It may seem like an obvious point to make, but the ultimate decision-maker is always the leader himself — not the information. Within each leader, there is a still, fearless place that knows precisely what they want. When they enter this space, they get to experience instant clarity.

This place is known as their intuition. It is the source of their genius and is capable of seeing far beyond the hurdles on their path. The purpose of their intuition is to guide them towards expansive decision-making — making choices that bring them more of what they want.

Intuition is also a navigation system. It alerts you when there is trouble ahead, tells you how to navigate roadblocks, and lets you know when you are in the right or wrong place. Even if you don’t consider yourself to be intuitive, you have, at the very least, experienced it as moments of clarity in your life.Most of us have had accidental encounters with our intuition — and don’t realize that we can use this gift more deliberately to navigate all of our decisions, big and small. Our intuition is our built-in course corrector that keeps us on the path to success at every step of the way.

This all happens for two simple reasons: leaders are dealing with too much information and ignoring their intuition.

Excess information is a distraction. It generates internal noise in leaders’ minds which makes it a lot more difficult for them to discern the truth about where they need to go next. The real challenge leaders face in decision-making is figuring out how to get rid of the information that doesn’t serve them while retaining the ideas that do.

When it comes to boosting your leadership skills, your intuition is your best asset for steering people to higher ground. As a leader, you have a greater responsibility to seek the truth — and to transcend the influences of ego, fear, and other distorted information that comes at you from the outside world.

Here are some questions to help you boost the integrity of your decision-making: <ul><li>What information are you using to make your decision — and where did it come from? </li><li>What influences are coming through that may steer you down a less desirable path? </li><li>What does each possible choice say about the leader you want to become more of? </li></ul>

After all, leadership isn’t just a job title. It’s a role that you continue to carve out for yourself through each and every one of your decisions.

Intuition is a superpower. As a tool, it is capable of sorting through all of the bits of information you receive. You don’t have to run the risk of blocking out valuable ideas. Instead, you can take any information that flows into your awareness and use your intuition to instantly discern what is true and useful from what isn’t. This gives you permission to stop hoarding information. You can release the build-up that clutters your mind, spirals you into confusion, and ultimately holds yoy back from acting on your best knowledge.

Being a master at decision-making means knowing exactly what needs to be done and the right timing for making one’s choices. But for most leaders, this state of perfect clarity is a utopia. In reality, decision-making comes with a lot of pressure and confusion, especially when the stakes are high. It isn’t uncommon for leaders to feel tormented by their choices. They grapple with the fear of regret and self-doubt. They overthink, overanalyze, and second guess their best instincts. Their sense of inner peace vanishes as they wrangle with their options.

When leaders hesitate to make a decision, the story they tell themselves is that they don’t have enough information to act on. But that is rarely the case. Leaders pull information from a variety of sources in order to make their decisions. In addition to pondering their own thoughts and past experiences, their personal worries and fears also join the decision committee in order to influence the outcome. And let’s not forget the heaps of information that come at leaders from the outside world — all those who inundate them with their opinions, feelings, and ideas about what needs to happen.

Mastering the art and science of decision-making allows leaders to experience breakthrough growth. The more accurate their decisions, the more adept they become at steering their organization towards greatness.

What distinguishes you as a leader from others in your organization is the impact of your decisions: The choices you make ultimately have wider ripple effects, for better or for worse.  Therefore, your leadership decisions have to hold a lot of integrity, meaning that your choices must consistently reflect who you are on a fundamental level. As you access more of your intuitive knowing — the source of your truth — you stay connected with the decisions that align with your true nature.

Corporate coach Bianca Dove observes that leaders’ choices ultimately have wider ripple effects, for better or for worse. Therefore, leadership decisions have to hold a lot of integrity. Here’s how to use one tool to get to the truest decision-making.
