Approaches for Balancing Intuition and Analysis in Decisions

Practicing intellectual curiosity is critical to a leader’s journey of continuous learning and growth. We must ask questions, listen actively, seek out different perspectives, and challenge our assumptions. Many leaders read voraciously, reflect regularly, and engage with coaches and mentors to ensure we are exposed to new ideas, insights, and feedback. One practice that has helped me learn and evolve over the years is tracking and analyzing the outcomes of my decisions. This is not about dwelling on mistakes but about accountability, continuous improvement, and leading with intention. I started this as a mid-level manager, thanks to a great boss who taught me how to balance data and instincts—a critical skill to have when you need to make a decision urgently in the absence of a complete set of facts. He coached me to start recording my gut instincts whenever I had to make a decision. I would do a quick gut check and put that insight aside. I would then approach the decision analytically, weighing all the available data to make a determination. Over time, we’d compare the two approaches, tracking the success rate through the years. This practice has stayed with me—in fact, I’m still tracking business decisions I made in Southeast Europe, Germany, and Southeast Asia over the years! As importantly, I track the successful careers of employees I hired, coached, and promoted. This is not only a useful learning exercise of what worked and what didn’t, but also a wonderful way to celebrate the success of others. What are some practices that help you continuously learn and grow? #Leadership #Development #Curiosity #ContinuousLearning #DecisionMaking

Rethinking Intuition: Why Are Executives So Afraid To Trust Their Instincts? Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow makes the case clearly: intuitive (System 1) thinking can be highly effective in domains where people have deep experience and frequent feedback loops.¹ In other words, intuition is not the opposite of reason, it’s reason, compressed. Our species spent over 99% of its history navigating complex environments without spreadsheets, dashboards, or predictive models. Modern management tends to elevate only what can be measured. But some of the most respected leaders in business have pushed back against that orthodoxy: Steve Jobs: “Intuition is more powerful than intellect.” Jeff Bezos: Amazon’s boldest moves came from “heart and intuition, not analysis.” Indra Nooyi: Navigated strategic ambiguity by listening to her gut. And the research supports them. A 2022 Harvard Business Review article notes that executives who integrate analytics with experience-based intuition consistently outperform those relying on data alone.² The BARC “Data Culture” survey (2021) found that 58% of firms base at least half of their decisions on experience or instinct Intuition becomes even more important as Generative AI floods organizations with simulations of language and logic. So how can leaders use intuition responsibly? Build Domain Expertise: Intuition improves with experience and repetition. Reflect Deliberately: Use tools like journaling or peer review to surface and refine intuitive signals. Integrate with Analytics: Don’t override your gut, but don’t blindly trust it either. Stress-test it. Recalibrate Over Time: After big decisions, look back. Was your intuition right? Why or why not? Bottom line: Data matters. But it rarely tells the whole story. Maybe the problem with many businesses is that we hide behind our data because we lack the courage to trust ourselves. ******************************************************************************** The trick with technology is to avoid spreading darkness at the speed of light Full disclosure: I’m the Founder & CEO of Curiouser.AI, a Generative AI platform and strategic advisory focused on elevating organizations and augmenting human intelligence through strategic coaching and values-based leadership. I also teach Marketing and AI Ethics at UC Berkeley. If you're a CEO or board member committed to building a stronger, values-driven organization in the age of AI, reach out, we’d welcome the conversation. Visit curiouser.ai, DM me, or connect on Hubble: https://lnkd.in/gphSPv_e Sources Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. Huang, L. et al. (2022). “How to Integrate Data and Intuition in Strategic Decisions.” Harvard Business Review. BARC (2021). “Data Culture Survey: Creating a Data-Driven Enterprise.”

