Why Self-Awareness and Intuition Matter More Than Strategy

Are you relying solely on logic to navigate your entrepreneurial journey, ignoring the powerful inner voice that could accelerate your success?

In this episode of Life After Corporate, host Deb Boulanger sits down with Shoshanna French—renowned for her work in intuitive leadership and founder of Simple Spirit—to explore how tuning into your intuition can transform your business decisions and outcomes. 

Discover why learning to trust your intuition isn’t just a “soft skill,” but a game-changer for overcoming self-doubt and building true business intuition.  Learn to recognize your intuitive strengths, avoid costly mistakes, and harness your inner guidance for clarity, faster decision-making, and authentic growth. If you’ve ever questioned your ability to trust yourself after leaving corporate, this conversation will challenge, inspire, and equip you to lead from your wisest self.

Are you ready to turn intuition into your most powerful tool for business and life?

[00:01 – 05:47] Navigating the Transition from Corporate Leader to Entrepreneur

• Intuitive leadership offers a new approach for business decisions when logic and structure fall short.
• Many find the rigidity of corporate structures stifling, leading to the pursuit of entrepreneurship for greater flexibility.
• Success as an entrepreneur often depends on creating personal structures that foster both freedom and order.
• Cultivating and trusting intuition is key to finding confidence and clarity during identity shifts from corporate roles to business ownership.   

[05:48 – 12:52] Embracing Intuitive Leadership as an Entrepreneurial Path

• Career journeys can be nonlinear, with intuition often guiding major life and business decisions.
• Practical application of intuition can be as essential as analytical skills for entrepreneurial growth and success.
• Many high-achieving leaders, particularly visionary women, find that trusting their intuition expands their impact and fulfills broader missions.
• Regular business evolution and personal growth are part of the entrepreneurial experience, making continual refinement of purpose and intuitive practice essential. 

[12:53 – 21:39] Recognizing and Trusting Your Own Intuitive Voice 

• Four ways intuition manifests: feeling, hearing, seeing, and knowing—and why senior women leaders are often “knowers”
• Logic’s strengths vs. intuition’s unique power for insight, clarity, and decision-making where no clear answer exists
• Practical scenarios: narrowing business choices, making hiring decisions, and distinguishing intuition from data overload
• Why entrepreneurs must cultivate their intuitive decision-making alongside traditional logic to avoid self-doubt and costly errors

[21:40 – 43:02] Rebuilding Self-Trust and Making Intuitive Decisions in Business

• Offering oneself grace after mistakes helps restore self-confidence and paves the way for better future decision-making.
• The most aligned choices come from connecting to a deeper sense of inspiration and clarity, not just reacting to short-term problems or external pressure.
• Practical tools, such as pausing before decisions and using body awareness, help distinguish genuine intuition from fear or overthinking.
• Regularly practicing intuitive decision-making strengthens discernment and helps entrepreneurs trust their inner guidance, even amid uncertainty and information overload.