Get Your Employees Working in the Zone

You've heard athletes talk of "being in the zone," a condition where everything they do seems to work out. Impossible putts drop as if they were tap-ins. Three-point shots swish like free throws. They play magnificently and thrill us with near-impossible performance.

When asked about these experiences, athletes who have played at this level say such things as, "I could see the whole field clearly." or "Everything seemed to be going in slow motion so I could make any move I wanted." They say that their minds were completely focused on the game and it was a joy to play. But they also say they can't put themselves into the zone at will, that the zone is elusive. Maybe so, but in my opinion the zone is much more available than people think.

You may have experienced something like being in the zone yourself. Maybe in sports if you're a good athlete, or maybe in a hobby or leisure activity you deeply enjoy. Sometime you may have found yourself so lost in what you were doing that time passed unnoticed and you did extraordinarily well whatever it was you were doing.

What It Means to Work in the Zone

If you really enjoy your work, you may even have experienced moments of being in the zone when doing your job. That's right. Some people find themselves working in the zone.

Three things happen when you work at that level:

1. You do great work and can achieve fantastic results.
2. You enjoy your work so much that you can't wait to have the same experience again soon.
3. You come to a deeper understanding of your job and become open to even more learning.

A number of years ago I was fortunate to read a book that fully explained for the first time the experience of performing in the zone. Written by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (I know, I can't pronounce it either.), the book was called Flow. Flow is the term the author uses to describe the state one gets in when performing in the zone. I believe, and the author makes this case well, that flow is available to most people if their work circumstances permit.

For someone to experience flow, these conditions must exist:

• You face a clear set of goals that require certain appropriate responses. This is why flow is quite common in sports activities. The play of the game involves specific actions needed to reach specific goals.
• The actions provide immediate feedback. Either the putts drop or they don't. Skiing turns take you effortlessly down slope or not. The customer agrees to buy from you or not.
• Your skills are fully involved in meeting a challenge that is just about manageable. Flow won't happen if you're faced with a task that is too easy or too difficult. But if a challenge calls for all your skill and attention, then getting into a state of flow and performing in the zone is quite possible.

When these conditions are in place, your attention is focused, there is no room in your mind for distractions, you feel stronger than usual, and you're entirely wrapped up in what you're doing.

So, what do we have here? We have clear goals, relevant feedback, and a good balance of challenges and skills. Sounds like a great work environment to me.

In fact, if you look back at an earlier issue of this newsletter when we described the key factors in keeping the best employees motivated, you'll find that the conditions enabling flow match up nearly perfectly with the conditions that keep employees motivated.

That's the point, really. Managers can't cause their employees to be motivated, but they can create environments that encourage motivation. You can, and should, try to set up your work environment so your employees have a chance to work in the zone, to experience flow nearly every day.

How to Facilitate Flow in Your Workplace

1. Make your expectations perfectly clear.
2. Make sure that every employee knows how to do their jobs "in their sleep."
3. Make sure that every job involves clear and relevant feedback. Build appropriate feedback into every work process.
4. Make sure that every employee is in a job involving challenges that are well balanced for his or her skills. The job shouldn't be too easy to do, but it shouldn't be so difficult that the challenges overwhelm the employee either.

As you make your plans for the new year, look around to see if your employees have a chance to perform in the zone. If they do, you have a strong foundation for organizational growth and outstanding performance. If not, what are you waiting for?

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