What Flow-Ready Groups Have in Common
- Maria Carbunaru
- July 8, 2025
- 5:53 pm
- 0 comments
Let’s be honest, a few decades ago, we didn’t anticipate that we would be in this continuous rush to catch up with an ever-speeding rhythm.
While some of us have two jobs, face the uncertainty of freelancing, or choose to work 40-60 hours a week, others develop burnout symptoms, autoimmune diseases, struggle to find the joy or creativity in what they do, and bring home undigested anxiety, frustration, and pressure.
Finding flow in our activities is not only a “thing” about work, but also of life, home, and meaning. Moving in flow-ready relationships or teams isn't just about getting the most out of what we do.
It’s about creating those conditions that give us a sense of presence, creativity, and a deeper understanding of how we can make our limited time on earth matter.
Research in flow—the mental state where individuals are fully immersed in their activities—shows that the most effective teams share three key elements: focus, play, and relational trust.
It’s what I see cultivated through Viola Spolin’s improvisation theatre method and in the Circle of Trust practice created by the Center for Courage and Renewal.
“Theatre games do not inspire ‘proper’ moral behaviors (good/bad) but rather seek to free each person to feel their own true nature,
out of which a felt, experienced, actual love of neighbour will appear.”
VIOLA SPOLIN
Actress, educator, director, author, and creator of theater games
1. Focus: The Foundation of Flow
In one of the classes I took with improvisation coach Aretha Sills, she mentioned a phrase of Viola, her grandmother, that changed the way my fellow players and I showed up in the games. “When urgency and anxiety appear, find the focus and hold onto it. It’s the tail of the comet.”
In the following months, those words not only helped me move forward in situations when I got stuck at work or in my relationships, but they also brought an unexpected amount of release and flow to the participants in my workshops. They became medicine words.
The truth is that at the beginning, I only pictured that shiny dust of the focus-star she was talking about, like a day-dreaming child before going to sleep. But over time, I could also notice those tiny focus-thieves that deprived me of flow and joy: regularly checking messages, scrolling on social media, or verifying the mail inbox.
2. Play: Creativity Through Flexibility and Exploration
Here I’d like to point out a myth that we might hold: play is for kids, and real adults should only do serious stuff.
Surprisingly or not, a solid body of work in sociology, anthropology, and psychology shows that play isn’t just for kids—it’s a crucial ingredient for entering flow in adult work.
The big or small breakthroughs in our society, the innovations, or the paradigm shifts came through free experimentation.
At work or home, we can embrace a sense of play if we are offered bounded spaces open to experimentation, creativity, and risk-taking.
When we feel psychologically safe to explore new paths, we’re more likely to enter a flow state, as we’re not paralyzed by fear, ideas of failure, or impacting the group negatively.
In flow-ready teams, play is encouraged through flexible work environments and a culture that celebrates curiosity. Innovation thrives when we feel empowered to step outside rigid structures and explore unconventional solutions to problems.
3. Relational Trust: The Invisible Net
When trust shows up in demanding conversations, it is usually something we ask from others, and we are rarely as fast to acknowledge that it is a two-way highway, and we have power over at least half of it.
In a Circle of Trust experience, in the approach of the Center for Courage and Renewal, this invisible glue called trust is created in a group by the invitation to rely on a series of 11 touchstones.
Initially called “boundary markers” of group interaction, these 11 principles remind us of some universal human needs of being welcome, listened to, believed in, and allowed to explore a question by ourselves.
“Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it means never living apart from one’s self. Community does not necessarily mean living face-to-face with others; rather, it means never losing the awareness that we are connected to each other.”
Parker Palmer, the founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal, and author of “A Hidden Wholeness”
The integrity that comes with reconciling these two sides of the same coin inside ourselves contributes to this sense of flow between our inner and outer lives, and gives us the possibility to find coherence between what we live inside and what we show to others.
That repeated exercise of building this inner coherence is what actually creates the invisible flow and the feeling of trust. Because we are wired to detect in others the presence of integrity.
“Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it means never living apart from one’s self. Community does not necessarily mean living face-to-face with others; rather, it means never losing the awareness that we are connected to each other.”
PARKER J PALMER
Founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal, author of “A Hidden Wholeness”
The integrity that comes with reconciling these two sides of the same coin inside ourselves contributes to this sense of flow between our inner and outer lives, and gives us the possibility to find coherence between what we live inside and what we show to others.
That repeated exercise of building this inner coherence is what actually creates the invisible flow and the feeling of trust. Because we are wired to detect in others the presence of integrity.
Flow-ready relationships or teams are not born—they are nurtured through a repetitive practice of focus, play, and relational trust. Longer the practice, deeper the results.
When we are in flow, we’re in a state of calm creativity, the state we would like a surgeon to be in when dealing with a difficult procedure: present, ready to notice changes and to act with full-body intelligence.
A deeper sense of connection with our work would arise then, and right next to it, a step closer towards meaning and fulfillment.
Reflection questions
What is the time of day your attention is most clear?
Where could you add more play in your life?
How are you showing up as a trustworthy presence in your community?