Is this the secret to happiness at work?

Research has shown that people respond to change in different ways. Some thrive on the energy of change; others feel powerless and see change as alienating. As a leader how can you work with your people to foster more of the former and less of the latter?

It has been shown that the critical factors in coping with change are commitment, control and challenge. A commitment to change, a feeling of being in control and seeing change as a challenge leads to change being cast in a thriving and stimulating light, as opposed to something which is the cause of distress or concern.

Looking at change as a challenge, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a Hungarian psychology professor, posited the theory that the level of challenge experienced must be proportional to an individual's level of skill. Too much challenge and a person can become stressed and anxious, too little and they become bored.

Is this then the secret to happiness at work? For leaders is it simply about keeping an eye on the balance between the level of challenge and skill for each person in your team?

Csikszentmihalyi called this balance 'flow'. His discovery came as a result of research into how people achieve happiness in what they do. He concluded that the most rewarding aspects were:

Exploring something new
Discovering something new
Designing something new
Learning something new
Discovering new solutions

To foster an environment then in which team members can find their 'flow' leaders can do the following:

Win their commitment to the shared vision
Give them as much control over the change process as you can, and support and empower them
Design their work with them to keep them in 'flow' states.

Are you familiar with the 'flow' model? Have you used it in your work? We would love to hear from you! Please share your comments in the box below.

Posted on Thu, September 04, 2014 in General Leadership
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