Did you ever just “know” something without being able to explain why? Maybe you met someone and instantly trusted them. Or you had a feeling about a project that turned out to be right. Sometimes it happens when you walk into a room and immediately sense whether you like the energy there. Other times it’s in a voice on the other end of the phone — you can tell, without seeing their face, whether something feels off or whether it’s genuine..
That’s intuition at work. And it shows up far beyond daily life. Art experts, for example, often rely on an immediate gut sense of whether a piece is genuine. Martin Kemp, one of the world’s leading Leonardo da Vinci scholars, once said, “When I see a picture, in most cases, I recognize it at once as being, or not being, by the master it is ascribed to; the rest is merely a question of how to fish out the evidence that will make the conviction as plain to others as it is to me.” His certainty came not from analysis, but from a visceral recognition he could feel before he could explain.
We see the same thing in business. Take Instagram’s launch of Stories. Co-founder Kevin Systrom trusted his instinct that people wanted a way to share more authentic, fleeting content. It wasn’t the data that convinced him — it was an intuitive sense of where culture was heading. That decision transformed Instagram’s relevance almost overnight. And intuition in business isn’t random. The Business Intuition Institute even outlines an “Intuitive Decision-Making Model,” showing how leaders can recognize, trust, and act on these inner signals in a structured way.
Even in the way we describe these moments, we don’t usually say, “I thought it.” We say, “I felt it.” That’s because intuition doesn’t arrive as a neat line of reasoning. It shows up as a gut feeling, a physical sense, a quiet knowing that lands in the body before the brain has words for it. It might be a tightening in your chest, a lightness in your step, or a sense of ease when something feels right.
In leadership, learning to notice and trust those signals can take you to another level.
Defining Intuitive Leadership
Intuitive leadership is the skill of recognizing and trusting insights that surface before reason can explain them — then integrating those insights with analysis to make better decisions.
It’s about leading with your whole self, drawing on data, experience, and intuition together. The result is a more rounded, adaptive approach to decision-making, especially in moments of uncertainty.
Why Intuition Matters for Leaders
Leaders are already expected to master strategy, analysis, and expertise. But the reality is that most decisions are made with imperfect information. Markets shift, people are unpredictable, and opportunities often appear before the data has caught up.
Intuition adds another tool to the leadership toolbox. It provides a different kind of intelligence, one that complements the mind, experience, and academic training leaders already rely on.
When leaders integrate intuition with analysis, they:
- Move faster when decisions can’t wait for perfect data.
- See patterns earlier, picking up signals others might miss.
- Connect more deeply with people and environments, sensing what isn’t being said.
- Lead more holistically, blending head knowledge with embodied knowing.
In short, intuition helps leaders navigate uncertainty with confidence and authenticity. It’s not about being mystical or irrational. It’s about leading with your whole self.
The Neuroscience of Intuition
Intuition isn’t mystical. It’s the result of biology and experience working faster than conscious thought. Neuroscience shows that most of the brain’s processing happens below awareness. Your subconscious is constantly scanning for cues, comparing them with past experiences, and surfacing a “gut sense” long before you can explain why.
The body plays a role too. Through the gut–brain axis and vagus nerve, intuition often shows up as physical sensation: a tight chest, restless energy, or a lightness that signals ease. These embodied cues are data, just delivered in a different language than spreadsheets or KPIs.
For leaders, this means intuition is not the opposite of reason. It is another form of intelligence. And like any intelligence, it can be cultivated.
The Four Practices of Intuitive Leadership
Intuitive leadership is a skill you can strengthen through practice. These four steps create the conditions for intuition to surface and guide decisions alongside reason.
1. Ground Yourself and Create Space
Intuition shows up when you are present. By grounding yourself and protecting small pockets of stillness, you create the conditions for inner signals to surface. This can look like pausing for a few breaths before a meeting, taking a short walk between tasks, or building reflection time into your day.
How to Try It: Before your next decision or meeting, take two minutes to close your eyes and breathe slowly. Ask yourself: What’s really going on inside me right now? What do I sense here, beyond the agenda?
2. Notice and Trust the Signals
Intuition often speaks through the body — a sense of ease, a gut pull, or a quiet knowing. By learning to notice and respect these signals, you strengthen your ability to use them in meaningful ways.
How to Try It: When faced with a choice, say each option out loud: Option A… Option B. Pay attention to which one feels lighter, calmer, or more energizing in your body. That subtle response is your intuition speaking.
3. Integrate with Reason
Intuition can become even more powerful when combined with logic and analysis. Reason helps test and refine what intuition signals, and intuition can point you toward patterns that data alone might miss. The strongest decisions come from drawing on both.
How to Try It: Before finalizing a decision, write down two columns: What the data says and What my gut says. If they align, move forward with confidence. If they diverge, explore the tension — it may reveal an insight worth considering.
4. Spot Patterns and Refine Your Intuition
Intuition gets stronger when you look back and notice how it’s been speaking to you. Journaling, reflection or even a simple “intuition log” helps you see what signals show up repeatedly – and when they’re accurate.
How to Try It: Keep a small notebook when you joy down intuitive hits (big or small) and later note what unfolded. Over time, you’ll see your unique “language of intuition” emerge.
Bringing It All Together
Intuitive leadership is about leading with your whole self. Data, analysis, and expertise matter – and so do the inner signals that surface before reason has words for them. When leaders ground themselves, create space, notice and trust their signals, and integrate those insights with reason, they expand their capacity to make wise, human, and innovative decisions.
Intuition is a skill that can be practiced, refined, and trusted. And for leaders navigating uncertainty, it may be the edge that sets them apart.
If you want to experiment with these practices yourself, download the Intuitive Leadership Guide and try the simple exercises. Notice what surfaces when you give your intuition space to speak.
