Serendipity: Flowing with Intuition
In our first session with a new client, Greg and I begin with a high-level framing of our JLP model, outlining the four Principles and six Practices at its foundation. With the results from the client’s Jazz-Workplace Assessment—to identify their workstyle preference as Innovator, Stabilizer, Integrator, or Improver—we then give particular focus on the JLP practice “Your Sound.” Whatever the individual’s leadership development themes, getting clarity about their leadership style, voice, and tone is vital to recognizing where growth is needed. Sharing one or more of the jazz masters is a sure-fire way to emphasize the marks of distinction that give them the authentic, notable sound they are widely known and respected for.
Greg and I began coaching a new client last week and were pleasantly surprised at several serendipitous moments we experienced with him. While preparing for his session, we discussed whether we should play Charlie Parker’s “Just Friends,” to demonstrate the uniqueness of his sound. We decided not to go with Bird. Instead, we selected jazz icons Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong singing “Dream a Little Dream of Me.”
When we got on the Zoom session, we noticed that our client had album covers on the wall behind him—Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Michael Jackson, and others. He shared that Ella and Louis were favorites of him and his wife and, in fact, that the Ella and Louis rendition of “Cheek to Cheek” was their wedding song. Greg and I looked at each other and smiled, silently acknowledging what was to come. Later, when he saw the album cover (pictured above), he told us that the same album was currently in his record player.
Our decision to shift from Bird to Ella and Louis was intuitive—it was a felt sense—an organic knowing that we trusted. We certainly didn’t have the kinds of personal details about our new client as a basis to shift our music choice. As a result, we connected with our client in an even more substantial way that resonated as serendipitous.
Central to jazz, improvisation serves as the creative wellspring each musician taps into, so they contribute fully to the musical experience. As an embodied sensing, intuition helps to inform the shape, direction, and tone of those contributions. Herein lies the points of connection between musicians and between the musicians and their audience.
Basing decisions on intuitive feelings can sometimes bring uncertainty, even making us question if our thought is valid. Intuition can feel mysterious—we don’t quite understand what is arising because we can’t pinpoint what the thought is based on or where it’s coming from. Intuition requires cultivation of inner trust and the ability to genuinely feel a different kind of sense-making than logical analysis. Intuition builds a deeper awareness of the faculties that can become sparks of guidance.
The process of allowing emergence to occur and giving value to the instances when we may only have an inkling of where it may lead, provide options that expands beyond a strictly analytical frame.
I invite you to read a previous post “Your Body’s Intelligence,” to explore activating inner guidance.
As leaders, it behooves us to capture all avenues of timely wisdom. After all, who doesn’t love moments of serendipity?
