You can only control that of which you are aware, that of which you are unaware controls you. Awareness is very empowering but we often neglect it because we are too busy; addicted to the urgency of crises and fire fighting. But there is another way . . .
We clutter and overload our prefrontal cortex (the part of our brain that we use to think about stuff) with urgent things like mistakes and errors of others, deadlines and client calls. These issues give us plenty of excuses for not making time to address the important things like planning, building relationships, research and learning.
Hooked on Adrenalin – but where’s the joy?
Have you noticed how the urgent stuff is always so critical because the consequences of not doing it are usually immediate? This means we get an adrenalin buzz and feel good (for a short while) because we feel we have accomplished something or averted even bigger problems. The trouble is that this is actually an addictive trap. We get hooked on the adrenalin buzz and if it’s not present, consciously or unconsciously, we feel ‘something is not right’.
A very wise man called Siddhartha was once meditating on the bank of a meandering river and he overheard two men chatting as they drifted by in a boat. They were discussing the tuning of a stringed instrument and how, if the strings are too slack ‘it’s not right’ and if they are too tight ‘it’s not right’. It led him to think about the balance of life and how we need just the right amount of tension in life. If there is too much we get over-stressed and too little we become dull.
Where is the balance in your life and how are you maintaining it? Where is the joy in your work and how can you experience it more fully?
Finding Flow
When he was only 10, Mihaly Cswikszentmihalyi, a Hungarian who lost half his family and had to flee his country as a child when the Nazis invaded in World War II, became fascinated with ‘finding a better way to live’. He dropped out of school at 13 because it was too controlling and held a number of odd jobs as he searched for an answer to his childhood question by reading all sorts of books on philosophy and religion. After stumbling into a lecture by Carl Jung he was inspired to study psychology and in 1956 went to the US with just $1.23 in his pocket. Within 9 years of arriving, with almost no English, he had earned a PhD and developed the theory of FLOW – the psychology of happiness.
Being ‘in the Flow’ is that special zone where you have just the right amount of challenge as well as the right level of skills to deal with it. If we have too much challenge without the skills we get stressed and burnt out, if our skills are not being fully utilised we become bored or disengaged. Mihaly did extensive studies and found that people who were in the flow zone were far happier than others, not only because they were continuously playing to their strengths and developing and enhancing their skills, it was because they also had a genuine sense of autonomy (the ability to make choices that affect their work).
The key to being in the Flow is having the awareness to know when you are outside the Flow Zone i.e. when you feel as if you have no choice (this is often linked to a feeling of being over-stressed or over-whelmed), or when you feel disengaged and listless (your role does not require you to use your intelligence, talents and skills).
The interesting thing about this is that it is not so much the actual situation but the way we perceive the situation that matters. Once you are fully aware about how you are really feeling, you can make a subtle shift and recognise the choices you actually have, you can also review the skills you already have to deal with the situation or identify the skills you may need to improve or acquire.
The rather worrying statistics that about 60% of employees are disengaged at work and that stress is the major cause of most sickness and absence from work paint a picture of a chronic lack of Flow in most people’s working lives.
What are you doing to address this for your people?
Raising Awareness
As you raise your awareness and learn to pause to adjust your perceptions you can significantly reduce your stress, wean yourself off the urgency addiction and begin focusing on what is important. However, focusing on what is important feels very different. There is no adrenalin buzz, but as you step back and make more time to plan, to build relationships and focus on what is really important you will find a deeper sense of balance and joy in your own life.
This can enhance your productivity and enable you to have far greater influence on others because you have an uncluttered prefrontal cortex and can become more insightful. You can then ensure your people have the right level of skills and just the right level of challenge they need to be in the Flow.
When we feel balanced and a sense of autonomy the brain releases a dose of dopamine and serotonin, the hormones that make us happier. Cortisol levels, a marker of stress, go down and Testosterone levels go up, helping you to feel strong and confident and even improving your sex drive. According to the latest scientific research this positive combination of happy neurochemicals provides us with an increase in the number of new connections made per hour in the brain. This means even better awareness of others and better access to the subtle neural connections that can make us more intelligent and helps us live longer.
Stay in the Flow
Here are some tips to help you stay in the Flow. Many will be familiar but as you read them, do a reality check and ask yourself “Am I really doing this consistently?” and “Am I helping my people to do this consistently?”
• Have clear goals to guide you and help you focus on priorities and what you want to achieve.
o Write them down and tell people about them, this creates a natural challenge to “Honour your word”.
• Create rewards for yourself (and others) when you achieve something.
o This reinforces desired behaviours. Be creative, they don’t have to be financial rewards.
• Energise yourself and others by learning and developing new and better ways of doing things.
o Create feedback loops that provide information (awareness!) about improvements.
• Remove ‘energy anchors’ that hold you and others back.
o For example unnecessary processes, lack of communication, interruptions and poor work environments.
• Collaborate with other people to find solutions that fully satisfy both parties.
o Ask questions to help identify the underlying concerns and wishes of people involved. Focus on common experiences rather than differences. Agree on objectives, goals and solutions together.
• Practice flexibility depending on the demands of the situation and the people around you.
o If a certain approach is not working then try a different one. Be prepared to react formally or informally, depending on the individual concerned. Help others identify the best balance between challenge and skill.
Do let me know how you get on.
Remember . . . Stay Curious!
With best regards
David Klaasen
www.InspiredWorking.com
David Klaasen is director and owner of the niche HR consultancy, Inspired Working Ltd. (www.InspiredWorking.com)
We now have a new website packed full of learning resources for managers for more info see www.InspiredWorkingonline.com
If you have a communication or performance problem and would like some objective advice drop him a line at info@InspiredWorking.com.
