A good book, a thrilling movie, a well-deserved vacation, and watching championship sport games are a few examples of activities that absorb your whole being to the point that other activities and stimuli are blocked from conscious thought. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi described these moments as “flow”optimal experiences where a person’s attention is fully absorbed such that other incoming information or stimuli are unable to be processed. Consider the “flow” of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech that August day, or perhaps Mandela’s impassioned speech to the United Nations describing the tragedy of Apartheid the fact of the continuing commission of a crime against humanity—and how these messages resonate deep inside your leadership self.
To Prepare
- Listen to the Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech and Nelson Mandela’s, “Speech to the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid.”
- Review the Molenberghs et al. (2011) article in your Learning Resources.
- Post by Day 3 an explanation of what is meant by “flow” and “resonance.” Give several examples from both personal experience and Dr. King’s or Nelson Mandela’s speech of flow and resonance. Explain how flow and resonance might occur in leader-follower relationships. Analyze whether some leaders fit better with some followers as described in the research presented by Molenberghs et al. (2011).
