How Busy Leaders Can Trigger a Flow State and all of its Benefits
First, watch this great video from Matt D’Avella about flow state, its origins, what we know about it, and why it matters. It’s a short (9 min!) video that does a great job of reintroducing a concept popularized in productivity-focused media recently.
If entering a flow state is so great, and many scientific studies prove that doing so increases productivity, then how can leaders spend more time day-to-day getting into flow?
In an ever-increasingly complex business world, leaders cannot disappear for weeks at a time to pursue a flow state at an ashram. While a long break to recharge is always helpful, it’s more realistic to look for methods that both trigger a flow state and drive results in your business.
The video posits that a handful of activities reliably trigger flow states. Here are my thoughts on how leaders can integrate these activities in a way that supports their leadership. All of this presumes that you’ve created a company “operating system” that allows you the time and space to focus on the future of your business, rather than operate in a daily game of whac-a-mole. If this isn't the case, let's talk.
Risk
Reach out to that mentor-from-afar who inspires you regularly, but likely has no idea who you are. Send a note of genuine appreciation and invite them to start a conversation. My advice for this type of cold outreach is to be the type of fan you'd want to have.
Contact your biggest competitor’s CEO to brainstorm partnership opportunities. Or to begin corporate development. Just get to know this person and challenge yourself to create value together.
Approach a senior leader in a nascent tangential industry to find a way to develop a disruptive partnership
Take a trip to network with other leaders, to physically challenge yourself, and strengthen your risk muscle by “stepping back”.
Novelty
Meet someone in a tangential industry to swap best practices.
Flip your schedule on its head. Start later, work later, and see what happens. Are you actually at your best after 7 pm? Is breakfast with your family more fulfilling than dinner?
Take a meeting in a new location. Maybe a walking meeting in a museum or gallery.
Invite a small group of employees out for coffee. Or ping-pong. Or axe throwing. Anything novel to get the conversation flowing. Challenge yourself to listen and to hear new ideas. While you’re at it, please encourage them to inject some novelty into their days.
Complexity
How’s your corporate development strategy? If you don’t have an exit plan, it’s a hobby. Brainstorm how you could personally exit your business without disruption. Or who you could sell the company to, this year(!), if necessary.
Brainstorm with constraints: a significant portion of your business becomes obsolete overnight because of a new technology, now what?
Dive into a technical problem with the team.
Join a leadership mastermind and offer to help solve new problems.
Become a startup advisor to work on business problems that keep you sharp and connected to your future disrupters.
Unpredictability
Surely you’re checking in on your staff unpredictably, per Andy Grove. If you’re not, insert some of this into your day.
Clear your schedule for the day and spend it dropping into conversations around your company.
Play hooky on an otherwise quiet day and follow your curiosity. If you’ve always wanted to understand the virtues of agile development, watch a YouTube video. If you don’t understand TikTok, read up on it. Or read a biography of a leader. Or visit the best retail store and best restaurant in your area with a mission to learn something directly applicable to your business.
Pattern Recognition
Read! Compounded learning is the 9th wonder of the world (after Compound Interest). Make like Warren Buffet and commit to spending some portion of your day reading. It’s a fabulous way to hone your pattern-recognition skills.
Start a “What I learned” journal. Note patterns and emerging trends. Schedule time to reflect on your day, your week, your month to see what you learned and how those learnings might apply to the next year. You're not getting graded on this, so go crazy!
Choose a few high-profile businesses and outline a case study: WeWork, Boeing, or Tesla are great candidates. Choose a company outside of your industry and much smaller/larger than your current size. Study them for patterns: what’s similar to you and your peers?
If all of this sounds nice to have, but unattainable, let’s talk! Your company’s operating systems should be creating the time and space for you to work on vision and strategy. As a leader, you will be consumed by the minutiae unless you build the right operating system around you. A Chief of Staff can do this for you, or a few months of your dedicated time can establish a structure that allows you time to pursue those activities which create a flow state.