🧠 Can you recognize when you're working in a flow state? Do you know how to achieve it?
Recently I watched an interesting video posted by OpenCulture/Big Think.
In it, author & peak-performance specialist Steven Kotler describes flow ("the state of effortless effort") & how learning how to tune into our bodies helps us achieve it. I couldn’t agree more!
For example - knowing what time of day you are most naturally focused & productive (for Kotler this is the early hours of the morning) & making sure your diary is free for absolute concentration is a great help.
Kotler mentions in passing the effect of neurochemicals on flow state. That’s worth digging into because we can influence those chemicals which will help us achieve that flow state.
Here’s the chemical story he’s referencing: While adrenalin (fear/excitement) gets us going and acetylcholine (balance) enables us to recover, it is the relative levels of cortisol (stress) and DHEA (vitality) that dictate how we get going and how we recover and whether we are in a state of flow.
Too much cortisol drags down levels of the “feel-good” chemicals whereas DHEA boosts them.
Too much cortisol also reduces DHEA – so the key is to keep cortisol at optimal low levels so that DHEA can rise and with it boost levels of the “feel-good” chemicals.
The ability to actively balance these chemical levels makes it much more likely that we’ll achieve peak flow (and, consequently, peak productivity).
Although Kotler focuses in the video on achieving flow as an individual, we can also achieve flow as a team.
If you are aspiring to create a culture that facilitates a flow state across your team (and who wouldn't?) Kotler recommends the work of Keith Sawyer, a psychologist from The Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who has created this useful trigger list for groups hoping to achieve 'team flow':
🥅 Shared Goals
👂 Close Listening
➕ “Yes And” – additive, rather than combative conversations
🔎 Complete Concentration – total focus in the right here, right now
🎛️ A sense of control – where each member of the group believes and feels that they are in control
🎨 Blending Egos – where each person can submerge their ego needs into the group's
⚖️ Equal Participation – where skill levels are roughly equal & everyone is involved
😊 Familiarity – where people know one another and understand their own and each other’s tics and tendencies
🗣️ Constant Communication – a group version of immediate feedback
🧩 Shared, Group Risk – where everyone is aware of and accountable for the risks inherent in the group’s work
How many of the above apply to your current team? What steps can you take to leverage the strengths and strengthen the areas for improvement?
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