In a previous article, I talked about the power of tapping into your intuition and how your intuition can spare you from harm or even save lives (yours and others). But, what else can intuition do? Hay, Jung, and Orloff have already alluded to its creative abilities. However, Vishen Lakhiani, gives a bit deeper insight when he says that "there are 4 levels of intuition. Level 1 is your warning system. Level 2 revolves around your social intuition. Level 3 is your creative intuition and level 4 is higher purpose intuition." We've already discussed your early warning system in a previous article and if you haven't yet tapped into that and begun using it, I would highly recommend you do! It could just save your life!
But what is this level 2 social intuition Lakhiani talks about and how could it possibly improve your career? Social Intuition is a highly attuned function found commonly in twins and also in people who have empathetically learned to sense the moods and thoughts of those they are emotionally close to, like a mother sitting in the living room, sensing that her son on the other side of the globe is in danger. Or one twin finishing the other's sentences. The best of the world's leaders have developed this type of intuition and when utilized in business as a means of sensing the thoughts and moods of staff and customers, serves managers well.
Deborah Allen tells the story of her daughters' intuition:
When my identical twin girls, Ashley and Rachael, were about a month old, Rachael developed a very high temperature. I took her to the doctor and he immediately admitted her to hospital. As I had another baby and a two year old at home I was unable to stay with Rachael at the hospital. The first night away from home Rachael was very restless and would not settle. Ashley was the same, she just would not settle. The next night was the same.
As Rachael was still unwell, the doctor decided to keep her in hospital for another night, but asked if I could take Ashley to the hospital and leave her there the night to see if either of the girls would settle. They both slept soundly all night! The staff at the hospital were amazed. It appeared that at such a young age the girls knew their sister was not there! The girls slept in separate bassinets on opposite sides of my bed. My girls are now 16 and are still extremely close. They share the same room still and they have the same group of friends. They sometimes appear to communicate to each other without talking (although they don't realize that they do it) and they often finish each other sentences or answer questions for each other. This mental telepathy Allen describes is a form of social intuition and is not just restricted to twins.
B. Andrews of White Plains, New York tells an embarrassing story of a colleague's use of social intuition:
I work for an advertising agency as a copywriter and I want to relay my experiences with a graphic artist, which [experiences] never fail to astonish me. Her name is Angel and she is truly an angel. The way we work it here in the office is I'm given an assignment, usually a product for which to create an ad. I'll write the copy, then arrange a meeting with Angel so she can do the artwork. Our mission is to create an ad or ads that people will be drawn to and remember. When I first sit down with Angel, I am usually geared up to present her with my ideas, but most of the time she simply picks up on my thoughts and starts sketching ideas that I have in my mind.
I don't know how she does it, but time after time she usually hits it on the mark. She has the ability to climb inside my head, and it's both fascinating and unnerving. One minor problem is she is quite beautiful and sexy, but we stay careful not to get personal as our company has strict policies about 'extra-curricular' activities. The problem, of course, is sometimes I can't take my eyes off her and she knows exactly what I'm thinking. I mean to the last detail, if you know what I mean. It has happened more than once when I have a vision of the two of us in a compromising position, and she has whispered in my ear, "Nice thought but forget it buster." Fortunately she has a good sense of humor, but it is unnerving knowing she can sense what I am envisioning. It helps in creating an advertising campaign but embarrassing when I'm thinking of 'other' things. I guess Andrews forgot to keep his 'business hat' on.
Another example of social intuition in the workplaceis that of The DeMoss Group. Mark DeMoss, CEO, had a strong connection with his social intuition. He wanted to create a strong company with happy employees, like any CEO would. Being in tune with his intuition, DeMoss sensed "that without good people-trusted, professional, respected, motivated, inspired, rested people-I have no firm." His intuition told him that after five years of dedicated hard work his employees needed a sabbatical and that he should give them five weeks off work to rest and have recreation. His rational mind reasoned that this was just not possible. The company would suffer financially, his clients would miss key people and go to another firm, the added workload would be stressful for other staff, etc. There were any number of logical reasons he could think of not to give his employees an extended vacation.
Yet, on a leap of faith he decided to trust his intuition and when his first employee (the VP of the company, Beth) approached her five year anniversary, he announced his plans to all staff members. They were each to be given a five week paid vacation on their fifth anniversary, in which they were to have no contact with the company, were not allowed to take work with them, nor could they stay in touch with staff while they were away. It was intended to be a true vacation. "In return," DeMoss said, "I asked only that the person taking a sabbatical commit to spend at least one more year with us."
"Beth used her time away that year to hike the north coast of Maine, visit family and friends in North Carolina and Virginia, and spend time doing nothing at all. Meanwhile," DeMoss said, "I confess that until she walked back in the front door-our first experiment in this perk-I hadn't realized that I could hold my breath for five weeks. During that time, we didn't speak once. To my delight, the wheels of the firm rolled on as the team deftly covered Beth's client work (realizing others would do the same for them when their sabbatical rolled around). Just as sweet was Beth's summary statement on her weeks away: 'The timing was impeccable, you'll never know,' she said, blowing in these days with fresh winds and new energy. She thanked me as if I'd known all along that like a car stuck in stop-and-go city traffic, after five years a person needs to flush the buildup in her mental engine."
Looking at statistics, we see that 40 percent of all America's workers feel disconnected from their employers; two-thirds come to work with scant motivation to help achieve their employers' business goals or objectives; 25 percent admit to showing up just to collect a paycheck. Little wonder then that DeMoss was very glad that instead of following logic and reason, and inadvertently allowing his best resources to burn out, he listened to his social intuition.
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