Flow-Based Leadership

Have you ever arrived on the scene of a house fire to find a frantic woman in the driveway? As a firefighter, you know instinctively what this means: there is a child inside. You immediately enter “the zone,” because you know what to do. This is based on your training and experience. The feeling of being “in the zone,” is referred to in the field of positive psychology as “the flow.”

Multiple studies have shown that, if people have the proper training and experience, they will make better decisions in emerging situations while in a flow-state. How can your organization help your people experience flow more often, thereby improving their decision-making?

This book describes what flow is and what flow-based decision making and flow-based leadership look like. It also details a flow-based leadership model for implementation, based on an extreme, experiential training program in the fire service called Georgia Smoke Diver (GSD). This model consists of :

• Leading by example
• Communicating purpose
• Committing to a stable infrastructure
• Binding the group through ritual, knowledge sharing, and collaboration
• Honoring individual creativity to promote innovation
• Using positive motivation techniques
• Facilitating team flow.

GSD’s success and longevity is a result of rigorous commitment to this model that helps firefighters stay safe, ensure excellence, and live a life of well-being, both personally and professionally. It is a model any organization can adopt to better the lives of the people within the organization and the lives of the people the organization serves.