Group Flow, a Collective Intelligence accelerator
There is a lot of talk about Flow, this "optimum" experience of a situation where while being in its area of excellence, a person is literally immersed in an effortless activity. Time seems to be hanging. A sensation of realization (almost out of self) and pleasure emerge.
Whether in sport, the arts and even in the professional world, Flow is primarily presented as an individual experience.
The Flow can also live in a group, in two ways...
- All the members of a group end up at the same time in a state of flow, each living this flow separately.
- Even more fascinating, individually and collectively, the group goes into Flow. "Individual energies" resonate and amplify the collective sensory and cognitive experience to create a "group Flow".
I share with you a personal experience and how the flow manifested itself in a group.
Our team of coaches (3 coaches and myself) hosted a group of about thirty people belonging to the same company. For a large group, some had already worked together for many years, others had never met.
The group had already lived a first half day of seminary, we found them for a new day of sharing and work.
Seated in a circle, the posture of the participants expresses interest, doubts, withdrawal, skepticism, expectation in relation to this seminar.
One of the coaches invites everyone to experience awareness of "his patterns of control and resistance" through bodily exercises. To surprise, to curiosity, to follow the interest and finally the pleasure.
As the faces light up, the energy in the room rises several levels. As roles and experiences follow each other, the group seems to transcend.
At the end of this sequence, pleasure and satisfaction are read on the faces. Without realizing it, the group has just been guided in several exercises for more than an hour, totally absorbed and losing the notion of time. We have just experienced a tremendous flow of a group.
Now imagine the creative force that can emerge from a group in such a state!
It is in this energy, this openness of the head and the heart, that our group will continue its day to the knowledge of oneself, of others and to experiment with sessions ofCollective Intelligence.
So how do we put a group in flow?
- Creating individual and collective trust
- Open the field of emotion
- Set in Motion
- Create a surprise effect and keep the group away from its comfort zone
- Fostering understanding and awareness in action
- Let the flow of the group emerge
Then make them work on a strategic topics for your organization.
Do you want your managers, executives and employees to transform your company? Experiment with them the collective flow before developing and building your future!