Employees validate judgment through managers, peer feedback, + consensus. The unspoken rule is your instinct is a starting point, not a conclusion. It has to earn its place by being confirmed externally before you act on it.

Female entrepreneurs often carry this deep into their businesses. They over-survey customers, seek too many opinions, shrink their own read of a situation until someone else confirms it. In doing so, they hand authority over their business to whoever happens to have an opinion that week.

My view on opinions is they're like butt cheeks, everybody has them...doesn't mean they're all nice to look at.🤦🏽‍♀️Yep, I went there.🤭

Treating your instinct as data

CEOs treat firsthand pattern recognition as a data source. They test it, yes, but they don't apologize before someone else confirms it. Your instinct deserves a seat at the table from the start.

Employee

"Let me get a few more opinions before I commit to this direction."

CEO

"My gut tells me X. I'll design a small test that disproves it if I'm wrong."

Calibration over permission

The goal is to know where your instincts are strong + where they have blind spots. That requires testing your gut, not bypassing it.

Employee

"I'm not sure enough to say this confidently until someone confirms it."

CEO

"I believe X. Here's what would change my mind."

Implement today

Before your next customer conversation, pricing move, or business decision: write down your instinct first. Privately. One sentence. Next, gather input. Compare afterward. Over 30 days, you'll know exactly where to trust yourself.

This week

Identify one decision you've been deferring by gathering more opinions. Make it unilaterally. Document your reasoning. Revisit in 60 days. This is how you calibrate + fine tune your instinct.

"Consensus is a fine tiebreaker. It's a terrible decision-making process."