AVANT-GARDE TEAL

The future of business organisations. Dynamics and methods for teamwork and self-knowledge

Chapter 1 (excerpt)

The flow state and the concept of intelligence 

A long time ago, in a world where man had yet to develop technology, people lived off farming. A category of people, whom everyone mocked and marginalised, carried on their backs heavy and cumbersome sacks filled with seeds used to grow simple grass, without producing either fruit or income. One day, a child went to play in the meadow that had grown from this grass. He soon realised how much less painful it was to walk barefoot on the grass instead of on the bare ground. He realised how much those men, who thought differently, improved everyone's life, making the world they lived in more beautiful.

1.1. Emotional and social intelligence 

"If we want to live properly, we need a certain ability to move in three different areas: the external world, the internal world and the world of others" (Daniel Goleman, 2011). 

A few years ago I saw a film: My Name is Khan. It is the story of Rizwan Khan, a Muslim from Bombai who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism that makes relationships with others difficult. Thanks to his mother, Khan was able to overcome most of his emotional difficulties and have a fulfilling social life. He then moved to the USA, following his brother, and was able to prove with intelligence and stubbornness that the accusations of terrorism against him were unfounded, and was even exonerated by President Obama. I have always wondered how his mother's attention could have given him the opportunity to lead a normal life. 

Autism is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder, which impairs the ability to interact and communicate socially, induces repetitive behaviour and severely limits the range of interests. About 30% of autistic people have an obvious intellectual disability, but in some of them the cognitive potential, memory, calculation skills, musical and mathematical abilities can be incredibly developed. So the question is what exactly intelligence is and how many facets it has. 

A study of children under the age of 10 showed that those with above-average IQs but poor school performance had impaired frontal cortex functioning. Despite their intelligence, they were prone to school failure, alcoholism and crime (Goleman, 2011). This was due to their lack of control over their emotional lives, they had no intellectual deficits on the IQ test, but had not acquired certain skills such as overcoming frustration, controlling emotions and getting along with others. 

Howard Gardner's studies represented a turning point in the study of intelligence. Gardner, by criticising existing theories and using studies of children with different intellectual abilities, was able to infer the existence of different aspects of intelligence. His theory of multiple intelligences argues for the existence of different forms of ability and identifies seven types of intelligence that each person can possess: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal. These findings have been confirmed by research carried out on stroke patients lacking certain cognitive functions and have made it possible to formulate a much richer concept of intelligence (Gardner, 1991). 

Subsequent research, carried out by Gardner and his colleagues, has revealed the existence of other possible additional intelligences, such as the emotional and social intelligences discussed in this section, or the intuitive intelligence that will be analysed later in the book. All human beings possess the different intelligences, but each person has his or her own particular blend or mixture. Emotional intelligence was first defined in 1988 by Reuven Bar-On, an Israeli psychologist, and later explained in 1990 by Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer in the article Emotional Intelligence. It is currently defined as 'the ability of an individual to recognise, discriminate, identify, appropriately label, and consequently manage his or her own emotions and those of others in order to achieve certain goals'. Salovey extends emotional skills to five main areas: 

1. self-awareness of one's own emotions. People who are secure in their feelings manage their own feelings much better; 
2. control of emotions. The ability to delay gratification and suppress impulses are essential skills. People with adequate emotional control can recover much more quickly from life's setbacks and defeats. In connection with this, the concept of resilience will be discussed in the next chapter; 
3. self-motivation. The ability to easily achieve concentration and focus, motivation and self-control allows one to enter the flow state, which enables one to achieve outstanding performance of any kind, as will be explained later in this chapter;
4. relationship management. This is possible in those who are able to master the emotions of others. These are skills that increase leadership ability and effectiveness in interpersonal relationships; 
5. recognition of other people's emotions. Empathy is fundamental in relationships with others. 

The evolution of empathic aspects in the human species has enabled the development of the social characteristics of humans. These capacities allow us to understand the mental and emotional states of individuals with whom we interact and with whom we form relationships, in some cases even allowing us to feel their emotions. The biological basis for this seems to lie in mirror neurons, discovered by Giacomo Rizzolatti of the University of Parma in the 1990s. In the human brain these are located in motor and premotor areas, in the language area and in the inferior parietal cortex. They are crucial for learning through imitation. Mirror neurons are activated when we witness an action performed by others or an emotion experienced by others, and allow the brain to experience a kind of 'simulation of the experience of others'. 

