INsight/ The Flow State
Photo by Susan Wilkinson on Unsplash.
Manila, 7 December 2023 — When you lose track of time while using your strengths.
Story
It happened two months ago. Together with my colleagues in the International Association of Positive Psychology Coaches (IAPPC), we explored a phenomenon that we coaches aspire to generate in effective coaching conversations. We call it Flow. Of course, we’re not the only ones talking about this. Athletes do it too—they call it being in The Zone—and so do inventors, creators, and just about any professional who has experienced what it means to find yourself in a state that Steven Kotler, an author and journalist, refers to as a state of effortless effort.
If you have experienced Flow before, you will likely recognize what we’re talking about here. I believe that almost everyone has had experiences with Flow, even if you haven’t used that term to describe it. Watching Steven Kotler’s short video about Flow might help you connect with the experience and, importantly, get ideas on how to enter into a Flow state. That’s an important question in my view. Why? Because in a state of Flow, we are likely to find ourselves achieving extraordinary results.
Kotler’s quote about a state of effortless effort reminds me instantly of the Dao and other Asian wisdom traditions. However, Kotler chooses a Western take on Flow, and all the role models he quoted are Western (and male). I found that odd because he is leaving out all the other parts of the world. And, perhaps because he is taking a Western perspective, most of his story is focused on individual rather than collective experiences with Flow, even if many of the visual images he uses tell another story. Setting different perspectives aside, let’s unpack the question of how we can prepare ourselves to enter Flow more often.
Challenge
How do you like Kotler’s fast story in the video? I found it somewhat overwhelming at first and could make more sense of it when I watched it a second and third time. Reflecting on the many aspects he touches on, my three takeaways were that, first, Flow can start when we slow down and focus. Second, it can become a highly individual experience. Third, in my experience, Flow may matter more in our workplace when it happens socially, for example as we find ourselves in a one-on-one or group coaching conversation. Flow in such a social situation means that we enter into a high mental state where, in the words of Julia Stewart, my mentor coach, “curiosity, creativity, vision, insights, ideas, and strategies flow effortlessly” and “we become one with the activity.”
Positive psychology research shows that we are more likely to enter into a Flow state when we actively use our top strengths in challenging ways. This can happen when we feel passionate about doing something that we truly enjoy so we easily end up losing track of time. Janie Miller, a fellow IAPPC coach, refers to Flow as a place where “your mind knows no limits.” No wonder, then, that coaches—and leaders who use a coaching style—will see Flow as the high point in conversations when both (or all) sides are using their strengths. To experience Flow more frequently, we are therefore reminded to start with discovering our strengths and then making sure that we use our strengths frequently.
Beyond using our strengths—which Kotler omits from his talk—there is more that we can learn from his insights. Think of practicing concentration and focus, and managing distractions. I liked the four steps he outlined for getting to Flow, using a sports metaphor. If motivation is “what gets us into the game,” he said, learning “allows us to continue to play.” With creativity seen as “how we steer,” flow then is “how we amplify the results beyond all reasonable expectations.” That shows the power of being in the Flow state. As we mentioned, you can apply these insights individually, yet I would encourage you to explore them socially with others, in coaching-style conversations, and in teams and groups.
Question
While using a Flow state socially seems almost like an afterthought in Kotler’s Western perspective, in TransformationFirst.Asia we take social perspectives seriously in our leadership coaching work. For example, in the Grow3Leaders community, we feel equipped to explore Flow and other important behaviors from the perspectives of our personal, social, and observed worlds, using the Three Worlds Model.
That brings me to my question for you this week. As a leader, what is your experience with Flow? And what takeaways can you share about preparing yourself and colleagues to enter into a Flow state more frequently, individually and socially together?
As always, I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Spending more time in the Flow state seems correlated with higher performance, more results, and better well-being. It is, therefore, an important and fascinating experience to learn more about.
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