When the Standard Approach Doesn’t Fit
Most people fall into the three primary decision-making categories, Emotional, Sacral, or Splenic Authority. These are well-known and widely understood, you can read about those types here. But what about the rest?
About 30% of people have an uncommon Authority that requires a different approach to decision-making. These individuals don’t always fit the traditional models of quick responses or gut instincts. They often feel misunderstood in a world that values immediacy and logic over personal timing and deeper knowing.
For practitioners working with clients who don’t resonate with the big three Authorities, understanding these rare types is essential. When you recognize the unique way your client is designed to make decisions, you can guide them to stop forcing themselves into strategies that don’t work. You can guide them toward self-trust, a life changing gift.
Let’s explore the four less common authorities and how to best support them.
Ego Authority: Decisions from the Heart (Will Center)
Ego Authority is rare, appearing only in some Manifestors and Projectors. It operates through the Will Center, making decisions based on desire, commitment, and personal truth.
People with Ego Authority are designed to ask themselves: “What do I want?” This is not about logic or emotions—it is about willpower. If they genuinely want something, they will have the energy to follow through. If they don’t, forcing themselves will lead to exhaustion and resentment.
Many with Ego Authority have been conditioned to put others first or feel guilty about wanting what they want. They may struggle with decision-making because they are used to prioritizing expectations over their inner truth.
How You Can Support Clients with Ego Authority
- Encourage them to own their desires without guilt.
- Help them practice saying, “I want this” or “I don’t want this” without justification.
- Remind them that if a decision requires convincing or forcing, it is not correct for them.
One simple phrase to offer: “If you truly want it, you will have the will to follow through.”
Self-Projected Authority: Speaking the Truth into the World
Self-Projected Authority belongs to some Projectors. These individuals find clarity through their voice—not by thinking, but by speaking.
They don’t “figure out” decisions in their heads. Instead, they need to talk things out, hearing their own words reflect their truth back to them. Their decision-making process is deeply connected to their identity—to what feels right when they express it aloud.
The challenge for Self-Projected Projectors is that they need trusted listeners. They don’t need advice or opinions. They need space to speak without interference and to hear their own wisdom emerge.
How You Can Support Clients with Self-Projected Authority
- Encourage them to talk through their decisions aloud rather than keeping them internal.
- Offer reflective listening rather than solutions.
- Help them notice how their voice sounds when they speak a truth that aligns with them.
One simple phrase to offer: “Your truth is in your voice. Speak and listen to what feels right.”
Mental (Environmental) Authority: Decisions from the Right Space
Mental Authority (sometimes called Environmental Authority) belongs to Projectors without a defined motor or inner authority. Unlike other types, their clarity does not come from inside them—it comes from their environment and the people around them.
For these individuals, decisions should never be rushed. They need to talk things out, feel into their surroundings, and let their clarity emerge gradually. Their process depends on being in the right place with the right people.
Many with this Authority have been conditioned to force clarity internally, leading to frustration and self-doubt. But their truth isn’t inside them in the way it is for other types. It lives in their interactions and the way their environment influences them.
How You Can Support Clients with Mental Authority
- Encourage them to be in environments that feel clear and supportive.
- Help them recognize which spaces and people help them access clarity.
- Remind them that their process is meant to take time and include discussion.
One simple phrase to offer: “Your clarity comes from the right space, not from pressure to decide.”
Lunar Authority: The Reflector’s 29-Day Cycle
Reflectors have the rarest authority of all. They make up less than 1% of the population and have no defined centers, meaning they do not have a consistent internal decision-making mechanism. Instead, they are designed to wait a full lunar cycle (about 28 days) before making major decisions.
This is profoundly different from how most of the world operates. Reflectors feel everything deeply and change with their environment, so their clarity only emerges after they have moved through an entire cycle of experiences.
The greatest challenge for Reflectors is being pressured to decide before they are ready. Society values fast choices, but for them, time is the only path to clarity.
How You Can Support Clients with Lunar Authority
- Encourage them to give themselves a full 28 days before making major decisions.
- Help them track how they feel over time rather than focusing on the moment.
- Remind them that they are not meant to make quick choices—waiting is their strength.
One simple phrase to offer: “You are designed to move with the moon. Time will bring your clarity.”
Challenges with Less Common Authorities
People with these Authorities often feel misunderstood. They live in a world that expects quick decisions, logical reasoning, and internal certainty. When their process doesn’t match that expectation, they may feel wrong, broken, or out of sync.
Clients with these Authorities often struggle with:
- Feeling pressured to decide faster than is correct for them.
- Doubting their own process because it doesn’t fit societal norms.
- Struggling to trust themselves when their clarity doesn’t come immediately.
For practitioners, the work is about validating their process. When a client feels seen and understood in their unique decision-making strategy, they begin to trust themselves. That trust leads to better choices, greater confidence, and more alignment in their lives.
Final Thoughts: Honoring the Unique Process
Not everyone is meant to decide quickly. Not everyone is meant to have instant knowing. Some people are designed to wait, to speak, to feel into their environment.
The work of a practitioner is not to impose a single way of making decisions. It is to help each client trust the way they are designed to decide.
If you are working with clients who feel stuck in indecision, the best thing you can do is help them honor their natural timing. When they stop fighting their process, clarity comes.
If you want to deepen your understanding of how to support your clients in making aligned decisions, my book, Understanding Your Clients Through Human Design, is an essential resource.
Working with clients who feel stuck in indecision?
Help them honor their unique decision-making strategy with guidance from Understanding Your Clients Through Human Design.
