Flow, Mastery and the League of Extraordinary Dancers
The League of Extraordinary Dancers performance at the February 2010 TED is the most amazing performance I’ve ever seen. Have you ever watched the TED videos? How about the performances? I’ve overlooked the performances until last week. I recently stumbled upon The LXD (League of Extraordinary Dancers) performance at this year’s TED. LXD is an example of taking optimal experience to its outer limits.
These dancers are fully engaged in their art, they have to be extremely dedicated to develop this level of skill. Michalyi Csikszentmihalyi’s research on Flow, the science of optimal performance, says that anyone in just about any line of work can experience flow and develop mastery. His research spans fields from science and the arts to factory workers. How would you like to look forward to going to work, to get lost in your work and feel great about what you’re doing? Giving our workers the freedom to define their work and how they do it is the the way to start down this path.
Gallup has done extensive research on the engagement of the US workforce, it’s estimated that about 50% of US workers are not engaged and that 20% are actively unengaged with their work. The estimated cost to US companies for employees that aren’t into their work: 300 billion dollars a year. In some parts of the world only 3% of employees are engaged. It’s time we focused on letting our workers do work in ways they find engaging, lets put command and control to rest permanently! Are you listening managers and CEO’s?
Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi's TED Presentation
Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi's TED Presentation on creativity, fulfillment and flow. Author of "Flow, The Psychology of optimal experience"
If You Want To Hit The Target, Aim High!
I saw a Viktor Frankl video this morning on the meaning of life. Dr. Frankl was a neurologist, psychiatrist, and Holocaust survivor. It’s a short video and to the point. Aim high to achieve results, and the drive to find meaning in work and life is one of our highest drives.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says that to experience Flow, we must have tasks that make us reach just beyond our grasp. Tasks that are too easy don’t increase our skill levels, and we find them boring. They don’t help us grow. Ones that are too hard discourage us from trying because we’ll have more failures than successes. Tasks beyond our reach stretch us and make us better than we are. Dan Pink calls them Goldilocks tasks. Being better than we are is good, right? And it makes us feel good as well.
As we become better at what we do, we’ll become happier and more productive, and our value will increase. Self-worth and our value to the world around us will go up. As more managers and businesses adopt these ideas and prioritize Goldilocks tasks, our workplaces will become sources of meaning, not just a way to pay the bills.
