Pulse

Think about the times when you are so absorbed in what you're doing that the world around you fades away. That's the magic of “flow” – a concept Daniel Pink explores in his book “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.”

Pink says that while in flow, “people live so deeply in the moment, and feel so utterly in control, that their sense of time, place, and even self – melt away. They are autonomous, of course. But more than that, they are engaged.”

I’ve been thinking about that feeling a lot – particularly because of a big insight suggested in Pink’s book: more “flow” = higher engagement. To extrapolate that theory across Loureiro, the more we experience “flow,” the higher our engagement will be. There are countless studies that suggest higher levels of engagement result in higher performance – not only individually but also for the company as a whole.

As you know, our employee engagement scores in Loureiro’s annual survey have been essentially flat over the years – and our rating in this area is average at best. While Loureiro’s employee benefits and total compensation are industry-leading, our lackluster engagement scores tell me that we haven’t seized the tremendous opportunity to tap into what truly motivates team members.

Pink claims that the best forms of motivation are intrinsic – these are internal rewards that come from people feeling self-motivated because they're given the freedom to do the work they find fulfilling, challenging, and aligned with their skills and interests. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is doing something to gain an external reward – with the most common being money.

HOW we enhance our intrinsic motivation throughout Loureiro won’t have just one “solution.” As we consider ideas, I think Pink is onto something with his focus on “flow” – and the key intrinsic motivators that make it happen – which he lists as Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose.

Here are my “Cliff Notes” based on Pink’s suggestions — a quick summary of actions we can take to inspire and chase our “flow” in the work we do at Loureiro.

Foster / Seek Autonomy

For People Leaders: Encourage team members to take ownership of their tasks and projects. Provide them with autonomy and freedom to make decisions, and delegate tasks to build independence and creativity. Many artists claim their best masterpieces are those where they have free latitude — versus the guardrails of commissioned pieces. 

For All: Actively seek opportunities to independently manage aspects of your work. Embrace responsibility and decision-making to experience a greater sense of control.

Connect Our Work to a Larger Purpose

Interesting fact… Even though our Loureiro employee engagement survey score has been flat, we did experience a positive bump in our score in 2020. Personally, I think that’s because, like many teams, we galvanized around overcoming a shared and unprecedented challenge. BUT…we can make similar efforts to spark unification in the challenges we face today!

For People Leaders: Regularly discuss performance objectives and goals – in ways that are specific to your team and individuals. Celebrate milestones; share success stories; and use our Employee Recognition platform – spotlighting instances where contributions positively impacted a project, team, or company goal.

For All: Reflect on the broader impact you have on the team, the project at hand, and the customer experience. Seek out work that aligns with your personal values and passions – and contributes to one of the results we want to achieve at Loureiro.

Nurture Mastery

For People Leaders: Support continuous learning and skill development within the team. Provide opportunities for training and growth, allowing team members to master their skills and enhance expertise.

For All: Seek out challenges and learning opportunities that support your growth, especially in areas that you are passionate about.

My favorite aspect of “flow” is the ripple effect it creates. Your flow can inspire others to find their flow. Each ripple positively impacts team dynamics. Collaborative efforts become more productive, communication improves, and the shared sense of achievement strengthens team cohesion. Which, of course, leads to even more flow!

And speaking of collaboration, I’d like to wrap up each “On the Beat” with an open-ended question for each of you, so here’s the first one for 2024:

Have you ever been so immersed in your work that hours slip by unnoticed? What factors positively contributed to that experience?

Share your thoughts via [email protected]. Our aim is to spotlight your insights in future editions of The Pulse and related communications.

So whether you call that satisfying experience “flow,” “locked in,” or “in the zone” – get after it! Embrace the challenge, harness your passion, and chase what lights you up.