Have you ever ignored the feeling that something was “off” in a particular situation only to regret it later?
Do you ever sense that something isn’t quite right, but you can’t easily define it in the moment?
Many leaders reflect on past situations and wish they would’ve acted on these feelings or thoughts once the truth comes to light and negative results occur. They wish they would’ve “trusted their gut” instead of pushing down their feelings.
If you want to become a more effective leader who heads off inevitable problems, consider the following:
1 – Understand the Importance of “Insight” in Leadership
Insight is the ability to see what’s deep inside a person, relationship, situation, or problem. It’s a combination of wise discernment, examined experience, and revelation that comes from it. Results tend to prove the validity of insight after the fact. Without insight, leaders are dependent on external factors alone. With insight, you can head off problems before they arrive even when others don’t understand how you knew the dangers in advance. The more experiences you have, the more insightful you become. It’s a key part of maturing as a leader.
2 – Trust Your Insight
Once you understand that you have insight based on lessons learned from reflecting on past experiences, it’s time to trust your internal warning system. You’ll need to become courageous to trust what you “feel” rather than what you “know” or what is visible to everyone else around you. When others around you don’t sense what you do, it can be challenging to convince them otherwise. However, don’t back down when you believe something is off. Leadership requires bold decisions, even when things don’t make sense in the moment.
3 – Act Accordingly
As you trust your insight, sometimes you’ll need to delay decisions in order to do more research. When you don’t have the luxury of more time, you must step out in faith and make the call while hoping you’re proven right after the results play out. Trusting your insight isn’t for the faint of heart. Expect pushback or criticism. Stay the course while you wait for the results to verify your insights. The more experiences you have, the more confident you’ll become. The key is to keep acting on your insights until it becomes as normal as breathing.
Becoming an insightful leader is extremely valuable in our ever-changing world. Things move so fast that you’ll often find yourself having to make quick decisions with limited information. Everyone would love to have all the data needed to proceed with confidence, but it’s just not realistic. We must make quick, insightful decisions which require boldness and courage.
Imagine becoming the kind of leader people believe in because, even if they don’t understand why you make certain decisions, they know that you aren’t just “winging it”.
Imagine allowing yourself to tap into your years of experience and training to inform your important decisions in any given situation.
Imagine being the kind of leader people trust because, even though they can’t define it, they know you will make wise decisions in the most critical moments.
This can be your reality when you begin to understand the importance of insight better, trust it in critical moments, and then take appropriate action to lead your team to greater levels of success.
In my new book, The Magnetic Leader: 18 Essential Actions of Leaders People Love to Follow, I go much deeper into Essential Action #7 – Trusts Insight. CLICK HERE to join the waiting list to get updates on when the book will be released and receive a FREE POSTER revealing all 18 Essential Actions!
Until next time…make today GREAT!
