Intro: The Leadership Dilemma
Intuition vs. Data: Do We Really Have to Choose?
It can be tough to operate as an intuitive person.
It is also tough to need data to know what people are experiencing.
When You Don't Have Time, Intuition Leads the Way
As a classroom teacher it was incredibly tough to have 150 kids coming in and out of my door with big needs – and little time. We had 50 minute class periods of 25-33 kids where my charge was to teach Math. I simply didn’t have the time to dig into all of the big feelings and needs I was intuiting. But my intuition did help me know when to lean into a student, when to give a student space, and when to stop a lesson because my students weren’t understanding.
Why Data Still Matters
Fun Isn't the Same as Mastery - and That's What Data Shows
In this same role, data was powerful. Sometimes I had a GREAT lesson, the kids had fun, and it felt successful. Yet when I tracked an exit ticket (hopefully I caught it before an end of unit exam), the data showed me that kids may have had fun but they did not master the content.
Being data driven and intuitive are considered two different things, but in reality they are two dimensions of the same need – how do I gather the information I need to inform my choices, decision, and behavior. In times of chaos (which seems to be perpetual these days), having a healthy balance of data and intuition is so important.
Reframing the False Choice
Intuition and Data: Two Sides of Smart Leadership
It’s important to have objective, concrete, quantifiable information. Part of what is beautiful about Math – and data – is the actual data doesn’t change, even if interpretations of it might.
The data could be:
- 30 employees called out sick today
- 20 kids were absent
- Our business opportunities increased
- Our funding was cut by $10 million
- The price of eggs increased at the grocery store by $1
This is all data. There is a verifiable truth to it. Data isn’t always accessible though, and that can be a limit.
The intuition could be:
- People look disengaged on this call
- The atmosphere felt tense
- The momentum seems slow
- There was a lot of enthusiasm
- The building felt emptier and quieter than usual
How we Use Intuition and Data
Intuition is great because it can come at micro moments and can be collected whenever. Intuition can also be overwhelming if it distracts you too quickly or easily before you have more information.
In the chaos of your work and world, make sure you can think of sources of hard, concrete data.
For us, some of our data is: customer retention, revenue, expenses, number of customers sending surveys, response rates to those surveys, number of people in our platform with an opportunity to share, profitability, employee happiness via Possip, qualitative feedback themes, and customer impact and success. And it’s important for us that we have leading indicators (what’s going to predict what happens at the end of a month, quarter or year) and lagging indicators (what does that all lead to?).
The data is critical as a measure and a predictor. Intuition is critical for innovation.
And then there’s the intuition. This company would not have existed without my sense that there’s a better way to enlist the feedback of a community of people, especially a community that an organization cares about. I had experiences. I had stories. And I went to seek data to verify my intuition.
But intuition was the first step.
When you first meet the person you may spend the rest of your life with- it is often intuition that creates the first spark. You may go about acquiring information and data…but that’s not where it starts.
And so when you’re trying to lead through tough times, inspire and spark yourself with your intuition.
It will often lead to new ideas, new connections, and creativity. But intuition is easy to lose if you don’t give yourself space and inspiration.
Leaders Who Listen Win: Grounded, Inspired, Responsive
There is a lot of mess and chaos, rabbit holes and distractions out in the world. You can get jostled from here to there with people’s opinions and ideas – but with data you can make grounded decisions.
We’d love to help you lean into both data and intuition through our listening platform. Schedule some time with us to learn more.
