Interview with Elize Dimare and Johnny Sørensen of Fire & Shield
Which ability is more important for a business leader: to lead with passion, or to provide a supportive environment for their people? Answer: yes. For Elize Dimare and Johnny Sørensen of Fire & ShieldTM, it’s “all of the above”.
Good day, Ms. Dimare and Mr. Sørensen! We’re grateful that you could make time to speak with us despite your busy schedules. To start, can you share a little about what initially drew you both to the field of leadership development and what inspired the creation of Fire & Shield™?
Elize Dimare: I’ve always been drawn to leadership from a young age. My first leadership role was when I was just 14 years old as a co-leader in my local rowing club, organizing trips and coordinating activities. Even as a big sister, I naturally found myself creating games and leading the way for my younger sibling and her friends.
Leadership models are often overly theoretical or anecdotal, but what we were missing was a simple, effective recipe that works under pressure.
Johnny Sørensen: I naturally grew into leadership. From a young age, I was very focused and driven. I started my own business doing accounting for the local grocer while I was in university. But what really shaped me was working as a brick layer between high school and university. I was at the bottom of the hierarchy but had a fantastic boss who really inspired me. I also saw how arrogance often accompanied education and power, and experienced how damaging and demeaning it was to be treated like that. After graduation I quickly got more and more leadership responsibility and was promoted to Operations Director in the Iberian subsidiary of the company I worked for. There I found myself responsible for a lot of people in a completely different culture, and I had to learn the ins and outs of leadership the hard way. What stood out to me was the importance of asking for help and being OK with not having all the answers. That beginner’s mindset – where you’re open to learning and adapting – is still at the core of our leadership approach.
Both of us always knew we wanted to focus on leadership. The idea behind Fire & Shield™ came from our need to simplify leadership concepts. We wanted something practical, something you could apply in real situations. Leadership models are often overly theoretical or anecdotal, but what we were missing was a simple, effective recipe that works under pressure. That’s what Fire & Shield™ was built to address.
At the heart of the Fire & Shield™ methodology are the two elements “FIRE” and “SHIELD”. Can you talk briefly about what this means?
Elize Dimare: “FIRE” represents passion and energy. We wanted to capture that feeling of being truly motivated and driven by a great leader, the kind of passion that makes you feel incredibly capable and effective. Loving your job and the difference you can make.
Johnny Sørensen: “SHIELD” is about protection, that sense of being supported. A good leader creates a safe environment where you can take risks, learn from mistakes, and grow. It makes you sleep well at night, trust your boss and your colleagues, and arrive rested next day.
Together, these two elements – FIRE and SHIELD – define the kind of leadership we believe in: one that ignites passion while also providing the necessary protection to allow that passion to thrive.
Most models and literature on leadership focus either on driving results and performance focus, or psychological safety and caring for your people. But the reality is, as all great leaders know from experience, that you have to do both. If you ignore results, you are being unfair to those who are paying your salary, and if you ignore the emotional safety, you are being unfair to those who work for you and their families.
In short, you have to create both FIRE and Shield at a balanced, high level if you want to create the best long-term performance.
You also mention that “If Shield is higher than FIRE, your focus is on increasing FIRE, and if FIRE is higher than Shield, your focus is on increasing SHIELD”. How does this apply in practice?
Elize Dimare: A great example of this is a recent project I developed for a client. The team had lots of Shield – support and structure – but was lacking FIRE, which made implementing new tools long, tiresome, and inefficient. Therefore, we instigated a shift towards creating immediate energy and focus on getting things done, one thing at a time and the most important first. By being extremely specific, with frequent follow-ups and check-ins, we trained the organization in getting out of your head and into action. If there’s not enough FIRE, people often get stuck in overthinking or frustration, and when you increase FIRE, you get focus and execution.
On the flip side, when the pace is too hectic, the team might need more Shield to handle the pressure. If people are stressed, it’s usually because they’re missing that layer of protection. The reason people feel stressed at work is often not because they are too busy, but because they don’t feel safe – due to office politics, lack of clear priorities, unhealthy culture, or bad leadership. In that case, we focus on prioritizing, slowing down, and making sure the team is supported to maintain both creativity and productivity.
