How Intuitive and Observant Personalities Can Lead Better in Uncertain Times
Learn what these personalities often overlook when the way forward isn’t clear.
What’s Coming Up
Why Intuitive leaders’ pattern-seeking can create more anxiety than clarity (even when you’re seeing real risks)
What happens when you’re so focused on preventing tomorrow’s crisis that today’s gets worse
How Observant leaders’ focus on concrete facts can make them miss what’s building
Why dismissing concerns that aren’t “real” yet might mean ignoring early warning signs
How to develop both ways of seeing so you can zoom out to patterns and zoom in to today
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Have you ever noticed how two people can look at the exact same situation and see two completely different areas to focus on or ways to move forward?
It doesn’t mean one person is right and the other is wrong – it just means that they process the information coming to them in different ways.
The difference here can be primarily attributed to the Intuitive versus Observant personality scale.
An Intuitive leader is probably already thinking three steps ahead, while an Observant leader is more focused on what’s right in front of them.
Both are convinced they’re seeing clearly. And both might be missing something their team needs them to see. Let’s explore that today!
P.S. For more information on how to lead your team (rather than yourself) through stress and uncertainty based on their personality traits, check out our past Managing Stress series.
How Intuitive Leaders React When Uncertainty Hits
If you’re an Intuitive leader, uncertainty probably makes your mind start connecting dots in every direction. This situation reminds you of three other scenarios that went sideways, and suddenly you’re mapping out five different ways things could unravel.
That pattern recognition usually serves you well. But when uncertainty hits, it can generate more anxiety than clarity. You might catch yourself raising concerns about problems that haven’t happened yet while your team is still trying to handle what’s happening right now.
You’re probably speaking in abstractions and possibilities – “we need to think about how this could affect our Q3 targets” – when your team is asking concrete questions like “what do we do today?”
Your ability to see what’s coming is genuinely valuable. But sometimes you’re so busy preventing future crises that you’re neglecting the actual one in front of you.
How to Stretch
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