On face value, it’s easy to think that human capital and intuition would surely have little to do with each other. In fact, they’re deeply interconnected in ways that influence individual, team, and organizational outcomes. Human capital, broadly defined as the collective skills, knowledge, and experiences possessed by individuals, serves as the foundation for intuition, so the better, richer, and more developed your human capital, the better, richer, and more developed your intuition is likely to be.
Intuition, that gut feeling, or sense of energy and alignment which so often characterizes intuition, isn’t a mystical force available to a few special people. It’s a core part of an individual’s human capital, and what matters is the dynamic interplay between both; that’s what shapes decision-making, innovation, leadership, and organizational success.
Let me elaborate.
Human capital is often subdivided into two important dimensions: explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge refers to information that is codified and can be easily communicated, such as facts, formulas, and process. Tacit knowledge, on the other hand, is more personal and harder to articulate. It includes skills and ideas that you get through practice and observation. That tacit knowledge plays a particularly important role in the development of your intuition.
Intuition is a mental, physical, and energetic process that allows you to arrive at conclusions in seconds, often in the absence of deliberate reasoning. For example, I might have the thought that I should call my colleague Vicki, a feeling that this is the right moment to do it, and the energy then to pick up the phone and call her. When I did this a couple of months ago, she had her phone in her hand to call me about an issue she was trying to solve. But it’s the opposite of analysis which can be tough to learn and lengthy to apply.
Those intuitions are particularly useful in difficult, ambiguous, or high-pressure situations where time and information are limited, data isn’t available, and yet as a leader, you still have to make a decision. And as you become more senior, it becomes more important.
Research among CEOs confirms that intuition specifically helps with both deriving meaning from numbers and models as well as enabling groups to reach important decisions. And these CEOs emphasize that a solid intuitive ability is one of the most noticeable differences between their best leaders and the also-rans.
Here are some important data points backing that up.
When questioned, 69 out of 70 CEOs confirmed intuition was important in their decision-making. That’s pretty much 99%.
75% of C-suite executives say they rely on it.
62% of leaders say they often use intuition when making decisions.
Nearly 50% of managers consider their gut feel is very important.
Meaning as you develop your executive career, the more you use and value your intuition.
And here’s the good news; all you need to do is prime yourself, notice and understand your intuitive cues. Because everyone has this skill even if not everyone uses it. One recent experiment showed that when executives were forced to use intuition to choose between two options, they were right 90% of the time. So, intuition works well, particularly in complex situations, and it improves with experience.
1. Experience as the foundation for intuition
Experience is one of the most critical components of human capital, and it is also the primary source of intuition. Through repeated exposure to specific situations, you’ll develop a mental library of patterns and outcomes. These patterns are stored in your subconscious mind, where they can be accessed quickly when needed. For example, all the medics I’ve ever worked with, have all had the experience of seeing a patient and knowing without any evidence that something wasn’t right. And all the successful senior leaders I’ve ever coached, develop intuition around the best hires and the right strategic choices – as well as recognizing bs when it’s served up to them. Those accurate intuitions simply reflect their extensive human capital.
2. Mentoring enhances intuition
Bosses who share their experience and encourage intuition in others, are in fact fast-tracking the human capital of their team members in highly practical ways. And they start to make it psychologically safe to have and use intuitions and to trust them in the process.
Here’s what Hal Reisiger, CEO of Cosworth said when I interviewed him.
“I try to foster intuition in our executive team and if members of the executive team really feel strongly about something, even if I feel nervous, I’m ready to offer them what I call a ‘gimme.’ That means I don’t get it and what they suggest is making my antennae go up. But if they feel that strongly about it, and it’s within what I think is an acceptable risk profile, let’s do it. I want to encourage a learning-based intuition, where over time as we all get more and more experienced, our intuition gets better and better.”
3. Get out of the office and stop answering emails
It’s impossible to have intuitions or truly develop your human capital if you’re spending most of your time managing your in-box. Answering one more email won’t change the world, but a meeting with someone new might change yours. Serial entrepreneur Bill Liao, who monetized the first social network, Xing, met his future business partner through striking up a conversation while they were both waiting in line. Intuition will often lead us to places where we can experience those amazing serendipities and synchronicities.
You won’t have intuitions about situations you’re managing if you rush from meeting to meeting with no time to pause and ask yourself ‘what does this mean’? Or to notice your responses to something. I find that it’s ironic so many people are taught active listening yet pay no attention to their own internal cues. Noticing your energy and response to something is half the intuitive battle.
It rocks both ways
While human capital is the very foundation for intuition, the reverse is also true. Intuition can amplify the value of your human capital by enabling you to apply your knowledge and skills faster and more effectively.
Grow your intuition by developing your human capital
Given the strong connection between human capital and intuition, you can develop both by trying the following:
Self-coaching: Try asking yourself these questions when you face a tough decision:
What’s my gut feeling about this?
What’s my intuition telling me to do?
If my boss wasn’t here and I had to decide right now, what would I do?
If I could ask someone I hold in high esteem, what would they say or do?
Diverse Experiences: Exposure to a variety of roles, people, activities, and cultures broadens your perspective and will always enrich your tacit knowledge. What museums, films, events, vacations, or volunteering activities can you do that will stretch your comfort zone and give you interesting and new perspectives?
Reflective Practices: Intuition is strengthened through reflection and feedback. Look at recent decisions you made and how you made them. Note down what made some a yes and others a no. If you used your intuition, how did it show up? There’s nothing like success to build trust in your own process. And if you get something wrong, don’t beat yourself up. Deal with it as you reflect and ask yourself what you learned in the process.
Get mentoring: Ask your boss about their intuitions and get them to share their experiences. Even better, when they are making decisions ask them how they are doing it, so you have some real time learning.
And remember…
Intuition, like all of us, is imperfect, in the same way that data often is too. I know my intuition is off when I’m tired, so I’ll sleep on something before committing when my gas tank is empty. And intuition can be influenced by bias, emotion, and incomplete information which is why playing back your thoughts and decisions to others before you act on them is so important. But when you have intuitions about your data, and get data to back up your intuitions, you’ll be rapidly adding to your human capital. Most likely you’ll be making fast and accurate choices which let’s remember is what everyone gets promoted and rewarded for.
Jessica Pryce-Jones, author of INTUITION AT WORK: Using Your Gut Feelings To Get Ahead, started her career in finance where she learned about numbers, strategy and leadership. After ten years in the corporate world, she completed a psychology degree – she wanted to understand why some of her bosses were brilliant and others were dismal. Those insights launched a new career facilitating, coaching, designing interventions and writing. For more information, please visit webpsyched.com.
