Enhancing Decision-Making Through Flow and Creative Suspension

Decision-making is a skill every leader needs to master, especially when stakes are high. But how do you move beyond simply reacting to circumstances and into a state where awareness and action flow together seamlessly??

The answer lies in understanding and practicing "creative suspension" and tapping into the power of flow.

What Does Flow Mean in Decision-Making?

At any moment, we face countless choices: to act or not to act. This choice is a conscious departure from the circumstances we’re in.

?When you’re in flow, awareness and action merge, allowing you to make confident, informed decisions. But without this state, decision-making can become fragmented and reactive, leading to impulsive actions without thought.

Choice isn’t just about logic—it’s influenced by everything you’re experiencing in that moment. It involves both what you know explicitly and what you understand intuitively.?

This is why “continuous training in the firefighter culture is based on minimizing reactive choices.”

The Concept of Creative Suspension

In the book Gentle Action: Bringing Creative Change to a Turbulent World, David Peat talks about “creative suspension,” which he defines as “a voluntary act, on the part of an individual or organization, to suspend, if only for a moment, a normal ‘knee-jerk’ reaction to rush in and ‘help’ or ‘put things right.’”

Think of it as pressing pause before jumping into action.?

Creative suspension isn’t doing nothing; it’s an active pause to assess the situation, do triage, and understand your options. In firefighting terms, it’s called a “size-up.” Peat emphasizes, “However, creative suspension is not the act of ‘doing nothing.’ It is an active form of watchfulness and assessment, in order to take the most effective action as quickly as possible.”

Renowned psychologist Gary Klein calls this “situation awareness,” which he explains can develop rapidly through intuition or through thoughtful mental rehearsal. When you practice this, you can move beyond gut reactions and make deliberate choices that have the best chance for success.

Why Creative Suspension Matters

Creative suspension opens up a “space of all possible actions,” changing how you view and manage situations. Instead of following the usual routine or old feedback loops, you reorganize your approach. This makes space for new and innovative solutions, especially in complex or evolving situations.

This pause allows you to:

• Gather Feedback: Understand what’s happening in real-time.
• Stay Aware: Maintain active, alert awareness without jumping to conclusions.
• Lower Inhibition: Keep an open mind and stay flexible to different solutions.

Most people have “latent inhibition,” which acts as a filter, blocking out information that isn’t immediately essential for survival. But to make creative decisions, you need low levels of inhibition. “People with low levels of inhibition are able to be more creative in their decision-making processes because they are open to more possibilities.”?

On the other hand, high inhibition leads to rigidity, preventing change even when change could lead to better results.

High Cognitive Ability vs. Low Cognitive Ability

It’s essential to understand the difference between high and low cognitive abilities when it comes to feedback and decision-making. High cognitive individuals are more open to feedback and willing to seek new information.?

According to Thompson, they “rely on themselves to provide missing information, look for more novel information, and search across more domains to find information.”

They also recognize when they’re communicating with others who might not share the same cognitive level and make adjustments to ensure clarity. In contrast, those with low cognitive abilities “tend to use few dimensions when processing stimuli…tend to contrast themselves with others and are less open to feedback…[and] tend to have a relatively narrow set of interests and knowledge domains.”

How to Apply This in Your Work

To make better decisions:

1. Practice Creative Suspension: Pause before making big decisions. This gives you time to evaluate the full range of options.
2. Train for Flow: Regular training and preparation build the skills needed to reach flow in high-pressure moments.
3. Stay Open: Be aware of latent inhibition. Work on staying open to new possibilities and feedback, especially when under stress.

Final Thoughts

Flow-based decision-making, enhanced by creative suspension, empowers you to pause, assess, and act in the best way possible. This combination helps you move past knee-jerk reactions and into thoughtful, effective leadership.

Have you ever used a moment of creative suspension to change the outcome of a decision? Share your experiences and insights below!