Intuition. Everybody has it, but not everyone applies it. Many people feel that making significant decisions based solely on their internal compass is bound to lead to disaster, as emotions can often mislead us. With many potentially devastating paths out to thwart us, relying on one’s inner feeling alone can be risky. Intuitive decision making can be used for good. Find out how intuition can complement logical thinking to support your business’s growth and development.

You’ll learn to thrive when people say you can’t

Rationally minded business people can certainly excel, but they may not be supportive of using intuition. They may insist—with good intention—that your mission is implausible or even unreasonable. However, if you continue to follow your intuition in business and deliver successes, you will see firsthand that others are not correct all the time.

The ability to break through beyond what others expect can help you trust your vision in a deeper way. As long as you continue to do your checks and balances and act responsibly, this new feeling can lead to further determination.

You’ll motivate others

Employees appreciate reliable employers, ones who are courteous, respectful, and democratic. Yet many people who are creative and highly trained crave higher level challenges. If you’re a leader who follows intuition, you’ll come to encourage this feeling naturally. For example, you may point out assets in your employees that have gone unnoticed by others. Or you may garner a larger appreciation for the work they performed for you and support them in taking on new challenges.

The ability to follow business intuition is possible when one is capable of great faith, and if you project this feeling toward your employees, they’ll trust you and feel encouraged. Then there’s another benefit: They could develop to their full potential while working for you, which means more success for you as well.

You’ll be able to focus

When you trust your choices, you’ll also trust yourself when you need to make unusually difficult decisions, and even when logic pulls you in opposite directions. This approach translates to greater focus, as you won’t be caught up with thinking about past choices or going back and forth between options.

When you listen to your intuition, you feel the clarity and certainty of your decision, and you’ll be able to move on with next steps, being productive and looking only at what you know you must do in the moment. Business intuition helps you act quickly and confidently and helps you take committed action toward your direction.

You’ll set an example

When you follow your intuitive decision making and don’t fear others’ views as much, you’ll inevitably make choices others don’t (even though they may wish to have the courage to do so). Your decisions inevitably affect others by way of setting an example. Want to change your company to become more environmentally friendly, even when there’s some degree of risk and your competitors aren’t doing it themselves? If you’re the first one, then you have the benefit of being the first to tap into a new market, and when you’re successful, other businesses will come in tow.

Likewise, are you thinking of taking a trend in a new direction or dropping an old one even when others are still clinging to it? Startups and social media companies thrive when they drop old habits and champion new visions. You can get ahead of the game by setting an example with your business intuition.

Intuitive decision making

If you move forward mindfully, you can find a way to make use of your intuition at work while yielding good results. Below are some tips on how you can do it.

Know thyself

As this familiar saying suggests, all roads begin with knowing what you set out to do. What do you and your colleagues set out to create? What is the goal? At retirement, which accomplishments will matter to you the most?

It’s reasonable to not necessarily know the answers to all questions. We’ve been conditioned to work hard at the details or to prioritize status or income. If your true mission is not contingent on these superficial markers, it may be difficult for you to recognize it at first.

You can use a number of methods to help you know yourself better as an entrepreneur. One strategy is to set a few minutes aside at the end of the workday to note which activities were pleasurable for you that day. Was it speaking to clients, writing reports, or crunching numbers? Perhaps it was high-level analysis. Take note of what it was and the material you were working through.

Once you compiled a list and tracked it, believe in it: See if you enjoy spending more and more time on that vision. In this way, you’ll train yourself to listen to what makes you thrive. Follow the passion you find within yourself.

Tune in

Slowly portioning off more of your day to what makes you thrive is one way of encouraging your intuitive decision making. But once you’ve managed that process and you have a solid sense of what you want, keep consistently surveying your inner voice. Tune in. Be aware of what you’re feeling in a given situation. This alignment may mean ignoring or tuning out the popular opinion.

In business, you may feel uncomfortable with a particular arrangement or transaction, and you can’t say why. The surface may reveal a perfect deal, but then, something inside of you is nagging you. Don’t be afraid to listen to that voice, unpleasant as it may be.

You may find times when this gut feeling rears its head about not only business matters, but also relations with people, too. You may have a negative feeling about working with some people, even if their credentials look good and everyone on the team likes them. For better or for worse, don’t ignore that feeling. Be thankful that you have that inner compass that can steer you in the directions you feel are right.

Embrace mistakes

Business intuition may not always seem to take you down the correct road, at least not immediately. Often, when you follow your intuition in business and don’t hire the supposed star candidate, the situation could get worse before it gets better. For example, you may experience difficulty finding a suitable candidate and have to pay your team overtime to make up for the missing labor.

Also, other people may disagree with your decision and tension may develop. Just because you follow your keen business sense doesn’t mean you’ll guarantee your success and bumps won’t appear in your path. Success is always a hard-won success. Therefore, while you commit to following your deeper business sense, also prepare for the reality that success may cause you to make mistakes sometimes. But embrace them because:

• Business intuition defies logic. By listening to it, you’re taking a chance. You didn’t make a logical decision in the first place; you made an intuitive one. So when colleagues criticize your irrational choices, don’t take their criticisms personally. Some decisions don’t need to be rational, and as long as you’re behaving responsibly and taking care of your core obligations, you have the right to exercise your values.
• Using business intuition was likely not a mistake after all. Mistakes or gains can only be assessed in retirement, once all the wheels have turned and the true outcome reveals itself. If you didn’t hire a supposed expert candidate and had a rough period shortly thereafter, your choice was still not necessarily a mistake, just a setback. Trust yourself both during thick and thin, and consider this point: By not hiring the person your gut warned you against, you could have saved your company thousands or millions of dollars.

Using your business intuition is no easy task. It takes determination and faith, and it can be challenging, especially when you have talented and rational advisors who, with good intention, tell you to take the safe road. In order to see eye to eye with others as much as possible, follow your gut while fulfilling your basic responsibilities and obligations to others. Stay afloat, but don’t be afraid to reach out for what inspires your true passions.