Let it Flow

Flow - Where the ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost. (Csikszentmihalyi)

Years ago myself and my now husband signed ourselves up for an adrenaline filled morning driving Rage Buggies. Neither of us shy of a bit of competition and both passionate drivers we knew this would make for a thrilling activity.

It was a cold crisp February morning with mist lying gently on the ground and frost clinging to the bushes and trees. We arrived at the centre early and got kitted out. It was just me, my husband and one other driver. With a quick safety lesson, a training session on how to use the buggies and an orientation of the track we got started.

At first I was pretty slow. I was excited to see what the engine could do. Not one to be shy of a fast car yet being unfamiliar with this vehicle, I decided I needed to figure it out before I could go full throttle. I was cautious, I tested the buggy, the gears, the accelerator and the brakes to get a feel each. I then moved my attention to the track testing each turn, each ramp, the points where you might lift off, the hard corners and then the flats where you could lay on the accelerator and let it rip. It was slow work and I became a blocker for the other racers who were already booting it around the track. I was eventually signaled off to the side by one of the staff to wait and let the other two by. This was ok, I was still in my analysis phase and I was just not ready to put the foot down. Yet.

When finally I got the read of the track and the feel for the engine I started to push it a little harder, picking the points where I knew I needed to brake, where I needed to lay on the accelerator and where I needed to do nothing and just fly. I was there. The ground was cold and solid. The air was crisp. All the conditions were right and suddenly time slowed down, I was the only one on the track. I was ready to give it full throttle.

It was at this point that I entered the state of mind referred to as flow. I knew exactly what I needed to do. The exhilaration was flowing through every vein of my body.

For me this was one of those moments in life where I was in 100% flow, I was in full control and I knew exactly what I needed to do. I was unstoppable.

Understanding - How do I work?

Recently I was trying to explain how I work to a colleague and this story came to me. It suddenly clicked with me that this was a perfect analogy for how I work. I am a person who needs time to process all information in front of me before I can act. I need to pause and consider the question, formulate my answer based on all the relevant information I can find, and then happily provide my thoughts with confidence. Sometimes this can be a very quick process requiring agility to take in changing information and make fast decisions, but on other occasions this can be a slow process to get into that point of flow.

On that cold crisp morning in February, I had time on my side, I spent a good 10-15 minutes just analysing all the information in front of me before I really felt comfortable in how to meet my challenge. Being rushed or pressured can sometimes have a negative impact on my performance and usually has the opposite effect of that intended. I slow down, I make mistakes. I panic and am no longer in control, effectively killing any capability I had to solve the problem. An environment of soft touch guidance, autonomy and trust has always been the most suitable for my style of working. The trust to leave me with a challenge or plan and let me do my thing. The output will always be the highest quality I can achieve and I will thrive doing it.

This is no doubt true for most people. People will always try to perform to their best but their best will only be dependent on the conditions set for them. Setting the right conditions and understanding how someone works can be the most powerful thing you can do as a leader of people. Not only will you get optimal productivity from your people but you will also benefit from a fully engaged and innovative workforce.

Measuring your challenge

If I had set out to win without any previous experience that day, it would have been a ticket to disappointment and possible injury. Setting your goals at the right level of challenge for the tools you have at your disposal is key to a thoroughly enjoyable experience without the risk of burnout and stress.

We all relish a challenge yet we need to be realistic in the challenges we set for ourselves and be clear about those that are set for us. We need to have the right environmental factors and possess the necessary tools to ensure our safety in the challenges we face.

There are many tools we will draw from to perform at our best in life, in work or at any activity. Some of these tools might be immediately available to us but most are grown and carved out over time through mastery. We will never reach a point of flow without mastering the skills and tools we need to get there. Whether through formal education or life experiences, these learned skills will lead us to make certain decisions, chart specific paths and will ultimately guide our approach to the challenges we face. Knowing our strengths and weaknesses so we can know where to push it and where we need to step back and take it easy.

Employees want to be busy! They want to be challenged! They do not, however, want a stifling lack of control that impedes their flow and creativity.

Article by Pamela Farago - How high job demands can actually lower your stress

I knew the tools I had to work with that day on the race track. I knew what I could do and that the challenge was right for the skills I had. I was an equal to my opponents.

Purpose driving performance

My purpose on that day was simple - beat my opponents and have a lot of fun doing it. (I did mention my competitive nature earlier right?... ;) )

Purpose is spoken about so often these days when talking about company engagement and staff retention. It is true that if we do not know the impact of the work we are doing we can become disengaged. If we do not have clear direction, either by a company purpose or by our own personal purpose, how do we know if we are on the right track, if we possess the skills we need to get there or if we have arrived at our intended destination.

With a clear sense of purpose, conditions of autonomy and trust and having the rights skills to meet the challenges we choose, we can all move closer to achieving a state of high performance, of flow and with it well-being and fulfillment.

Seems simple right? Did I mention I am also an eternal optimistic. ;)

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as a state of "intense emotional involvement" and timelessness that comes from immersive and challenging activities.

This can be any activity from software coding to piano playing to rage buggy driving.

The final lap

When our racing time was over, we made our way back. The banter between us drivers and the instructors was electric. They all teased me about how slow I had been at the start but in the end wasn't too bad (I know they were all thinking - for a girl).

When we got into the kitting area there was a score board on the wall. The moment we'd all been waiting for. One of the instructors went into the office to get the track times and when he came back into the room he announced with disbelief that not only had I placed the fastest of the day but I had placed fastest for the year so far. They were gobsmacked and I of course, being the gracious winner that I am [not], gloated in my win.

I was the underdog, the woman, the slow one at the start.

And in the end, the outright winner.

How did I manage to do it? It was not through luck that I had won, it was through deep analysis and observation to start out, knowing the restrictions I was working within, using the tools at my disposal and having a clear purpose of the task ahead. With all this to hand I was able to get into full flow and it was this that provided me with this well deserved win.

Epilogue.

If you made it this far thank you for reading.

I happily recount this story regularly to my husband who still teases me that I was just the lightest and that's why I won... ha ha!!! Myself and my husband are both really competitive, I am the excitable and openly competitive type where he is the quietly humble yet super competitive type. Put it this way, he would win at poker every time and I most certainly would lose. We are chalk and cheese in how we respond to competition and winning, but we will both put in the same level of effort to ensure we win. There is no going easy on each other to let the other win. It is the most fun in the world competing against him. That said, I lose at most things but I always give it my best and thoroughly enjoy the process. Then for the times I do win they are all the more enjoyable and gloat worthy.