Flow state for top performance
The «flow state» has been well studied in sports and neuroscience. Many athletes use it to achieve their top performance.
When in such state, our productivity skyrockets, time disappears and we feel in harmony with the present moment and activity.
It happens when we stretch our skills to cope with a difficult challenge.
But we tend to fall into it by chance. How about understanding the keys so that you can enter this state at will?
A short summary (although it may not mean much if you don’t watch the full video):
- Triggers: 1. Novelty 2. Concentration 3. Unpredictability 4. Awe 5. Complexity
- Motivators 1. Curiosity 2. Passion 3. Purpose 4. Autonomy 5. Mastery
Flow state for your work
But this is valid only for sports. Now let’s take it to the corporate world.
However, since the industrial revolution most companies design the jobs of their employees to be easier, more predictable, boring, disconnected from their purpose or, on the other hand, frustrating and distressful… which makes it very difficult to turn on the flow state.
So here are some important questions for you, as a manager or HR professional:
- How often do you / your people work in a flow state? What % of your time you are working in the 8 sectors of the graph? Is everybody having their own match between challenge and skill?
- How could you improve your productivity and well being by working more often in such a state of mind?
- Does your job / company use consciously the mentioned triggers and motivators to facilitate people achieving their flow state?
- What can you do to promote it consciously? Can you introduce more novelty, complexity and unpredictibility, avoid breaking concentration, helping people master complex skills required to deal with complex missions, etc.?
