Summary: Here is a more complete way to view your behavior at work. In the new leadership science, your head analyzes, your heart connects, and your gut predicts. When they’re aligned, decisions flow. However, if they’re not, chaos follows. Read on for new ideas.
Dear Dr. Sylvia,
It’s all my fault! I was the final decision maker.
Without going into details, I’ll give you the bottom line.
I was the deal maker for a product line that was “guaranteed” for the big leagues.
Interestingly, I started in the opposite direction.
I was the “nah, these too good to be true deals always crash and burn.”
Then. I changed my mind. I said, “The logic is there. It’s a deal made in heaven.
Now, almost six months later, we are in a downward spiral. I keep going back to the warning signal in my body that I brushed away.
I would like to understand why I didn’t listen to myself.
Signed,
Improved Hearing
Your Body Isn’t Emotional Noise, It’s an Early-Warning Radar System.
Dear Improved Hearing,
Great question. I know I have also made some decisions based on ego rather than alignment. My sad story another time.
Firstly, let me begin with what happened to my client, Evelyn, who asked herself that same question: “Why didn’t I listen to myself?
Here is what she told me, calling her email to me “After the Mess.”
“Hey Sylvia, I need help. Actually, I needed help earlier this year. Cause I made a fatal mistake. And it was all because all I had to do was say “Yes.”
My head told me the numbers were flawless.
My gut told her the deal smelled wrong. There were too many culture clashes with the new organization.
But logic wins in corporate life, doesn’t it?
I pushed the unease down, straightened my jacket, and said the word that would cost my company millions.
While “Yes” sounded strong, my physical symptoms were heartburn and gut nausea.
In any case, six months later, the merger collapsed.
Brilliant strategy. Terrible chemistry.
The hidden culture clash my intuition had flagged from the start detonated everything.
Since that time, nights are long. I stare at the ceiling and remember the exact time my stomach tightened and the moment I ignored the signal.
The Body Knows Before the Brain
Here is what Evelyn and I worked on to get her back on track.
If you start to derail, and we all do at times, this is for you, and you, and you.
For decades, leadership was sold as mental discipline: think harder, speak stronger, hide doubt.
But new neuroscience flips that script.
The head analyzes.
The heart connects.
The gut predicts.
When those three systems align, you get clarity that feels clean and calm.
When they don’t, you get migraines, insomnia, and meetings that feel like war zones.
From Power Moves to Coherence
Confidence without alignment is just noise.
The future belongs to leaders who practice coherence: head, heart, and gut firing in rhythm.
When you enter a room calm and congruent, people feel it before you speak.
That’s biology, not charisma.
Your nervous system leads the room long before your words do.
A Simple Practice for Alignment
Before your next big decision:
Pause.
One hand on your heart, one on your abdomen.
Breathe.
Inhale for four counts, exhale for six.
Ask:
What does my head think? What does my heart feel? What does my gut know?
If all three agree, move forward.
If they don’t, wait.
Your alignment is more important than your speed.
Why Alignment Matters
Evelyn’s story isn’t rare.
It’s every leader who’s been taught to trust spreadsheets over sensations.
But leadership is changing, fast.
Tomorrow’s best decisions will come from whole-person intelligence, not just the prefrontal cortex.
Head.
Heart.
Gut.
Aligned.
That’s where the future of leadership lives.
To your success,
Sylvia Lafair
PS: Want to learn how to access your own Glimmer moments? Email me at sylvia@ceoptions.com for a free copy of GLIMMERS: Aligning Head, Heart & Gut for Whole-Person Leadership. Also, explore my online course Total Leadership Connections to start aligning your inner systems today.
