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The Intuition Strategist

Some decisions need your intuition… and some don’t

Published about 1 hour ago • 2 min read

Hi Reader,

Many leaders tell me they want to use their intuition to make decisions but they’re nervous that they won’t use it on the right ones. They’re afraid that they’ll mess up important choices or will regret what they did because their intuition was “wrong”.

Here’s what I know: not all decisions call for only using your intuition.

The leadership skill is discerning which decisions need your intuition to make fast, confident calls, and which require more deliberation and time.

The one-way and two-way door decision framework will help you determine what type of decision you’re facing:

  • A one-way door is a permanent choice that is hard and costly to undo. If this is the door you’re facing, you take your time. Assemble a team with expertise and experience to compliment and supplement your own. Find additional supporting data to support or refute what your intuition may be telling you.
  • A two-way door is a decision that can be changed. Good news – most decisions are! At these doors, you can test to see what your fast thinking brings up. Take the opportunity to listen to what your intuition tells you and train yourself to become a confident decision maker.

Starting my business after leaving my corporate career was a one-way door. I reduced the risk of that decision by hosting my first Focus Gathering. The Focus Gathering wasn’t an announcement or commitment; it was a test and a two-way door. I walked out with real decisions — Corporate Tarot Cards® had energy, my podcast needed to exist, and I didn’t need to figure it all out before moving.

That’s what a two-way door feels like: low cost to test, easy to walk back through if it’s wrong.

If you’d like to build the skill to recognize the type of decision in front of you and know when it calls for your intuition, read my latest article When to Trust Your Gut: A Leadership Framework for Fast and Slow Decisions on The Intuition Strategist Substack.

If this shifts how you're thinking about a decision, I'd love to hear about it in the comments or in a reply here.

Cheers to your many doors ahead,

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The Intuition Strategist

Leah Goldman

I help leaders trust their gut to make decisions and get results. I share practical tips, helpful frameworks, and actionable strategies to help you lead with confidence, especially when there’s no playbook.

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