Keep the team flow flowing

I am still hiding and writing this week, although I have moved to Wyuna Bay (Coromandel Peninsula), where I have my own private beach (see video below), and the added bonus of wifi, phone connection. I extended my stay because I didn't want to break my flow.

Positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi describes flow as “a state of complete immersion in an activity. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one. Our whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost. " And, flow has great mental health benefits, including: improved emotional regulation, motivation, skill development, creativity, and it simply just makes us feel good. (And thanks Dr Sean O'Connor for the passion with which you teach this topic at Sydney Uni)

Flow happens in teams too. Think of sports teams or orchestra's. And collective team flow is immensely powerful. I often see and experience team flow in team coaching sessions, where all are in sync, feeding from one another, highly creative, contributing equally, and the concept of time seems irrelevant.

So, in a team context, when you feel flow, let it flow. Don't stick strictly to the agenda, or rush of to another meeting, instead harness the power being created right there and then.

If you would like to talk more about flow and/or how it plays out in team coaching please get in touch.

#teamcoaching#teamdevelopment#flow

Location, location, location part 2

Coming to you today from Charles Bay (near the top of Coromandel Peninsula). I’m here on my second self-imposed writing retreat, and it’s working again! I do have electricity this time (what a treat) but no wifi, dodgy phone connection and shops and cafes an hour away.

As I am sitting here in paradise thinking what a good idea this is, I am conscious of my senses connecting to a new environment. I hear the sea lapping below me, native birds singing, and cicadas (rather than the Western Motorway and city sirens), I see the sea, the bush, and the occasional boat pass by (rather than concentrated medium rise apartments), I smell fresh air and notice my hay fever has disappeared, and I feel a cool sea breeze (rather than stifling humidity).

I was talking to a college last week (thanks Ruth Donde) about senses connecting with nature as a form of mindfulness, and I’m doing it right now. A great conversation was started which I hope we continue.

So try it. If you or your team are struggling to focus, and/or you’ve tried mindfulness techniques that don’t seem to connect/resonate, try changing your location to a place filled with natural mindfulness.

#mindfulness#nature#nature#caoching#teamcoaching

High Performing Teams learn together

Collective collaborative learning is one of the hallmark characteristics of a High Performing Team. How best to do this depends on the team, the environment and learning preferences. There are no cookie cutters, or set recipes for development success in this space.

Having said that, a team I was working with earlier today used the attached collective learning protocols I developed. Team members shared individual challenges and the collective team provided valuable insight and support , even if they were not directly impacted by the issue, and even if they do not have particular expertise in the subject area. We found that everyone benefitted from the process. And, as an extra bonus it builds trust and psychological safety at he same time. Thanks Christian Messelyn, MInstD, Alan Peddie, Isabelle Adams, Ian Howell, Donald Green, Damian Flynn.

Feel free to use this collective learning resource with your team, or download it from my website here...

​https://lnkd.in/djiJscuf

And of course, please get it touch if you would like to discuss this further.

#teamcoaching#collectivelearning#teamdevelopment

Collective Learning Propocols

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