Reading time: 3 – 5 minutes
This is the third in a series of articles about Flow. In each of the articles I’ll look more closely at Flow, each of the individual characteristics, and how we can use Flow in our leadership practice.
In a previous article, I talked about the idea of Flow as described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi 
How am I doing?
Most times when we do something, the results of our efforts are not immediately known. Especially when we are doing our jobs day in and day out. We sit at our desks, working away doing the daily work that we’re paid for. But we usually have to wonder: Am I doing a good job? A crappy job? Is what I’m doing making the world a better place? A worse place?
Flow experiences share the characteristic that there is immediate feedback to the activity we are engaged in. We don’t have to wait to know the results of our actions and therefore we’re able to make any necessary corrections on the fly.
For instance, if I’m writing the next great American novel and I’ve put the main characters into a dilemma, I know immediately if it fits with the storyline and my words flow as I write. This allows me to eventually get them out of the dilemma and on with their lives.
Great football quarterbacks are able to see the whole field, watch the play unfold and immediately be able to adjust where the ball needs to be thrown. Race car drivers are immediately able to feel what a slight over steering into a corner has done to their momentum and are able to correct and adjust as they go into the same corner the next time around the track.
When we are in Flow we are able to get feedback immediately to what we’re doing which allows us to analyze, adjust, and keep moving forward with our activity. If we have to sit around and wait for feedback on what we have done, we lose momentum. Many times this loss of momentum will cause us to second guess and question our actions. This momentum is important to sustaining a Flow experience.
This is one time where thinking of Flow like a stream or river is appropriate. When we get immediate feedback, we are able to change our course, like a stream moving around a rock. If our momentum is stalled because we have to wait for feedback, our activity becomes like a river that has been dammed. Our Flow experience grinds to a halt.
When we are trying to create an opportunity to experience Flow, we should be looking for activities where we are able to get immediate feedback. We can help ourselves by preparing our activities ahead of time and making sure that we are able to get the immediate feedback we’ll need. This means designing the activity in such a way as to remove any requirement to need feedback from others.
Much like the Flow characteristic of having clear goals, when we are able to get continuous, immediate feedback to our actions we are able keep our engagement in the activity uninterrupted.
Leader’s Reflection: When we are able to experience Flow on a regular basis we are able to live a happy and satisfying life. When we are able to experience Flow in our everyday work we find the work more satisfying. Having immediate, continuous feedback for our activities is needed to experience Flow. When we are able to get this feedback, it helps our Flow experience to be uninterrupted.