This system is essential for really understanding the person in front of you and interacting with them; it is the neurophysiological basis of human social behaviour. This ability to interpret and understand the mind allows one to predict the actions and reactions of others and is the basis of emotional intelligence. The system compares the actions and emotions of others with its own similar ones in the past, which are stored in the memory circuit (more on this later). The functioning of mirror neurons may offer a biological explanation for some forms of autism, as experiments seem to indicate a reduced functioning of this type of neurons in autistic children. The latter probably do not understand the meaning of gestures and actions of others, and do not understand the common emotions expressed by the faces and attitudes of those around them. 

The concept of emotional intelligence was subsequently reworked by psychologist Daniel Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence (1995). It is characterised by specific elements that can in part be traced back to Salovey's earlier classification: 

1. self-awareness: the ability to recognise one's own emotions and strengths, as well as one's limitations and weaknesses; 

2. self-regulation: the ability to manage one's strengths, emotions and weaknesses, adapting them to different situations that may arise, in order to achieve goals and objectives; 

3. motivation: the ability to recognise negative thoughts and turn them into positive thoughts that can motivate oneself and others; 

4. empathy: the ability to fully understand and even perceive and feel the state of mind of other people; 

5. social skills: the ability to manage relationships with people in order to 'steer' them towards achieving a specific goal. 

Thanks to the latter, the concept of emotional intelligence develops further into emotional and social intelligence. The first definition of social intelligence dates back to 1920 when Edward Thorndike, a psychologist at Columbia University, pointed out that 'the best mechanic in a factory can be a failure as a foreman because of a lack of social intelligence'. However, it was Bar-On who developed the conceptual and psychometric model of 'emotional and social competence' and was the first to introduce the concept of 'EQ' (Emotional Quotient) to measure emotional and social competence. Daniel Goleman, for his part, published his work on social intelligence in 2006, defining it as the competence to build satisfactory relationships and solve communication and social problems. In a nutshell, emotional intelligence is knowing how to live with oneself and one's inner environment, while social intelligence is knowing how to live with others and the social environment. Emotional and social intelligence often overlap, blurring into one another. The result is a unique social and emotional intelligence that manifests itself in the ability to recognise and live peacefully with one's own and others' emotions. 

Being able to control someone else's emotions requires the maturity of two other emotional skills, self-regulation and empathy, outlined above. These are the social skills that contribute to an individual's effectiveness in dealing with others. Not having sufficiently developed skills in the sphere of social interactions often leads to interpersonal disasters, persisted and repeated over time. Having these social skills, on the other hand, allows one to inspire, persuade and influence others while putting them at ease. People with strong emotional and social intelligence are able to help others in calming excessive or negative emotionality. These are the people to whom others turn in times of greatest need. 

John Cacioppo, co-founder of the field of social neuroscience and a specialist in social psychophysiology at Ohio State University, has studied these imperceptible emotional exchanges and observed that: "the sight of someone expressing an emotion can be enough to evoke that same mood in us, whether or not we realise that we are imitating the other person's facial expression" (Goleman, 2014). This happens all the time, it is like taking part in a kind of synchronised dance that transports emotions and moods. The degree of emotional communication that the individual perceives in an interaction is reflected in the extent to which the movements of the interacting subjects are rigorously orchestrated while they are speaking. This phenomenon is referred to as the 'unconscious closeness index'. One person nods when the other explains something, or both move their chair at the same time, or both lean on the same armrest of the chair at the same time, or one leans forward while the other moves away. This reciprocity establishes a link between the movements of individuals who feel an emotional contact. This synchrony seems to facilitate the sending and receiving of moods, even when they are negative. According to Cacioppo, a determining factor for interpersonal relationships to be effective is the ability with which the individual implements this emotional synchrony. Establishing the emotional register of an interaction means being able to direct the emotional state of the other. The individual with the most expressiveness is usually the one whose emotions drag the other one along, the person who expresses power over the other. The dominant partner talks more, while the subordinate one spends more time looking at the other's face. For the same reason, the strength of a good speaker lies in determining and drawing in the emotions of the audience. Exerting influence on others means precisely dragging their emotions (Goleman, 2014). 

These studies originate from Gardner's concepts of multiple intelligence and his identification of intrapersonal intelligence. Intrapersonal intelligence is the gateway to the development of emotional and social intelligence: there is no emotional intelligence without social intelligence and no social intelligence without interpersonal intelligence (Gardner, 1991). In fact, emotional and social intelligence encompasses skills that Hatch and Gardner had identified as components of interpersonal intelligence: the predisposition to leadership, the ability to coordinate the efforts of a network of individuals, the ability to nurture personal relationships and bonds, the ability to maintain friendships, the ability to resolve conflicts and negotiate solutions, and the ability to analyse the social situation. Gardner realised how fundamental these emotional and relational skills were for coping with life. In everyday reality, no intelligence is more important than intrapersonal intelligence, because it is indispensable for making the most appropriate and correct decisions in different contexts. 

