INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.
Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, welcomed Gitte Madelaire to provide another commentary in a series.
The Gitte Madelaire Commentaries
Data, data, data – we crave it and cannot get enough. Since the computer and the internet took over, we have been swamped in data and information.
Welcome to the seventh article in the series “Be the Leader You Aspire to Be” here on The Price of Business Show, where I will focus on the trends which lie ahead of us and how they will affect humans and businesses. The articles are based on my book Energetic Leadership, which talks about 9 trends leaders must navigate to cater for employees increasing demand for more spiritual leadership and sustainable business models aligned with their life purposes. These articles are about business leadership in the new era. I hope you will find inspiration for your own leadership and the leader you aspire to be.
The first article outlined 9 trends for business leadership and focused on authentic curiosity as a key competency for leaders to master. The second and third articles explained the concept of energy frequencies as the source of our true potential, followed by the alignment of the company purpose with the life purposes of employees and customers. The fourth covered the 6-5 different generations currently working, the fifth focused on self-care and the ability to be present and the sixth was about uncertainty and how to navigate in it.
In the seventh article we will look at data in combination with intuition and why that is so important.
Leadership not just our own but particularly business leadership depends on proper decision-making as many people are influenced by them.
Therefore, combining data and intuition in decision-making is essential because it creates a balanced approach that leverages the strengths of both analytical and experiential knowledge. Here’s why this combination is important:
Data Provides Objectivity and Accuracy
- Quantifiable Insights: Data offers concrete, measurable facts that reduce subjectivity.
- Pattern Recognition: Analyzing data helps identify trends, correlations, and anomalies that might not be immediately evident.
- Predictive Power: Data models can forecast outcomes based on historical trends, helping to anticipate future scenarios.
Intuition Offers Context and Creativity
- Human Experience: Intuition is often the result of accumulated experience and subtle knowledge that cannot always be quantified.
- Adaptability: While data may reflect past patterns, intuition allows flexibility to respond to novel or unforeseen circumstances.
- Innovation: Intuition can inspire creative solutions that data alone might not suggest, especially in ambiguous or rapidly changing situations.
Data and Intuition Compensate for Each Other’s Weaknesses
- Avoiding Data Overload: Relying solely on data can lead to “blindness and clutter by analysis,” where excessive information prevents timely decisions.
- Reducing Bias: Intuition alone can be swayed by cognitive biases; data serves as a check against unfounded assumptions.
- Enhancing Decision Quality: Data validates intuition, while intuition adds depth and nuance to data-driven insights and their models.
Decision-Making Made Better and Faster
- Uncertain times: In times of perma-crisis it is crucial to have a balanced approach.
- Dynamic Environments: In fast-moving industries, intuition helps to make quick decisions where data may be incomplete.
- Strategic Decisions: High-level choices often require a mix of hard data and a “gut feeling” about market dynamics, consumer behavior, or competitive landscapes.
One example: The two American economists who were foresightful in their work and better at it than their colleagues around the world, were the two star economists Lawrence Summers and Olivier Jean Blanchard. They managed to predict the inflation crisis in 2021 not just based on models and data but also by looking out the window – using their common sense, intuition & foresight.
Another example: Imagine a company launching a new product. Data can provide information on market demand, target demographics, and pricing strategies, while intuition helps interpret subtle signals like brand alignment, cultural trends, or emotional resonance with the audience.
Combining data and intuition allows for holistic decision-making, balancing empirical evidence with human judgment. This synergy is especially valuable in an era where data is abundant, but the human touch is still crucial for creativity and adaptability. And the two go hand in hand. Decision-making based on one of them will be unbalanced.
I hope you got some insight to why data and intuition must danse the tango to have even better ways of making business leadership decisions.
Gitte Madelaire is an intuitive and visionary pioneer in leadership development. People, customers, business development, and futurism have always interested and motivated her. With a background in corporate business at companies such as Fona/HMW, Codan Insurance, Volvo Trucks and Ensure, she now inspires to new leadership through her book,” Energetic Leadership”, keynotes, facilitation and mentoring for leaders in her company Bronte ApS. Gitte holds a BSc in Business Administration from Copenhagen Business School and an MBA semester from the University of Victoria. She also has traditional leadership courses and certifications in intuitive and feminine future leadership, inner sustainability, and energy-based leadership. Gitte has lived in London, Sydney, and Kuala Lumpur and currently resides in Denmark.
Learn more at www.energeticleadership.eu.
Connect with Gitte Madelaire on social media:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gittemadelaire/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gitte.madelaire/
X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/GitteMadelaire
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