Camaraderie plus Alignment equals Flow?

[Anonymous]

One of the themes my wife and I teach is how to ‘tap into Flow’. We define Flow as a state of mind, a state where time doesn’t seem to exist and energy flows through you. When in flow we don’t experience overwhelm or stress, instead we live and enjoy in the current moment. Some also call it being in the Zone.

When you read this, I’m sure you can relate to it and recall moments that you’ve experienced Flow yourself. But did you know that as a team we can also enter a state of Flow? An example I recently read (Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler & Jamie Wheal) and want to share with you is how the US Navy applies (group-) Flow for their SEAL’s.

The author describes a mission of the elite SEAL Team Six in the northeastern corner of Afghanistan. The mission; catch the Al-Qaeda leader Al-Wazu, alive.
When the team goes on a mission they enter an altered state of consciousness that suggests a better way of working together. In this state verbal communication is no longer efficient and there is no one designated leader. Instead, anyone who feels an urge, acts on it and others will follow. Beyond the rational thinking, team members are connected on a more spiritual level. The team acts as of it is one organism.

I must admit this is a rather extreme example and most of the teams we work with probably don’t have 500k per team member to spend on training. But as a team coach, what is it that we can learn from this? How does this apply to our Team Coaching Model? And how can we use this flow state to improve team performance?

Let me give you another example more close to home and probably more relatable. In my life I spent quite some time in the kitchen to serve multiple course dinners to small groups of people. As a team of chefs we enter the magic, altered state of flow, the moment the guests take their seats on the table. Until the moment that the main course is served, everybody knows exactly what to do and without talking all parts come together on the right time. We are all aligned to the one mission; give our guests the best possible culinary experience.

How does this relate to our team-coaching model? I spent some time figuring out which strengths contribute most to a state of (group) Flow. From all the positivity and productivity strengths I selected Camaraderie and Alignment as prerequisites for a team to enter a state of Flow.

What is your take on this?

So how can we use this in our team coaching?

For me it makes sense to explain (with examples) the Flow state during team coaching and ask the team to recall moments that the team was in flow. Like the ‘best team experience’ but than for the team instead of the individuals. By recalling this best version of the team and making it tangible (naming it), the team can connect to it in times the team is less effective. In the Co-Active coaching model we call this the Captain.

A way of experiencing (the absence of) flow is the group counting exercise.

The goal of the exercise is to count to 10 (replace by nr. of participants) as a team. The challenge is that no one knows who will speak each number, and if two or more people speak at once, the entire group starts back at 1.

Round 1: Do this exercise while introducing a lot of distractions. For example; let every team member perform an activity; as a leader start talking or walking through the room.

Round 2: Let the team get present and connect to their ‘Captain’. Do the exercise again and debrief the difference as it relates to group flow.

Looking forward to hear your insights on Flow and the Team Diagnostics Model.

Peter Teijgeman

[Author]

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