Taken together, all the skills discussed so far constitute the necessary ingredients for charm, charisma and social success. Those who are endowed with emotional and social intelligence can relate to others with great ease, are very good at reading their reactions and feelings, can act as guides and organisers, and can manage and resolve the disputes that always arise in any human activity. They are leaders by nature, that is, people who can deal with the feelings of the community and articulate them in such a way as to guide the group to achieve its objectives. 

The concept of emotional leadership is introduced by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee in the book Being a Leader. Leading Others with Emotional Intelligence (2014). The concept of leadership based on power and authority is definitively undermined. It is no longer enough to have the ability to lead and technical skills to get results, make ends meet, save companies and organisations from bankruptcy. It is necessary to be able to mobilise the best energies, to know how to play on the deep motivations of each of the individuals who are part of the team. These skills, however, are not only innate, but can be learned, developed and improved in order to achieve important work and leadership performance. "Academic intelligence offers no preparation for overcoming the travails and seizing the opportunities that life brings. A high IQ is no guarantee of prosperity, prestige, or happiness, yet our schools and culture fixate on academic skills, ignoring emotional intelligence" (Goleman, 2012). With these words, Goleman makes emotional intelligence a fundamental tool in the field of career success. 

Goleman defines the selection of business leaders according to the value of emotional intelligence as crucial. Many companies apply it, especially to select top management. "I have had access to data from more than 200 of these selection processes, and I have found that for assignments of all types, EQ skills are twice as important as technical skills or IQ" (Goleman, 2012). "Technical skills can be learned in school, everyone can have them. But the higher up the organisational hierarchy you go, the more important emotional intelligence will be" (Goleman, 2012). 

Pathognomonic of this is the far-sighted choice of a university clinic in Boston. Two doctors, who will hypothetically be called Dr One and Dr Two, were competing for the position of CEO of the entity that ran that hospital, along with other facilities. Both had been department heads, were excellent doctors, and had published many widely cited research papers in prestigious medical journals. But they had very different personalities. One was very serious, goal-oriented and impersonal. He was an inflexible perfectionist, spoke in an aggressive tone and kept his staff under constant pressure. Two was no less demanding but much more approachable, even playful in his dealings with staff, colleagues and patients. Observers noticed that people smiled and joked more with Two, but also that they expressed their opinions more than in One's department, from which talented professionals often left, and were inexorably drawn to Two's warmer working environment. Recognising that his leadership style was socially intelligent, the board of the hospital's owner chose Due as its new CEO. 

Goleman further specifies that "Among C-Levels, 85% of the skills that distinguish top performers are EQ. This is data that I have not collected, but the companies themselves. A C-Level no longer uses technical skills. What he does most of the time is manage people, as well as himself" (Goleman, 2012). The art of leadership is to achieve goals through the quality of the work of others, says the American psychologist. 

The art of leadership is to bring and keep people at the highest level of performance, and this happens when people are in the best state of personal well-being. It is an optimal state, the flow, in which the person himself is amazed at the results he achieves, and defined through research on the most diverse professionals, from ballerinas to chess players, from top managers to the military (Goleman, 2012). 

Flow has certain characteristics that are regularly encountered: a state of unwavering focus on the objective; one hundred per cent concentration; total flexibility and adaptability, whatever happens you can handle it; the highest level of stress on personal skills. 

1.2. Characteristics of the flow state 

In the early 19th century, every day - whatever the weather, sun or snow - a man could be seen walking around the ramparts of the city of Vienna. This man was Beethoven, who, in the course of his wanderings, worked out in his head the magnificent symphonies that he would later put down on paper. For him, the world ceased to exist; in vain did people lift their hats as he passed. He saw nothing; his mind was elsewhere (Walter Benjamin, 1986). 

One of the most frequent problems I remember in my childhood home was the lack of attention my brother and I paid to our parents when we were 'engrossed' in our games. At that time, we had no sense of time and were totally focused on our activity. Only decades later did I realise that on those occasions we were experiencing the so-called flow state. During the flow state the outside world ceases to exist, no words or noises are perceived. There are no more distractions or negative thoughts. Fear and anxiety cease, judgement and criticism no longer matter. One is transported by a positive force. You can only achieve this by doing something that really interests you and is approached as a challenge.