Fourteen years ago, you set out to decode the “essence of performance” in the simplest-possible manner. Now, your leadership programs focus on fast-track learning through practical, short modules. How do you ensure that these modules are tailored to individual needs and effectively address the specific challenges faced by leaders?
Elize Dimare: We make sure to keep the modules short and actionable, focusing on real-world application rather than abstract theory. Each module is designed to address an actual challenge our clients face. We spend time understanding their specific needs and then craft our content around that. The goal is to give them tools they can use immediately. And between each of the five to six modules, the participants get a task of practising and integrating the new tools in their daily work, by using them in real life. When we meet up for the next module, they share experiences, get input, and internalize the tools. And then we teach them the next one, and so on. Over a course of three to five months, these trainings can be quite transforming.
Johnny Sørensen: The modules are adaptable, too. We provide leaders with simple frameworks, but we encourage them to tweak and personalize them based on their situations. It’s about giving them just enough structure to succeed, while also allowing flexibility. On top of that, we always include a hotline, so when specific challenges arise, we can support them directly in figuring out the best (other) way to handle this challenge.
How does Fire & Shield™ integrate both practical and theoretical aspects of leadership?
Johnny Sørensen: All our tools and teachings are based on both theory and our own experience from decades of practical leadership. It’s important for us that what you learn with us is highly applicable to your current situation, and that you can integrated it in your daily leadership immediately.
Elize Dimare: It’s all about frequent, small interventions that gradually build new habits. We design our modules to become second nature, just like putting on a seat belt. It’s not just learning the theory; it’s about integrating it into your daily routines so that Fire & Shield™ becomes a natural part of how you operate.
Your company has a history of transforming underperforming companies. What role does your concept play in these transformations? How do you apply it to different industries?
Johnny Sørensen: Turning numbers and turnarounds are always with a time factor. The company is running out of cash, or sales are dropping, or margins are lowered, or we are losing our best people, and we need to put a plug in before we have to close. And Fire & Shield™ is so fast. It takes you very little time to assess the levels of FIRE and Shield and, by just doing that, you are already getting strong hints as to where to start your focus. It may surprise you how often a company that is suffering still is lacking FIRE because top management has not informed people of the true state of things.
Elize Dimare: Managers often think that they are protecting their teams by not involving them in the reality and the problems the organizations are facing, but it is actually the other way around. By activating every single person and their smart brains in finding the solutions, you create an amazing energy and always, always come up with something better, smarter, easier, faster, and much more successful than if top management sit by themselves in an ivory tower trying to figure out all of it on their own.
Speaking of history, can you tell us more about how you developed the concept nomadic leadership and how it fits into you overall leadership model? How does it help in managing constant change within organizations?
Johnny Sørensen: Nomadic leadership is all about agility. It’s recognizing that change is the constant in business and leadership. This approach helps leaders manage transitions smoothly by being flexible, adaptable, and always ready to pivot. Change requires constant training, and our model encourages leaders to stay in motion and continually evolve.
It’s recognizing that change is the constant in business and leadership. This approach helps leaders manage transitions smoothly by being flexible, adaptable, and always ready to pivot.
Elize Dimare: Change management is the only management discipline today. John Kotter wrote about it in his book What Managers Really Do back in 1999, yet we seem to cling on to ancient theories of change as being something clearly defined, with a specific start and end date, and objective targets that you will begin with fair warning and time to plan. I can see you’re smiling now, as people always do when we talk about it like that. Because it’s true. Change in this century is messy, constant, overlapping, and mostly comes as a surprise. With nomadic leadership, you accept this premise and therefore develop an organization with a flexible mindset, a flexible structure, and with flexible tools and processes. And you always accept the change, instead of fighting it.
Your approach involves understanding business nuances across various cultures. How do you adapt the Fire & Shield™ model to fit different cultural contexts?
Elize Dimare: We’ve worked with clients globally, including in the US, and with international teams with many nationalities present in one team. We always approach this with a curious, open mindset, being aware that leadership expectations and business dynamics can be very different. And every time, we are surprised how similarly people think and feel. The key is adaptability – understanding the cultural nuances while maintaining the core principles of Fire & Shield™. We tweak our approach to respect cultural values but always aim for the same result: creating passionate, effective leaders.
