THE PROBLEM

If health, safety, environment or quality are all an outcome of normal work, doesn’t it make sense then to focus on improving the performance of work itself?

Here’s an example: Safety relies on the high-quality relationships between a leader and their team. To create high-quality relationships a leader needs to have clarity, presence, empathy, and be able to bring their best selves to work every day.

But as you can see below most people AREN’T operating at their best. Most people are highly stressed, distracted, and disengaged.

THE SOLUTION

The factors that create peak performance in people and teams have been known for years. Just ask an Olympic downhill skier
flying down a mountain at top speed or an AFL team who just won a grand final.

What if we viewed workers as ‘corporate or industrial athletes’? Would we invest more time helping them perform at their best, improving teamwork and capability?

We’ve been studying and working alongside world-leading peak performance experts, The Flow Research Collective (led by world-renowned researcher and writer, Steven Kottler) to do just that – create peak human and collective performance to help workplaces thrive.

CREATING HIGH-PERFORMING TEAMS

Over the past decade, time and time again studies into organisational practices have found that improving relationships through trust and psychological safety have a significant benefit on team performance.

At Google they clearly understand the importance of team effectiveness conducting their own study code named Project Aristotle – a tribute to Aristotle’s quote “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” .

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Whilst the study found that dependability, role clarity, meaning and impact all play a part, the most important was that team members feel safe to speak up and be vulnerable without the fear of embarrassment or retribution.

When it comes to innovation, Psychological Safety is also one of 13 critical aspects that enhance ingenuity and new ideas in workplaces.

Based on this idea, we have collaborated with Griffith University and Queensland University of Technology to measure the level of psychological safety and implement strategies that will permeate through the organisation.

OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE

A 10 – year study by world renowned experts , McKinsey , found that leaders increase their productivity when in regular states of ‘flow’.

Flow can be described as “an optimal state of being where we feel and perform at our best” . (read more here ).

Google are certainly not alone in leading the charge on harnessing peak performance states. Facebook, Patagonia and Toyota have all implemented specific strategies to introduce flow states.

Here at The Collective Lab we’re curious about the impact that flow can have on not just individuals but team’s and org anisations as well.

In a world where workers are more and more under pressure and time poor, what impact could 5X more productivity have on safety outcomes and the quality of work?

By understanding how to get into a flow state , generated by a delicate balance between challenge and competence , Leaders can both tap into their own optimal performance and that of their team members.