I need to make a confession. Years before I discovered the power of flow, I had experienced the other side of the spectrum – burned out and completely disconnected from my work. I remember being so overwhelmed it felt like suffocating. I didn't know what to do.
Even though I managed to survive this crisis and clawed my way back up, I couldn't stop thinking about the reasons I got burned out in the first place. Time and again, I would find myself going back to the most difficult situations from the past, picturing what I would have done differently, if I had another chance. What would have helped me instead of pulling me further down? How could my team leader have prevented me from burning out?
This quest for understanding took me on a journey to the depths of neuroscience and leadership studies. But above all, it took me to make new choices in my life. When I became a team leader myself, I started doing things the way I had wished my supervisors did when I was on their teams.
Suddenly, everything made sense. My teams transformed from random groups of people bluntly clicking their way through the day into highly engaged, productive, and resilient teams buzzing with creative ideas and positive energy. We shared a deep connection of purpose and camaraderie that was unparalleled throughout the rest of the organization. That was it. I saw the power of flow with my very eyes.
Flow, also known as "the zone" or "being in the moment," is a state of peak performance in which people are fully immersed in what they are doing and feel energized by the challenge at hand.
This state of mind is often associated with athletics, but it can occur in any situation from play to work, where people are challenged and absorbed in what they are doing. Flow occurs regardless of our ethnicity, age, gender, or level of education. When we are in flow, we lose awareness of time and our surroundings, and we become one with the activity. Time seems to slow down or even stop, and we are able to act with great skill and creativity.
The concept of flow has been widely popularized in the 1970s when Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi introduced the term to the world. According to his research, and many others to follow since then, people who enter a flow state are able to access their full potential and tap into their previously hidden skills and abilities. When people enter flow, they report being in a sense of deep joy, fulfilment, and satisfaction.