Business
Tammy Kassiou explains why intuitive leadership is critical in complex and challenging markets
Tammy Kassiou is a global entrepreneur, respected philanthropist and founder and chairperson of multiple multinational companies. Living in Timor-Leste and heading up the delivery of world leading training and development, employment and job mobilisation programs, Tammy Kassiou knows first hand the importance of intuitive leadership in complex and challenging markets.
According to Tammy Kassiou, the exhaustion you feel at the end of every day is the result of making decisions. Making well thought out critical decisions takes a significant toll on your valuable mental energy, which can lead to you completely draining your tank each and every day. Leadership, however, does not need to be this way. You can still be an innovative, efficient and intelligent leader without running out of fuel. The key is to stop thinking so hard – and allow your intuition to take over.
Tammy Kassiou believes that in a world where a huge amount of emphasis is placed on rationality and logical decision-making, intuition is being significantly under looked as a powerful tool for modern leaders. Intuition is largely being reduced to helping us make small decisions and navigate emotional encounters in our personal lives – however; in our professional lives is where it should be employed more distinctly. The importance of initiative leadership when heading up new business operations and delivery in complex markets, including developing nations where there are cultural differences, economic and social challenges transpire, has never been more dominant.
“Intuitive leadership means trusting yourself and the journey that is leading you to where you want to be. Over your career you have made countless decisions, solved too many problems to count, and single headedly fostered all of the professional relationships you still have today. With this experience under your belt you can start to listen to the voice inside you that’s encouraging you to be more intuitive,” Tammy Kassiou added.
Tammy Kassiou has outlined six reasons why it is important to be an intuitive leader when entering new markets and working in complex and challenging markets.
- Visionary leadership. Using your initiation to lead means that you aren’t bogged down in the detail. Intuitive leaders have the sharpest minds, as they trust their instincts and don’t spend time back tracking or doubting their decision – they are committed to always looking towards the future and what comes next. Initiative leaders are known to have visionary leadership capabilities because they have more mental energy available for building visions of success to motivate their team, particularly when the path is relatively untraveled, such as overseas markets.
- More open to new ideas. The rational mind that is instilled in leaders relies on logical patterns. These patterns and broader way of thinking can drastically limit your creative powers.
Whereas, relying on your intuition means that you can see things that your rational mind is blinded to – it opens your mind to new opportunities that you may have otherwise ignored or not chased. Developing a faith in your intuition can lead you towards incredibly beneficial opportunities abroad that you may have not considered.
- Acts as a cautionary voice. When you have your head spinning in the data, or have invested yourself entirely into one endeavour, you may overlook some risks, or avoid the signs that something is going wrong. Even after carefully studying a situation rationally, complex markets are regarded as complex markets for a reason – they are largely uncharted and can be incredibly challenging to navigate unless you’re in tune with your internal voice. Trusting your intuition heightens your sensitivity to the signs that something feels off, giving you the chance to steer clear before it is too late.
- Create deeper connections. Intuitive leadership will strengthen your relationships with everybody in your workplace. More open and vulnerable dialogue will be able to take place when you harness your intuition because you can gain a better understanding of what people are really thinking and feeling in and about your company. Creating more genuine relationships with overseas businesspersons will only benefit your company in the long run.
- Be more self-aware. Modern leadership is coveted as the ability to make decisions in complex and unfamiliar situations quickly and effectively. One of the greatest advantages of intuitive leadership is that gives you deeper intelligence and wisdom, which is undeniably impossible unless you’re self-aware.
- Listen beyond the words. Intuition is the characteristic that will help you read people beyond what they are verbally telling you. As an intuitive leader you can see past what a client or employee is promising you, and interpret their body language and tone of voice to draw a clearer depiction of what their intentions truly are. Intuition will guide you towards a communication approach that will best resonate with every individual person – which can often be the difference between a successful project and a flop.
“Once you channel your intuition when running your company, you will find that you have created a whole new paradigm for growth and accomplishment for both yourself as an individual, and your company. Being an intuitive leader is a powerful way to succeed in today’s world of complex markets, rapid change and cultural challenges,” Tammy Kassiou added.
Tammy Kassiou is the founder and chairperson of Philitimo Group, a global business which overarches a number of complementary businesses that provide leadership, expertise and services across the training and job placement sector to a broad range of industries in multiple countries including: Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and Pacific Islands, Philippines, Mozambique, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Greece and Europe.
