Judy Glick-Smith presents the live Web seminar Service-Oriented Management: Facilitating a Flow-based Work Environment on Wednesday, 30 October, from 1:00-2:00 PM EDT (GMT-4). Below is a guest blog from Judy exploring what a flow-based work environment is and how you can help facilitate one in your organization.
You may ask, what is a flow-based work environment? People who work in this type of environment love their jobs. They have purpose. Their talents are honed and positively exploited for the good of the individual, as well as the organization. They are listened to and honored as collaborative members of the team by all levels of the organization. Individuals and teams make decisions quickly and effectively, and they usually make the right decision. There is no blame if things go wrong; there is discussion about the lessons learned, which are shared with all members of all the teams. Fear of reprimand is nonexistent, because all members’ points of view and choices in a given moment are honored and recognized as the best one could make given the information available at the time.
Does this sound too good to be true? This model actually exists. There is no reason in the world why it cannot be duplicated in any organization. What it takes is a combination of servant-leadership and service-oriented management.
Traditionally, the role of “leader” is future-based. That is, the leader sets the vision and communicates it to the organization, who then implements the vision. The role of “manager” is based in the “now.” The manager is interested in making sure that today’s work is completed. The service-oriented manager is still interested in getting the work done, but he or she is also acutely aware of the fact that people are the ones doing the work. If people do not have the appropriate infrastructure or tools, if they are not receiving clarifying communication, if they are not honored for their intellect or ideas, if they are not working where their talents are best used, they will not get the work done completely and efficiently.
In the course of completing my doctoral studies, where I investigated flow-based decision-making in the fire service, I came in contact with an amazing organization called “Georgia Smoke Divers” (GSD). This organization practices both servant leadership and service-oriented management. GSD has been around since 1978. It is an extreme, experiential training program for firefighters, whose sole mission is to save lives. Foundational to the success of this organization is the idea of total commitment to the program, as evidenced by the number of graduates who return to become instructors—and they do it for free twice a year.
Through this webinar, I will articulate the characteristics of the GSD model and discuss how any organization can operate more effectively by adopting a service-oriented approach.
Click here to sign up for the webinar. You can email me with questions or visit my website.
Judy Glick-Smith is a Fellow and Past President of STC. She has a PhD in transformative studies with a concentration in integral studies and an emphasis in positive psychology. She also holds a Master’s of Science in conflict management. She is a technical communicator, business developer, and consultant teaching the art of flow-based decision making through her company, MentorFactor, Inc.