Psychology has traditionally interpreted the need to integrate the interest in mental illness and psychic distress with an investigation into the processes of growth and expression of the potential of individuals, groups and organisations. A psychology based on an epistemological, theoretical and practical analysis of the positive has therefore been developed (Muzio, Riva, Argenton, 2012). In order to support the progressive acquisition of well-being and happiness, it is necessary to ask what are the foundations of people's optimal functioning for the purpose of individual and social empowerment. The first to explicitly mention the theoretical and applicative potential of positive psychology was Abraham Maslow in 1954 (Lopez, Gallagher, 2011). Almost half a century later, as interpreters of this need and on the strength of the research tradition that was meanwhile emerging with regard to the development and promotion of well-being, Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi concretely affirmed the possibility of a psychology focused on the positivity of subjective experience, individual traits and social virtues (Seligman, Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). The prerequisites for an effective search for well-being and happiness originate from the intertwining of three specific existential trajectories: 

• a pleasant life, characterised by the search for a marked positivity of affections and emotions in the past, present and future. Satisfaction, contentment and pride thus become the key words for understanding the past; hope, trust and optimism for the future; flow and happiness for the present; 
• an engaged life, which can be achieved through the expression of one's strengths and talents, pursuing enjoyable activities with high levels of absorption and involvement. Dedication to these activities and to the challenges they pose guarantees that the individual adapts better to the environment and develops signature strengths; 
• a meaningful life, based on the possibility of putting one's own potential at the service of a purpose that brings one into contact with a reality wider than the self, enjoyed in social and interpersonal relations with otherness. 

Such an approach suggests, therefore, that it is possible to work on the quality of personal experience to enhance well-being and generate resilience in individuals, societies and organisations (Botella et al., 2012; Riva, Banos, Botella, Wiederhold, Gaggioli, 2012). 

One of the most interesting results of positive psychology is the focus on optimal experience - also called flow (Seligman, 2003) - which is considered as one of the main elements for a fulfilling life (engaged life) and meaningful life. In flow the action of the subject proceeds freely and in harmony with the surrounding context, favouring a level of total absorption in the practised activity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975, 1985, 1990, 2000). 

Working in close contact with many artists, Csikszentmihalyi had noticed that passion, dedication and joy for their work, regardless of success, remained almost unchanged over time, and was a constituent element of perceived well-being. In particular, there was something inescapable and intrinsically fascinating about the creative process itself that drove them on: the possibility of losing oneself in a timeless bubble and coming into full contact with one's own compositions, accessing a state of full fluidity of consciousness, in which mind and body work in unison and in perfect harmony (Muzio, Riva, Argenton, 2012). 

To speak of flow is therefore to refer to a holistic sensation, characterised by a sudden expansion of the boundaries of the self - of consciousness - by a deconstruction of temporal experience and by a significant increase in the perception of control over the activity itself (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975/2000). 

In the 1970s, based on his research and development work on creativity, Csikszentmihàlyi started a study on the flow of consciousness, a phenomenon that can be found in psychology when there are specific conditions of operation (the concepts of Ego, Self and consciousness will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 5). Specifically, as a behaviourist psychologist, Csikszentmihàlyi studied the basis of the mechanism he observed in the behaviour of artists. The flow state and the concept of intelligence 45 modus operandi was characterised by maximum concentration, high attention, lack of fatigue and a total alteration of the sense of time passing. Csikszentmihàlyi identified intrinsic motivation, which in itself generates gratification and supports the individual in the pursuit of the goal, as the main, internal stimulus for the occurrence of this process. 

Do you remember Maradona's goals in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup between Argentina and England? It was the 22nd of June 1986 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. Maradona had just scored the first goal with his hand (la mano de Dios), the referee didn't notice it, he validated it and the audience in the stadium and all over the world was roaring. Maradona wanted to put an end to any doubts about the value of that match, which had sporting but also political connotations. Five minutes later he began a 60-metre run in 10 seconds, straight towards the English goal, leaving behind five opposing players and eventually the goalkeeper Shilton, before depositing the 2-0 ball into the net. It was described as the goal of the century, awarded as the 'greatest goal in the history of the FIFA World Cup'. Maradona later recounted how he found himself in a trance-like state during this action. This is the competitive trance we will talk about in a moment. 

