Team Flow - don't chase it!
Finding flow is a bit like catching a fish. No guarantees, but there are things that we can do to make it more likely to happen. Photo by Greysen Johnson on Unsplash
Flow is a psychological state associated with optimal experience, high performance and even euphoria. Typically, flow is considered at a personal level and there is evidence to suggest that flow is linked to team performance as well.
While flow is useful for us and our teams, there is no real way to guarantee flow - either individually or collectively.
Here's why. By definition, flow states occur when our attention is fully consumed by the task at hand. If we are trying to achieve flow, we will most often pay some attention to whether flow has been achieved or not. As soon as we do that, we can't be in flow! What is more useful is to notice when we have been in flow and to try and replicate these conditions as much as we can.
I'm not a fisherman, but the idea of fishing seems useful here. As far as I can tell, there is no way to guarantee that you will catch fish. You can, however, fish in particular locations, at particular times with particular bait and equipment in order to significantly increase the chance of catching fish. Same deal with flow. No guarantees, but there are things that we can do to make it more likely to happen.
As you explore flow for yourself and with your team, you can consider these categories of flow triggers presented by Steven Kotler:
Social: group flow happens when people enter a flow state together.
Creative: thinking differently about the challenges you face and approaching them from a different perspective helps.
Environmental: external qualities in the environment that drive people deeper into ‘the zone’.
Psychological: internal triggers that create more flow.
Please keep in mind the golden rule of flow...Don't chase it. Chasing flow dooms your mission from the start! It's far better to create the conditions where flow is more likely to arise and see what happens next.
It also seems difficult to scale flow to your team levels if individuals aren't familiar with the experience, so my recommendation is to start by fostering flow at individual level (yourself and individual team members). Flow at group or team level can develop after enough individuals know their own flow triggers well enough.
Here is a series of questions that might help you to identify some flow triggers. Use them for yourself and your team members:
Social: Who was around you when you last experienced flow?
Creative: How do you best come up with a solution for a tricky problem?
Environmental: What external factors help you enter a flow state?
Psychological: When was the last time that you lost track of time doing work?