I have a strong feeling that a woman`s intuition can be a valuable asset in the work place. And I`m not the only one.
”Intuition is a free resource, so why not use it?” asks Jan Brittain
(see below), who recently gave a talk on the subject at a meeting of the Chicago Loop chapter of the National Network of Women in Sales.
Her presentation was called ”Intuition: Expanding Your Competitive Edge.”
A woman`s intuition is instinctive, but it`s also a finely honed skill.
Our ”hunches” often turn out to be right. And that can make a difference on the job.
It`s not that we`re clairvoyant. It`s just that we pay attention to unspoken signals we get from other people-signals such as body language, a certain facial expression, the way something is said.
We often can ”sense” if someone is telling the truth.
In his book ”Listening with the Third Ear,” psychiatrist Theodore Reik points out that for millions of years, people communicated nonverbally.
Women, he notes, have traditionally used their ”third ear” more than men.
Today, women realize intuition can be a valuable tool in analyzing people and events.
MARIA J. VARGAS
Age 30, family counselor
”Most people do have intuition,” says Vargas, also a senior order clerk for Illinois Bell. ”I relate it more to creativity, because intuition is not rational. I use it often in my work.”
Vargas received her bachelor`s degree in psychology and sociology and her master`s in guidance and counseling at Northeastern Illinois University. She`s studying for her doctorate in counseling psychology at Loyola University and maintains a private practice.
”I feel you have to take every individual or client as a different person, with different personality dynamics. For me, it`s a tool I use to find out what a person wants to do with her or his life.”
Vargas came to the United States in 1975 from Colombia, South America.
”Since I was a little child, I always liked to relate to people, to talk to them,” Vargas says.
”In some ways, my intuition led me to psychology. My decision was based on the experiences I`ve had in life. It`s something I can`t really describe, but I felt psychology was right for me and just followed my instincts.”
The ”extra insight” that intuition gives should not be ignored, she says, but she also warns: ”It`s not always right, not 100 percent of the time. Women should pay attention to their feelings and to the facts, too. It`s fine to take a chance, but you also have to back up your decision with some facts.”
Vargas says women who are in touch with their feelings are ”changing the way business is being done. I see it a lot.”
Past president of the American Mental Health Counselor Association, Vargas recently taught a course in psychology at Harold Washington College.
”I enjoyed teaching,” she says. ”At the present moment, I`m not sure, but I have a feeling if the opportunity arises, I will be teaching more.”
That ”feeling,” Vargas points out, is intuition. ”Women should pay attention to their feelings, follow their instincts-and try to prove they`re right.”
JAN BRITTAIN
Age 38, sales representative, the Xerox Corp.
”Everyone has intuition,” says Brittain, who sells Xerox`s telecommunications voice messaging system.
”But in our society, women are given more permission to use it. As more and more women enter the business world, that developed skill comes with us.” Brittain, who received a master`s degree in business administration at Florida-Atlantic University in Boca Raton, says, ”Intuition is often called having a hunch, or listening to your heart, or going by your gut feeling. It`s an important tool, a skill to develop because it`s actual knowledge that we`re accessing.”
Last year, Brittain began to research the subject of intuition.
”I`d read that people use only 10 percent of the capacity of their brains. I wanted to know why.”
She found that part of what is missing is intuition: ”The work place emphasizes only logic when making a business decision. Intuition is being used, especially by women, but we`re not given credit for it because the business norms for our society are set by men. Yet a balance of both is needed.”
Previously employed in nonprofit women`s health and family planning agencies, Brittain switched to sales eight years ago.
She made the change after aptitude tests showed selling would be a good profession for her. After studying the facts, she made a ”gut” decision to try a new career.
”Intuition gives you a competitive edge and control over your own destiny,” she says. ”When you open up to your intuition, you get creative solutions. It has helped me with sales.”
Brittain has a hunch that awareness of the power of intuition is going to be increasing. That`s why she`s giving talks and workshops on the subject.
”I`m planning a special training course on intuition, and have a feeling it will be successful,” she says.
GERALDINE GIST
Age 53, manager of personnel, St. Jude League/Claretian Publications
Gist, responsible for the hiring of a staff of 115 employees for the business arm of the missionary group, says she doesn`t know ”how women can ignore intuition at all. It fits in your life so well.”
A member of the International Association for Personnel Women, Gist says: ”Intuition is a gift to women. I use it in sticky situations, when I know the rules and policies, but somehow they don`t fit the situation.”
Often her intuition comes into play in conferences, says Gist, who has been in her job since 1985.
”You`re talking, discussing, brainstorming, and all of a sudden you have a hunch that tells you this is the way to proceed,” she says. ”That`s intuition. Men look at you as if you`re crazy, because it doesn`t seem to make sense. But you know it does, and it works out that way.”
Gist relies on logic to get things done, so intuition is a plus.
”When you follow your instincts,” she says, ”they`re usually right on target. But if you don`t, you find yourself in hot water. I`ve learned to trust mine.
”Intuition is one of the great things women add to the business community. It`s one of our strengths and we shouldn`t try to submerge it and become a corporate clone-that only weakens us.”
Intuition, Gist says, is a culmination of ”our life experience and of talking to other women, comparing notes. In my memory bank are ways other women have handled the same problem. It`s a product of all our stored knowledge. Women go from the heart.”
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Send comments and ideas for future questions to Carol Kleiman, The Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611. Geraldine Gist
(above): ”Men look at you as if you`re crazy.”
