Getting into the flow as an SBL

David Carne, school business leader and executive coach, explores why ‘positive psychology’ could be useful to those involved in leadership

Read the full article below or read on page 20 in our November magazine

In 2015, in what must have been a semi-delusional sense of having more spare time than I actually do, I took the decision to enrol on a masters’ degree. After a serious bout of imposter syndrome – could I really hold my own with all these uber-academic types – I sacrificed a weekend a month to attend intensive days of lectures and began studying applied positive psychology. 

I have always had a fascination with what makes leaders, and human beings in general, perform at their best and why, despite similar starting points, some people just seem to flourish while others don’t. Positive psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning and what causes it. If we think of much of the focus of modern psychology as the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of what is ‘wrong’ with people, then positive psychology takes the opposite approach, studying what is ‘right’ with people and what makes them productive, healthy, well, engaged, thriving individuals.

Themes that one might encounter in positive psychology include identifying and utilising people’s strengths, resilience, meaning and purpose, positive relationships, creativity, optimism, optimal functioning, self-esteem, confidence, wellbeing and positive emotions such as happiness, gratitude and hope. The focus on happiness has, perhaps, led to some confusing positive psychology with a pollyannaish form of positive thinking that denies the realities of human suffering. On the contrary, positive psychology looks at how individuals can survive and thrive despite adversity but also recognises the potentially devastating impact of negative experiences.  

So why might positive psychology be useful to those involved in leadership? Clearly, there are some very obvious reasons why studying what it takes to create individuals who perform well, have high levels of psychological well-being and resilience, are optimistic, self-assured and relate well to others, would be useful from the perspective of desirable characteristics of both leaders and those they lead; however, in this article, I want to focus on a psychological state known as ‘flow’. 

State of flow

Many of us will have experienced being in a ‘state of flow’ at some point while at work. A point at which we become so engaged in what we are doing that we lose all track of time and appear to have laser-sharp focus on, and engagement in, our work. In these states, our creative juices get ‘flowing’ and we achieve clarity of thought and a sense of energy in our activity. Some people describe this feeling as ‘being in the zone’. 

These states are often indicative that we are working to an area of strength and are highly engaged with what we are doing. Indeed, sports psychologists are employed precisely to support athletes to achieve these sorts of states of ultimate focus on the task at hand. Evidence suggests we perform better, sustain our energy longer and achieve higher levels of problem-solving and creativity when we are in flow states. They are, then, highly beneficial to us individually and to our organisations – how might we we create them for ourselves and others in the teams we lead?

Firstly, flow states occur when the balance between challenge and difficulty is optimised – too easy and we will be too relaxed or bored, too hard and we will be too stressed to achieve flow. Secondly, we need to create conditions where there are no distractions. Shutting the office door and putting the ‘phone on ‘do not disturb’ are facilitators of flow. 

We also need to eliminate the internal distractions and get focused on the task at hand. Some people find writing down their thoughts helps them park them temporarily knowing they can come back to them later. Thirdly, knowing when we work at our best is crucial. Anyone who knows me, knows I am most definitely not a morning person, but ask me to work into the evening and I’ll achieve flow states into the early hours. 

If you work best before 6am, get up early and focus on tasks then; if, like me, you peak later, structure your day to deal with low demand tasks first thing and then move onto higher demand tasks later. Fourthly, create rituals and environmental cues. Some people work best with music, others in complete silence. Whatever you know helps, do it! Finally, have a singular clear goal. Flow is not a multi-tasking state, but a state which is achieved when a clear goal is desired. You will know when you are in a state of flow when you start to feel in the zone; don’t force it. 

Of course, as gratifying as it would be for us to be existing in our utopian flow reality as leaders we have a wider responsibility to those we lead to support them in achieving the same states. We also have a responsibility to our organisations to maximise flow states by creating the conditions in which they can occur.