Here are the factors that inhibit concentration at work

When we talk about the 'flow state' in the classroom, in webinars or during events, many people bring up high-level sport, in particular the famous 'competitive trance': that feeling in which you are at one with the performance or the game, and everything else disappears. As a result, people think that flow is something extreme, inaccessible or at any rate extremely rare for a 'normal' manager or professional. In reality, there are both extreme flows in competitive trance mode and more everyday flows at work, and both have a strong, and almost always beneficial, impact on those who experience them.

Flow is easily triggered when we are fully engaged in an activity, but also when we are learning something new and challenging. And again, when we are working on something we know, but in a different context from our usual one. For example, giving a leadership course in front of a native British audience in a city we have never visited before.

On the contrary, the flow is inhibited when we jump from one activity to another dedicating too little time to it, but also when we have not taken the time to prepare ourselves to give our best, or do something while thinking about something else.

These are mainly external, exogenous factors. But there are additional ones. Our attitudes, attitudes and behaviour affect us, which can affect us greatly. In this respect, one perspective we have found very useful is to look at them through Berne's pushes.

Eric Berne, Canadian psychologist and author of the famous theory of Transactional Analysis, theorised five nudges or drivers: Be Perfect, Compliment, Be Strong, Hurry and Strive. They originate as injunctions we receive when we are children and become, when we are adults, semi-automatic drivers, a kind of behavioural script. There are no good or bad drivers, nor a hierarchy between them: all these drives can be functional or dysfunctional, depending on the awareness and intensity with which they are implemented.

Compared to the flow and flow state, these pushes can become real inhibitors. Let us therefore try to reason thrust by thrust.

Those who have the very intense Be Perfect, that is, the constant inner urge to be perfect in everything one does, may get 'stuck' in excessive attention to detail, never being able to think that one has given one's all, or feeling that one is never really ready.

The Be Strong, i.e. the constant need to be strong, self-sufficient and emotionally independent, could lead to finding oneself trapped in a thousand tasks or deadlines, always trying to fend for oneself and not feeling the need to ask for help.

The Compliment, i.e. the strong and persistent need to please others at all costs, may result in giving up one's own flow to pander to the demands of others, passive acceptance of the agenda and priorities imposed by others, and difficulty in saying no.

The Hurry leads to constantly feeling a sense of urgency and pressure to complete tasks and activities. This can result in constantly switching from one activity to another, not being able to finish one task before starting another, and falling into the trap of hyperactivity.

Finally, theExertion, i.e. the constant need to strive to the utmost or to make maximum effort, often regardless of the circumstances, could lead to accepting situations that are too demanding and, in the long run, frustrating, and even then having difficulty saying no.

Which drives do you find yourself in most, particularly at work?

In a future article, we will explore and share some strategies and possible directions to manage these drives more functionally and increase the ability to enter the flow state.

* Partner Newton Spa 

** Senior Consultant at Newton SpA