Getting into a flow state is the equivalent of having a good “hair day” at work, according to Gavin McMahon, Founding Partner and Chief Product & Learning Officer at fassforward, a growth consultancy that specializes in translating strategy, building capabilities, and shaping culture. “It’s a day that flew by, and you were firing on all cylinders. You felt productive, aligned, and engaged,” he says.
“You lose track of time; lose feelings of self-consciousness; feel that you’re on a roll or your creative juices are flowing; are completely undistracted and present in the activity at hand,” adds Tzuki Stewart, CEO & Co-Founder at Playfilled, a strategy consultancy found at the intersection of new ways of working, organizational development and employee experience.
As a team, it’s important to understand how to get into a flow state. “When people find this flow state in their work, intrinsic motivation increases, leading to greater creativity and productivity,” says Stewart. Greater organizational resilience, higher employee engagement, increased innovation and more inclusive collaboration are some of the benefits of a flow state in the workplace.
Here are four tips to get in a flow state as a team.
1. Cultivate a sense of play
If you want team members to flow, start by getting them to play. “When a team finds a sense of play in their work, the individuals are likely to experience flow and not worry about what others in the group are thinking about them, as shown in research by Ronit Kark, Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology at Exeter University’s Business School,” says Stewart.
To make this happen as a leader, it’s important to gather insights about how different team members find playfulness in their work. Why not ask them? “We all have preferences around how we like to play, such as creating or developing something new, exploring intellectually, moving our bodies, absorbing or telling stories, or directing and progressing projects,” adds Stewart.
2. Balance ‘touch’ and ‘task’ in your management
The way you lead and manage matters too. McMahon says that each person on your team needs a certain amount of “touch” and a certain amount of “task.”
“Touch is the amount of relationship, reassurance, and facetime, to feel confident and willing to do the job. Task is the amount of direction and coaching on the job itself,” he says. “Each team member is different and making sure that each gets the right amount of touch and task will set them up for flow.”
Consider this your secret recipe to spark a flow state in different individuals so that they can come together as a group and flow together.
3. Work towards outcomes
Working towards outcomes is a great way to help your team get into a flow state. McMahon describes outcomes as strategy translated into day-to-day action. For example, if you run your team in a call center, you might have strategic goals around hard metrics such as resolution time. When you have annoyed customers on the line, it’s an obstacle in the way of your goal. So a team outcome to aim for can be “put a smile on every customer’s face.”
“It’s a clear, concrete translation,” says McMahon. “As a leader, when you clearly set up outcomes for the team, you create the conditions for flow. Outcomes allow teams to function semi-autonomously. They align teams against the strategy and help them see the forest for the trees as they deal with day-to-day work, changing priorities, and unreasonable deadlines. As a leader, they allow you to stop directing the resolution of the day-to-day (micromanaging) and the team is free to collectively set goals.”
4. Increase good stress and reduce bad stress
It’s hard to be in flow when you’re stressed out. But there’s such a thing as good stress – you want your team fired up about getting up in the morning and collaborating towards their goals, says McMahon. On the other hand, bad stress will get in the way of their flow state, so you’ll want to keep it in check. Examples: too many meetings to coordinate work instead of doing work, a toxic culture where people can’t express themselves or their ideas, rapidly changing priorities and fire drills, unreasonable deadlines, lack of a task or role clarity, or poor feedback.
The solutions: Only meet when you have a clear purpose and agenda, and favor short and sweet meetings. Create a safe space in your team by making it okay to talk about all sorts of topics and share different perspectives. Focus on outcomes, as mentioned above. Make sure that roles and responsibilities are clear as things evolve, take workload into consideration, and give specific feedback on a regular basis to keep the communication lines open.
