The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving

550: Artist, Leader, and Yale Fellow Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir on Rethinking Leadership Through Intuition and Inner Clarity

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May 12, 2025

Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir, an award-winning sustainability leader and Yale fellow, discusses the power of intuition in leadership. She shares her transformative experience in post-conflict Kosovo, where she confronted burnout and rediscovered her inner clarity. Hrund emphasizes that intuition isn’t the enemy of reason but a vital complement to it. Listeners learn how to distinguish between intuition and ego, utilize attention journaling, and foster workplace cultures that embrace intuitive decision-making. This conversation is a refreshing reminder that listening deeply can lead to powerful insights.

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ANECDOTE

Burnout Sparks Intuition Journey

Hrund hit a wall of burnout while working in post-conflict Kosovo with the UN.
She realized she must connect within herself and rebuild based on intuition rather than pushing harder.

ADVICE

Heal With Rest and Nature

Restoring energy through sleep, journaling, and connecting with nature helped Hrund heal.
She advises exhausted people to breathe deeply, move, and nurture their nervous system gently.

INSIGHT

Innsaei: Seeing Within

Intuition is the productive use of unconscious information enabling better decisions.
The Icelandic term "innsæi" means "to see within," capturing intuition's blend of science and ancient wisdom.

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What if the leadership edge you’re looking for doesn’t come from working harder, but listening deeper?

We talk often about productivity, performance, and pushing through. But few conversations explore the quieter forces shaping our best decisions, like intuition.

In this episode, I speak with Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir, a director, writer, systems thinker, and an award-winning sustainability leader, about intuition as a source of strength, clarity, and resilience in both leadership and life.

Hrund shares how her work in post-conflict Kosovo with the UN led to burnout and a full reset — one that turned her toward the science and practice of intuition. Through personal stories, research, and the Icelandic concept of innsæi (“the sea within”), she explains how we can train our intuition as rigorously as we train our intellect.

We explore:

How to know whether your intuition is guiding you, or your ego is pulling you
Why many of us lose touch with inner guidance (and how to return to it)
How to use an “attention journal” to strengthen your discernment
The difference between insight and overthinking
What it takes to create workplace cultures that respect sensing as much as data
Why intuition is not the opposite of reason, but essential to it

This episode is for anyone navigating uncertainty, complexity, or the quiet knowing that something needs to change.

Whether you're leading a team, facing a major decision, or simply looking to reconnect with your inner compass, this conversation offers both inspiration and practical tools to help you find your way — from the inside out.

Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir is an Advisory Council member at Yale’s International Leadership Centre and has been recognised for her work as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and Cultural Leader and Yale World Fellow. She has qualifications from Yale, Harvard Kennedy School, the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, Oxford Said Business School and the University of Iceland.

Get Hrund’s book here: https://hrundgunnsteinsdottir.com/

InnSaei: Heal, Revive and Reset with the Icelandic art of intuition

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