Getting Your Employees In the Flow

Getting quality output from people is often not predictable, especially from knowledge workers and technical specialists doing non-linear work. But, what if you could practice a way to not only increase work quality, while also helping your people be more fulfilled? Answer: help them get in the flow!
What is Flow? It is a state of mind you achieve when you are fully immersed in a task, forgetting about the outside world. It is achieving a level of deep concentration. When you are in the state of “Flow” you are focused solely on the task and detached from all distractions, losing sense of yourself, others and time. And when you emerge from the flow state, you frequently feel happy or fulfilled and in control. This phenomenon was first described and studies by professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Director of the Quality of Life Research Center at the University of Chicago.

Flow can only happen when a person is able to balance challenges and skills; thus, avoiding the extremes of boredom and anxiety. Let us illustrate. Khun Lek wants to learn how to play piano. As she begins practicing basic scales she becomes bored. Her teacher helps her pick a harder piece of music thereby increasing the challenge in order to create a more optimal experience and develop greater skills through practice. When a new level is achieved, more challenging lessons are given. So, one way to help someone be “in the flow” is to incrementally add challenges to overcome boredom. The trick is to avoid increasing the level of challenge too quickly, thus creating anxiety in the person that he or she may fail.
Flow happens only when the level of challenge is neither too high nor too low. And the intensity of the flow experience increases as skill grows.
You can practice this yourself. Attack your biggest work challenges while remembering that flow is easiest to achieve when you: 1) have enough pressure to stay engaged (but not too much), 2) you believe that your skills are good enough to perform well, 3) you have distractions under control, 4) spend no effort in criticizing your work, 5) you are relaxed and alert, and 6) you are thinking positively.

So, this leads us to what you can do as a leader to help others get in the flow so they can also focus on key work output.
1. Help employees identify the tasks and outcomes that are most important and urgent. Be clear on your expectations and how much you appreciate quality output.
2. Help employees stay challenged by their key work responsibilities rather remain stuck in routine, less valued work.
3. Openly express your trust and confidence in their ability to get important work done. Dr. Csikzentmihalyi suggests frequent, helpful feedback aids people to get into the flow state.
4. Help reduce the number and extent of distractions so productive work can happen. In a study of computer programmer productivity, study participants valued supervisors that “respected them” and “got out of their way” so they could be most productive.
5. Avoid being a micro-manager through continuous checking and status reports. If the person is good enough for the job, let them do the job without criticism.
6. Help key employees stay healthy and alert by ensuring they can balance and work and life renewing activities such as eating well, making time for friend and family, and getting their sleep and exercise.
7. Communicate that you fully expect them to do well on the project, and that you are available for support if needed—that you are in their corner.