Everyone talks about making the "right" decision. But here's what they miss: The goal isn't to make the perfect choice. It's to make a resilient one. After 2000+ hours coaching leaders, here are the new rules of decision-making that actually work: 1️⃣ Your emotions aren't the enemy When we try to suppress feelings to be more analytical, we miss valuable signals. Your emotions are an important source of decision-making data. 2️⃣ "Trust your gut" isn't enough The best decisions come from combining intuition with structured analysis. Getting your head and heart aligned makes ALL the difference. 3️⃣ Use a framework, not fortune telling → Capture what matters systematically by using frameworks like 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲-𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 → Organize the information you have with a 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘅 → Explore uncertainties and possible actions with a 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳-𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 → Articulating your decision quality statement 4️⃣ Focus on what you control You can't control: → The outcome → Other people's reactions → External circumstances You can control: → How you communicate about your decision → The process you use → Who you engage with and how Remember: The quality of your decision and the quality of the outcome are two separate things. Which of these resonated with you most? Drop a number below. -- Hi! I'm Michelle - Decision Engineer, Executive Coach, & Speaker. If you want to learn how to make decisions with less stress and more clarity, follow for more. If you'd like to bring decision frameworks to your team, send me a DM.

Last week, I posted about data strategies’ tendency to focus on the data itself, overlooking the (data-driven) decisioning process itself. All it not lost. First, it is appropriate that the majority of the focus remains on the supply of high-quality #data relative to the perceived demand for it through the lenses of specific use cases. But there is an opportunity to complement this by addressing the decisioning process itself. 7 initiatives you can consider: 1) Create a structured decision-making framework that integrates data into the strategic decision-making process. This is a reusable framework that can be used to explain in a variety of scenarios how decisions can be made. Intuition is not immediately a bad thing, but the framework raises awareness about its limitations, and the role of data to overcome them. 2) Equip leaders with the skills to interpret and use data effectively in strategic contexts. This can include offering training programs focusing on data literacy, decision-making biases, hypothesis development, and data #analytics techniques tailored for strategic planning. A light version could be an on-demand training. 3) Improve your #MI systems and dashboards to provide real-time, relevant, and easily interpretable data for strategic decision-makers. If data is to play a supporting role to intuition in a number of important scenarios, then at least that data should be available and reliable. 4) Encourage a #dataculture, including in the top executive tier. This is the most important and all-encompassing recommendation, but at the same time the least tactical and tangible. Promote the use of data in strategic discussions, celebrate data-driven successes, and create forums for sharing best practices. 5) Integrate #datascientists within strategic planning teams. Explore options to assign them to work directly with executives on strategic initiatives, providing data analysis, modeling, and interpretation services as part of the decision-making process. 6) Make decisioning a formal pillar of your #datastrategy alongside common existing ones like data architecture, data quality, and metadata management. Develop initiatives and goals focused on improving decision-making processes, including training, tools, and metrics. 7) Conduct strategic data reviews to evaluate how effectively data was used. Avoid being overly critical of the decision-makers; the goal is to refine the process, not question the decisions themselves. Consider what data could have been sought at the time to validate or challenge the decision. Both data and intuition have roles to play in strategic decision-making. No leap in data or #AI will change that. The goal is to balance the two, which requires investment in the decision-making process to complement the existing focus on the data itself. Full POV ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e3F-R6V7

“I have to talk to you today, no matter how late it is,” my client said anxiously in her voice message. She’d been offered two opportunities, and because of her proven performance, her company asked her to choose which one she’d prefer. We worked for almost 2 hours on a decision matrix that included financial, career, and personal growth factors, as well as fulfillment, meaning, and joy in her work. When everything had been considered, she made an enthusiastic choice of “Option 1” and was ready to email her decision. “What if you waited until tomorrow?” I suggested softly. I could see the surprise on her face and the strong pull of wanting to take action. Reluctantly, she agreed. The next morning she emailed her company that she was passionately accepting “Option 2.” When we spoke later, I asked what changed her decision. “I can’t really explain it,” she said. “But as I waited, my perspective began to shift. Things that I had minimized in our analysis grew larger in my mind, and some of the intangibles became more important.” I don’t how this happens, but it almost always does. When my clients approach a major decision, they either lead with their mental analysis of the pros and cons, or they focus more on how it feels emotionally. Unfortunately, neither perspective gives them the full insight they need. But when they wait long enough for the earth to make one full rotation, it enables the mind and heart to somehow connect - for the practical and the purposeful to blend into a truer conclusion. Try this the next time you’re faced with a big decision: do your homework and then wait before you act. You’ll not only make a better decision, you’ll create a life with fewer regrets. #coaching #heroic #happiness ThriveHer