To mitigate the risks associated with assumptions, leaders cultivate a habit of questioning their own thought processes and seeking clarification when needed. They encourage open communication within the team to help uncover and address assumptions before they impact decision-making.

Leaders harness the power of intuition effectively by engaging in practices that enhance their self-awareness and self-reflection - they ask better questions, both of themselves and of their team. They will regularly review past decisions to understand the role intuition played and glean insights from the the outcomes achieved.

Additionally, leaders that create an environment that encourages all perspectives and seeks open dialogue will refine the speed and accuracy of their intution. They consistently expose themselves to a broader range of experiences and viewpoints for that opportunity to grow.

While intuition is a valuable tool, it should not operate in isolation. Combining intuitive insights with analytical thinking leads to more robust decision-making. Leaders enhance their credibility and effectiveness of their decisions when they validate gut-feelings with data and evidence. Keeping out intuition in check yields more positive results over the long-term.

Leading; avec Intuition, sans Assumption.

For leaders, founders and entrepreneurs, the distinction between intuition and assumption is critical. While intuition, rooted in experience and expertise, can guide leaders through complex decisions, assumptions based on incomplete information or biases can lead to missteps.

Developing self-awareness, encouraging open communication, and including your team will develop a closed-minded, solo intuition into a broad-minded leader’s intuition.