This behavioural and motivational approach, correlated to a precise psychophysical state, has been deepened and synthesised by Csikszentmihàlyi in the elaboration of the flow theory, understood as the state of flow, an autotelic and in itself totally gratifying experience in which the individual immerses himself when he does something that involves him completely, satisfies him and brings him enjoyment. It is a subjective psychological experience that allows one to focus one's attention on an action or goal. It is a state of total involvement and complete immersion in the task in which the individual's commitment, difficulty, skills and abilities are balanced. When these factors are balanced and in harmony, the state of flow emerges; on the contrary, in case of imbalance in favour of skills, boredom sets in; on the contrary, in case of imbalance in favour of load, negative stress is produced. In order to analyse these aspects more in depth, one can look at the Flow State Scale analysis, which identifies 9 competencies that correspond well to the 9 fundamental dimensions of flow identified by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990): 

1. balance/balance between challenges and skills: in the flow state there is a balance between these two aspects and thanks to this the effort of the action is not perceived as tiring. We are in the presence of the concept of lightness which will be explored in the following chapters. If the challenges are perceived as being beyond one's abilities, a state of anxiety arises; if, on the other hand, the task is perceived as being too easy and too predictable, this generates boredom. Individuals must therefore constantly recalibrate the balance between challenges and skills, trying to identify the balance most likely to lead to a state of flow; 

Figure 1. Representation of the Flow State Scale.

2. integration of action and consciousness or awareness: every day the individual carries out countless automatic activities, but only at times when a high level of concentration is required does awareness become linked with action (e.g. if a thunderstorm suddenly breaks while driving, concentration increases abruptly). In the fluidity of optimal experience, mind and body work in unison. This is a very common phenomenon in particularly creative people, such as artists, writers and musicians, sportsmen and women, who often refer to the perception of merging themselves with the performance when recounting their optimal experience; 

3. clear goals: clear and specific goals are the basis of the flow experience, guaranteeing total immersion in the task. Awareness of one's own actions makes it possible to achieve full satisfaction. Otherwise, the risk is to get lost in the meanders of the experience and in thoughts of possible operational differences. The presence of specific, realistic and measurable objectives is strongly related to the balance between challenges and skills. Moreover, since the experience of flow originates from the constant interaction of the subject with the environment, it presupposes the centrality of an emerging motivation in an open system (Csikszentmihalyi, 1985; Nakamura, Csikszentmihalyi, 2011); 

4. immediate feedback: the effect of the action must be immediately and clearly perceptible to the subject. The pursuit of precise goals must be supported by immediate and clearly decipherable feedback. Every time the individual performs an action, he or she must be able to know whether or not he or she has acted correctly, and thus to intuit what changes to make in his or her conduct. As will be seen later, this aspect is also crucial in the concept of gamification. If environmental feedback cannot be identified immediately, it is possible to internalise parameters and criteria of judgement, capable of anticipating the response and subsequently integrating with it, guiding the subject's choices of action (Muzio, Riva, Argenton, 2012); 

5. concentration on the task: in flow there is a state of total absorption, in which concentration is so total and immersive as to cancel out all other thoughts. Entering the flow state is facilitated by a perfect harmonisation of attention with consciousness. The vast majority of the cognitive resources at the individual's disposal are selectively oriented towards the activity being practised, so that anything extraneous to it loses importance. Although concentration is extremely high and intense, it is absolutely spontaneous; 

6. absence of worries: in this state, the smallest detail is handled with total naturalness and with the perception of being able to cope with the demands of the environment in the best possible way. In this case, the subject perceives himself as the absolute protagonist of his own actions, savouring the possibility of overcoming complex challenges without the fear of losing control. There are no thoughts made weak by fears, judges and criticism; 

7. loss of sense of self and self-awareness: the subject becomes the action itself, attention and consciousness are focused only on the activity. Judgment of oneself and one's actions, often a major obstacle and limitation in performance, is disabled. The fluidity of consciousness can be so intense that conscious control disappears, giving free rein to spontaneity; 

8. deconstruction of time: time is perceived as a function of action. Thus, for some, time stands still, for others it flows faster, for others it seems to slow down. In flow experiences, the perception of time is different but not distorted as in anxiety, depression and psychosis; 

9. autotelic experience: the term autotelic in the Greek language indicates a goal or purpose. It means that the activity is an end in itself, it is not carried out with the intention of obtaining benefits or ulterior motives, an experience can therefore be defined as autotelic when it is favoured by a genuine internal motivation and by the possibility of finding in the activity an extraordinary sense of fun, pleasure and satisfaction. This aspect will also be addressed in the chapter on gamification. The concept of autotelism has been further explored by Csikszentmihalyi (1975/2000). Although flow is a universal experience, there are individuals who, compared to others, present a greater frequency and extent of the flow experience. These are true autotelic personalities, capable of experiencing the state of flow through the presence of meta-competences, such as curiosity, determination and intrinsic motivation (Muzio, Riva, Argenton, 2012).