Therese Houston is the author of How women decide, A book that asks – and answers – tough questions about how we see women in the workplace. She wonders whether the perception of women as less decisive than men makes a difference in the way women make actual decisions.
She is also interested in the question of “women’s intuition,” so much so that she invests an entire chapter in the question of whether women rely more on intuition than men. And whether they prefer to use intuition over facts when it comes to big decisions.
Speaking to dozens of women during her research for the book, Houston found the subject more confusing than you imagined. She writes, “I have heard this pattern over and over again in my interviews with women. In relationship decisions, at work decisions, in medical decisions, women think long and hard about their choices, but once they have made those choices, even educated, strong and powerful women put them in a box labeled Going with My Gut; following my heart, not my head; or trusting my intuition. “
What’s going on here?
One revealing hint is that there is no such term as “men’s intuition.” Men are considered more sensible, more analytical, more reasoned than women. And this is partly because women tend to talk more about gut feelings, instincts and other reasons based on emotions to do what they do. And in fact they are advised that this is a good thing.
Houston writes, “In 2015, a columnist at Psychology Today advised, ‘Women, practice this mantra: trust your inner knowledge, your intuition, that gut feeling. . . If you do not trust someone when you make a deal, go with that feeling. “But admit it? No.” Remember, it advised, ‘Emotions are unreliable in a man’s world’ “.
Houston includes a questionnaire in the book to help readers determine whether they prefer to use analytical or intuitive style when making decisions (you can also score as “adaptive”, which means you are comfortable using one or both, depending on the situation and the importance of the topic.)
The origin of the word is Latin intuition Intuitive “Look, consider” and “inside.” So the word means ‘consider from within’. This is a way to know before you know the facts, and it can be powerful. I often rely on intuition when the stakes are low. Should we eat at this new restaurant or this restaurant? What necklace should I buy for my mother as a gift? Simple analysis blocks the work on decisions like these – there may not even be a right or wrong answer to choose, anyway.
Intuition is fast and is often accompanied by a strong emotional push in one direction or another. I just wrote that I trust my intuition regarding low risk decisions, but I know many people also trust their intuition when the stakes are remarkably high. Ask anyone who has a dangerous job: firefighters, police officers, military servicemen or airmen. Everyone will tell you that they are listening to their intuition closely. They answer this to keep them alive when they do not or cannot know all the facts. When you have to make a decision about life or death in seconds, you learn to rely on your instincts.
So intuition can be life-saving, an important part of your decision-making processes. How can you hone yours, or learn to trust it more?
You learn to trust your intuition by getting quick feedback. When you make a decision based on intuition and it turns out to be good, your mind records it. And being human, we begin to build a later story that ties together the tiny things we may have noticed that pushed us toward that quick decision. Micro-expressions of a person who pointed out to us his unreliability. The dumb lobby that pointed to the restaurant is not going to be particularly good. The manager was a few minutes late for your interview. In retrospect, your decision was clear.
Houston writes about a surgeon at Seaview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington who trains its medical residents to learn to trust their intuition. She trains at a single-level trauma center, a facility that treats the injured or most severely ill patients, and sometimes flies them from hundreds of miles away.
Houston writes, “Several times a week, she and her staff need to make quick decisions about whether there is time for a CT scan or whether the patient should be rushed for surgery without any additional information. Skilled observations and expert intuitions are essential.” Amanda trains its residents to make these quick and accurate considerations with minimal information in various ways.
One way is to get instant feedback on your intuition. It directs its residents to stop at the door of each patient they visit for a few seconds. She tells them to use their intuition to decide if the patient is better today or worse.
“It’s just a guess,” she explained, “and in a moment they’ll have a look at the patient’s chart and learn if their guess was right or wrong.” Amanda wants them to mean the signs, notice the subtle hints they can connect to the vast knowledge in the textbooks they already have. She needs her fellow doctors to recognize when they can see little but know a lot. “
This is the definition of good intuition.
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Candice’s background includes human resources, recruitment, training and evaluation. She spent several years at a nationwide staffing company, serving employers at both beaches. Her writing on business, career, and employment has appeared in the Florida Times Union, the Jacksonville Business Journal, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and 904 Magazine, as well as several national publications and websites. Candice is often quoted in the media on local labor market and employment issues.
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