Is this the one strategy we all need more of?

“Everything about us - our brains, our minds, our bodies - is geared towards collaboration in social systems. This is our most powerful survival strategy, the key to our success as a species.” Bessel van der Kolk, Psychiatrist

We are a social species wired for connection. It is not just a nice to have, it’s literally a survival strategy that has led us to be here as a species today. 

Although it might not seem it at the moment with so many of us self-isolating or locked down at home, we are biologically rewarded for collaborating and working with others. 

Yet we know that not all collaboration is equal. How many unproductive, and frustrating meetings have you been in face to face or online? For many of us, the answer is a high proportion, and it is not just killing our businesses it’s killing our souls and our communities. 

So, what happens when we are collaborating like an A team?

Group flow is the optimum state for us as a collective. Keith Sawyer describes it as “a collective state that occurs when a group is performing at the peak of its abilities”. Not only does the group perform it’s best but the individuals within it feel a sense of unity as each team members’ actions flow naturally from the next. 

Studies show the collective version of flow is our favourite experience on earth, even more than individual flow. When we experience it, we want to experience it again and again, so it acts as a powerful intrinsic motivator which keeps us moving forward. 

Think about when you have been part of a group flow experience. Maybe it has been on the sports field, in the board room or on Zoom. 

What has group flow felt like for you? 

 Research shows we feel deeply focused, connected to those we are collaborating with, on fire, alive, highly creative and on top of our game. We feel like the nagging voice of doubt in our head disappears as we become fully merged with the group. Pretty good, huh?

What have the outcomes been when you have been in group flow? 

Group flow results in increases in innovation, productivity and higher performance and empathy amongst others. It not only creates outcomes but more importantly provides a sense of meaning, belonging and fulfilment in our lives. 

From a biological perspective, group flow gifts us with a potent and powerful combination of neurochemicals including dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins and it feels good. As a consequence, we want to repeat the experience and, in the process, inevitably develop more mastery in the activity extending the capabilities and potential of the individuals and team for increasingly higher levels of performance in the future. 

For organisations the benefit of increasing the percentage of time our employees spend in group flow is huge. In individual flow McKinsey reports that we see a 500% increase in productivity and motivation and the results are predicted to be even higher in group flow. And creativity, empathy, learning and engagement amongst others take a massive leap. 

For individuals the benefits are maybe even more profound. With so many employees feeling disconnected, disengaged, chronically distracted and lacking purpose, group flow has the potential to offer us so much. And maybe beyond organisations, into our homes and communities. In fact could group flow be what we need now more than ever for our species to thrive? 

 If you would like to find out more about Group Flow and how to access it consistently, we’d love to talk to you. We offer individual and group programs to step by step build individual and group flow in your life and organisation.