IQ And EQ Are Important, But THIS Is What Sets Visionary Leaders Apart

Most people aren’t living up to their potential

We all want to be successful leaders. But successful leadership isn’t solely the product of being the smartest person in the room (IQ), nor being the most adept at managing your emotions and the emotions of others (EQ). Successful leadership is actually the result of both IQ and EQ (the head and the heart) working together in concert to elicit a third component. And it is this third component that sets visionary leaders apart.
 

My name is Hilary DeCesare - I’m a Silicon Valley Serial Entrepreneur and Business Coach who works predominantly with CEOs, Start-Up Founders and Executive Leaders with the goal of helping talented individuals both find and live up to their potential.

Unfortunately, I find that most people aren’t living up to their potential.

Why? Because most people block this third component—they block their intuition.

“Intuition”, after all, is an emotionally charged word, conjuring up visions of New Age ‘woo woo’, or being heavily weighted toward women—the idea of “women’s intuition” is commonplace. It’s interesting to note, however, that when described as “gut feel,” intuition gets a much warmer reception. For example, when making the most important decision of his career, the $5.4 billion acquisition of Princess Cruises, the CEO of Carnival commented, “I trust my gut”.

All preconceived notions aside, intuition can make or break a leader’s decision-making process. A 2018 article in ZME Science reported that decisions made by intuition alone are accurate more than 90 percent of the time.

For over two decades, I’ve always believed one of the secret weapons of my coaching business was my intuition. I would get a very strong, intuitive sense of what direction people should go in their business and their relationships, especially the one with themselves, and I was able to lead them to uncover their truths.

I’ve also found one of the biggest barriers to people moving forward is a lack of trust in their own intuition — intuition that could be the gateway to connecting to their inner authentic selves, and the best possible version of themselves.

Why do we mistrust, totally ignore, or not even hear our intuition? Because our heads and hearts are not aligned. Most of us are caught deep in our own psychological cement, stuck in patterns created in childhood that are effective in some ways, but ultimately leave little room for our hearts, which are struggling to be heard.

When stuck in our psychological cement, we actually can hear our intuition — it’s that faint warning that something isn’t right. That something’s not quite lined up. That even if we have what we think we want, we’re not as happy as we could be. Most of us don’t truly listen until we crash or have the so-called ‘midlife crisis’. The key to these crashes and crises is recognizing them as a tipping point, an opportunity that something needs to change.

When you begin aligning your head and heart, leveraging them together, your intuition will do less warning and more informing. With your head and heart as your anchor, your intuition will inform your decisions, guide your steps, and help you bring successful, balanced, and visionary leadership to everything you do.

After all, as one visionary leader once said:
 

Author Bio

Hilary DeCesare is an Award-Winning Entrepreneur, Business Coach, and Reality Show “Secret Millionaire”, helping women turn typical life transitions into transformation. DeCesare's new book, "RELAUNCH! Spark Your Heart to Ignite Your Life" details her proprietary 3HQ™ method so women combine their head, heart, and higher self to create new brain patterns that shed limiting beliefs. Visit TheRelaunchCo.com Connect Hilary DeCesare