Developing Intuitive Awareness in Management Education

Abstract

In spite of the fact that researchers suggest that managers use intuition when making decisions and solving problems, management education and development has largely ignored or shied away from including intuition in its curriculum. There are few, if any, reported or reported-and-evaluated attempts at the development of managers' intuitive awareness either in business school or in-company programs. We offer a justification for the inclusion of intuition in management education and go on to report the design, implementation, and evaluation of a program for the development of managers' intuitive awareness. The program used a combination of training and extended practice employing a variety of innovative experiential techniques. The program was evaluated by means of content analyses of the logs that participants compiled during the practice phase. Participants reported positively on the program and documented effects in a number of areas related to the context for intuition (inner–outer), the intuitive process (time, place, and pace), and its outcomes (sense of perspective; self-confidence; inter-and intrapersonal sensitivity; metacognition). The implications for the further application of these approaches in management education and development, and some personal reflections on their use are discussed.