The secret superpower every great leader shares

Bill Gates once said it’s something you often have to rely on. Steve Jobs talked about it constantly. Einstein called it “the only truly valuable thing.”

What were these legendary leaders referring to? Intuition.

In a world where technology is advancing at breakneck speed and AI is transforming the workplace, staying ahead means honing the one thing machines can’t replicate: the uniquely human skills of creativity, innovation, and emotional intelligence. And at the heart of these skills lies intuition.

The challenge? Intuition often gets dismissed as vague or even mystical. But here’s the truth: It’s deeply rooted in neuroscience. It’s the gut feeling that guides breakthrough ideas, the spark that leads to bold decisions, and the edge that sets great leaders apart.

So, how do you tap into your intuition—and use it to thrive in this AI-powered era?

How your unconscious brain fuels intuition

Think of a filing room with a separate room for older files. As soon as the main filing room fills up, the old files are archived to create more space. Should you need to access the older files, you simply go to the archives.

The same thing happens in your brain. You can only hold so much information in your conscious mind at any one time. The rest is not lost but merely archived, ready to be called up as needed. The more we learn and experience, the greater the unconscious “archive.”

What you might not be aware of is that your unconscious brain is processing various data simultaneously in the background, without you consciously thinking about it. Intuition is, therefore, a collection of memories and past experiences that we can use to inform what we do in the present.

Intuition cannot be accessed from your logical or analytical mind. If you’re overthinking or analyzing, that is not intuition. Intuition is quick, clear, and often may seem illogical.

The great thing about intuition is that it works far quicker than the rational part of the brain, making it ideal for emergencies when we need to act quickly.

It’s also useful for decision-making. Leaders need to make decisions daily and ideally; those decisions should combine intuition and logic. The law of unintended consequences states that you can never know the outcome of a decision until it’s in action and it starts to play out, so when deciding which path to take, intuition is a great way to get to a good decision faster.

Although, intuition is an unconscious response that tends to present itself under the right circumstances, we can learn how to make this process conscious to use intuition at work and in life on a day-to-day basis.

How to access your intuition

The start of making the process more conscious is preparation. Here are two simple tips to create the right environment for intuition to operate.

Switch off

One of the regions at play in the brain in accessing intuition is the Default Mode Network (“DMN”). The DMN is particularly active when you’re daydreaming, reflecting on your experiences, or letting your mind wander. And it turns out, this mental downtime is crucial for intuition. It’s during these quiet moments that your brain can make unexpected connections, leading to those sudden flashes of insight that seem to come out of nowhere. The best way to solve a problem is to stop thinking about it!

Meditation to create this relaxed state is not always the answer. I advise my clients to experiment with when these flashes come for them. It can be running, walking in nature, having a shower. Play with it and see!

Clock your emotional state

Intuition is accurate. However, strong emotions mean that most likely what you are feeling is not intuition but an emotional response.

Therefore, if you are feeling a strong emotion, that is not the time to try to access your intuition. You need to process the emotion or put the question or decision down and come back later, when you are feeling more neutral.

One point to note is that because intuition comes in a flash, it may trigger an emotion after the flash in response to the piece of information, action, or plan you are being guided towards implementing. This aftereffect does not change the initial accuracy.

The question to ask yourself to make sure is: was I emotional before or after the “flash” occurred?

The more that you trust intuition, the more you will find evidence that it works, and it becomes a positive feedback loop. It starts with creating the space and emotional neutrality for the unconscious brain to come forward.

Intuition isn’t just a mystical concept; it’s a powerful tool rooted in neuroscience, experience, and emotional intelligence. In an age where technology dominates decision-making and AI handles routine tasks, intuition remains a distinctly human advantage—one that enables creativity, rapid problem-solving, and informed risk-taking. By creating the mental space to let intuition surface and recognizing the emotional cues that shape it, leaders can harness this innate skill to make better, faster decisions. The more you trust and refine your intuition, the more it will guide you.