Intuition — it’s a rather esoteric word, isn’t it? What it means in the world of leadership is how capable am I of sensing what’s going on in a room, taking the temperature of the room, checking the mood of the room.

Those who have good intuition understand this poster . . .  dare I say . . .  intuitively. Every message that I send is comprised 7% of words, 38% of tone of voice, 55% of non-verbals. Please imagine my wife and I sitting at the breakfast table, and I’m reading the newspaper.  She says to me, “Do you love me.” And I say to her in a gruff voice without taking my eyes off the newspaper, “Yes, I love you”

She doesn’t believe me.  Now, my words were right, but she doesn’t believe me.  So, she asked again, “Do you love me?”  I say in a sweet tone not looking up from the newspaper, “Yes, I love you.”

She doesn’t believe me. My words are right, but my tone of voice is right. However, I’m going to have to put the paper down. I’m going to have to look at her and say in a loving tone with direct eye contact, “Yes, I love you” if she’s going to buy my message.  That shows the power of the non-verbals.

In growing your intuition as a leader, the understanding of body language–non-verbals–is essential. Ignoring those will cause a leader to lose his or her strength. Sometimes, it’s the rolling of an eye. Sometimes, it’s a sigh. Sometimes, it’s just something you sensed, but you’ve never had the confidence to express it and discuss it. Try this “If you sense it, say it.”

Those leaders that continue to grow in their leadership learn to use the phrase, “I sense that _________. Am I right?” They have the courage to ask that question so that they understand not only the words, but the tone of voice.  They have confidence in their ability to sense non-verbals and not ignore those non-verbals. That’s the power of building solid intuition. That’s the power of being able to read a room.