Johnny Sørensen: In the end, people are people. Across the world and across time, we’ve all wanted the same things: to feel safe and to make a difference in the world, while being able to provide for ourselves and our loved ones. It doesn’t have to be that hard. The hard part is yourself. You have to get your own weaknesses and keep your blind spots in check, and be the best version of yourself, so that you can bring that out in others. Every day.
“It’s not about creating the strategy, but implementing it and getting leaders onboard” is one of the core messages you often emphasize. How does the Fire & Shield™ method ensure that leadership strategies are not only created but effectively implemented? Can you discuss the role of follow-through in your process?
Johnny Sørensen: The real challenge in leadership is execution. We make sure that our strategies come with clear, actionable steps, and we support leaders through the follow-through process. A strategy is just a piece of paper until your front-line people start doing something differently. It’s about accountability, and we work closely with leaders to ensure they stay on track and adjust as needed.
Elize Dimare: It always strikes us as a bit ironic how much time and money organizations and top management teams are willing to spend on developing the strategy, and how little energy they put into making it happing in the real world. Setting your vision is a half-day exercise: growth, sustainable growth, consolidation, defending your position, expanding into new markets or new products or services, increasing profitability, or thinking about blue ocean positions in the market. Then you do your analysis work, which you always should, but if you don’t involve your middle managers in making the plans specific, actionable, and with clear steps, you end up discussing holograms in an echo chamber.
How do you handle the responsibility of managing other people’s money and lives while implementing the model? What strategies do you use to balance this responsibility?
Elize Dimare: We approach every project with a sense of responsibility, knowing that the stakes are high. By focusing on clarity and transparency, we ensure that leaders make informed decisions. It’s about balancing risk with smart, strategic actions.
Johnny Sørensen: Helping people transform their leadership style is a very vulnerable situation, because most good leaders care deeply about being a good leader. But if they want to be truly great, they have to face the unpleasant truths about themselves and learn to overcome that. We treat that with the utmost respect, making sure they know that we are in their corner every step of the way.
Given your expertise in turning companies into high-performance organizations, what common pitfalls do you see in leadership, and how do you address them?
Johnny Sørensen: A common pitfall is leaders feeling like they need to know everything. We encourage leaders to adopt a beginner’s mindset, stay curious, and not be afraid to ask questions. This humility not only helps them grow but also builds trust within their teams.
We encourage leaders to adopt a beginner’s mindset, stay curious, and not be afraid to ask questions. This humility not only helps them grow but also builds trust within their teams.
Elize Dimare: My background as an engineer has taught me that leadership needs structure and discipline, but it also needs flexibility. No matter the industry, we focus on practical tools that can be adapted to the specific needs of the organization. Whether it’s tech, construction, or retail, the Fire & Shield™ principles remain the same; they are just applied differently based on context. However, many leaders seem to believe that leadership in their specific industry is unique.
Johnny Sørensen: Coming to think of it, another common pitfall is that leaders forget to ask for help. Accepting that leadership is a trade as well as any other trade, it is natural to reach out to leadership experts to fast-track your learning curve. You call a doctor with the right medical training when you have a health issue, so why shouldn’t you get help from a trained professional with becoming a better leader?
Looking ahead, what is next for Fire & Shield™?
Elize Dimare: We’re expanding internationally, bringing Fire & Shield™ to new markets and industries. We’re excited about helping leaders across the globe simplify leadership and boost performance.
And finally, as leaders, how do you define success?
Elize Dimare: For me, success is about creating lasting impact. It’s not just about achieving short-term goals or hitting targets; it’s about helping people and organizations grow in a way that’s sustainable. If we’ve given leaders tools that they can use for years to come and they feel empowered to face challenges confidently, then I consider that a success. When I meet a leader I trained three or four years ago and they share the immense difference the training, the reflection, and the new tools have made, that is when I feel most proud of our work.
Johnny Sørensen: Success is when the leaders we work with feel both empowered and protected. It’s seeing them have that “Aha!” moment when they realize that leadership doesn’t have to be complicated and they start leading with more clarity and confidence. If they’re able to inspire their teams while also maintaining balance in their own lives, that’s when I know we’ve done our job well. In that sense, you could say that we try to make the world a better place, one organization at a time.
Elize Dimare
Johnny Sørensen
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