I’ve long been fascinated by the
concept of intuition, particularly
as it relates to coaching and
coach training. How on earth
did I “know” my client was
feeling lost when she told me
everything was going just fine?
How did I find the perfect
metaphor popping out of my
mouth without having to think
about it? For me, summing it
up with the word “intuition”
just wasn’t enough. I wanted to
know if this knowing was some
magical, mystical process only
available to those who walk on
the “woo-woo” side of things, or
something else altogether.
aspects. So let’s look at the
system itself.
part of my coaching intuition
system, a data set I draw on
unconsciously.
My brain
maps patterns
and looks for
connections
automatically,
and because
there is so
much to
draw on, it
can provide
insight with
tremendous
subtlety and accuracy.
“Everyone has more or
less access to each aspect
of the system, and—
here’s the important
part—I believe everyone
can develop greater
competence in all aspects.”
Context Counts
As I explored the neuroscience
of coaching in greater
depth, I developed a better
understanding of intuition. I
now recognize that it’s not a
magical process only some of
us experience, but a system
accessible to all. I believe
“system” is the keyword here,
because intuition involves
numerous aspects of brain,
body and relationship, all
working together at once.
A participant in a coachingskills training that I led several
years ago was convinced she
had no intuition. We sent her
home to practice anyway. When
she came back the next day,
she said, “I went home with no
interest in doing my homework,
so I worked on a grant proposal
instead. In the middle of it, as I
found myself slotting in numbers
and responding to outcome
questions, I realized that what
you are calling intuition, I just call
common sense.”
As a coach-in-training, oh-somany years ago, my instructors
told me, “Everyone accesses
their intuition differently.” Some
people, I was told, feel things
in their body, some visualize
images and still others “just
know.” This makes perfect
sense when you view intuition
systematically. Everyone has
more or less access to each
aspect of the system, and—
here’s the important part—I
believe everyone can develop
greater competence in all
I love reflecting back on that
conversation, especially given
that it makes sense from a
brain perspective. Some of
our intuition, it turns out, is
domain-specific; i.e., contingent
on how much experience we
have in a certain area. For
example, I have been coaching
and teaching for 12 years and
have thousands of hours of
experience with human beings.
Relationships, leadership,
growth, misery, joy—I have truly
just about heard it all. This is
Conversely, if you asked me
to predict what new fashion
trends will emerge next year,
I’d be at a loss. I have very little
experience in that arena. Send
me to buy a new clothing line
for a department store, and I’d
have to rely almost completely
on rational analysis—a slow
and painful process. On the
other hand, if you assigned the
same task to my friend, who
worked as a retail buyer for 20
years, he’d make his selections
immediately and intuitively,
based on his understanding of
which items would and wouldn’t
sell. And it’s a lot more likely
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