I have been speaking on this subject a lot lately, with many stories from my life and career as examples. A recent talk and a blog on this subject thereafter (http://pr-discussions.blogspot.com/2010/03/prpoint-women-and-leadership.html) drew some very interesting comments and feedback. A couple of comments warranted a clarification. One was wondering if there was a distinction between male “reason” and female “instinct” and if it really applies universally. The person also reasoned that that there are a lot of men who have this sort of an “instinct” and let it rule over “reason” many times.
The other comment was that the crux of the thought implied that if one follows one’s instinct, one tends to not stick to any one good place, however satisfying it might be.

It is true that “instincts” could be strong in both men and women, and more importantly, both sexes are capable of relying on their gut. My premise was that as a woman, having string instincts come naturally, but many women don’t rely on this natural ability they have, mostly owing to peer pressure and societal norms that sometimes equate instinctive decision making with being emotional. Listening to one’s heart and doing what makes one “feel good” is woefully under-recognised in our societies and I wanted to share some insights from my own experiences to highlight how it could be used to one’s advantage.

Following your heart doesn’t mean you change your mind every now and then. Sure, there are all kinds of people in this world. Some find their happiness in stability and some others want to explore multiple dimensions of their personas. Instead of being judgemental on what could be a better path, I would say the focus should be in creating a path that works for you. The objective of my talk wasn’t at all to say that one needs to follow the path I have charted for myself. Its worked for me but it may leave some others who have different wants in life totally dissatisfied. That is really the underpinning of instinctive decision making.