Think about a time when you were part of a group that was totally in sync, flying through [[The Jetstream]]. Maybe this was in a work context, perhaps it was when you were part of a sports team. What was that experience like? Common descriptions of Jetstream experiences include: - Flow, Focus, Productivity - Energy, Motivation, Inspiration - Creativity, Empowerment, Collaboration - Trust, Safety, Ease Now, think of a time when you were part of a group that struggled to achieve anything at all, that was lost in [[Fantasyland]]. How did that experience feel? Common descriptions of Fantasyland experiences include: - Stressful, Frustrating, Draining - Slow, Stuck, Resistant - Anxious, Fearful, Angry - Confusing, Disorienting, Chaotic ![[Map with feeling tone.jpg|600]] It turns out that these feeling tones are useful information that we can use like a compass to orient ourselves and the group on [[The Map|the map]]. In Group Flow, we challenge the notion that individuals are fundamentally separate from the groups they belong to. Instead, we view individuals in a group setting as inherently interconnected, constantly shaping and being shaped by the larger collective consciousness that emerges. From this perspective, the boundary between individual and group is more porous and fluid than we typically assume. Each individual is not just a self-contained entity, but a node in a larger web of relationships and interactions that generate an emergent, shared reality. We can think of the group as a complex, dynamic system, where the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of each individual member are both influencing and being influenced by the larger patterns and dynamics of the whole. This means that whatever feeling tone is present for you is also present for the group and visa versa. When you're feeling energized, inspired, creative, and safe that's an indication that all or part of the group is on task. When you're feeling stressed, anxious, frustrated, and angry, that's an indication that all or part of the group is off task. When we attune to our own embodied experience of the group's feeling tone, we are tapping into the interface where the individual and collective meet. Our own feelings, sensations, and intuitions become a kind of sensor that picks up on the larger currents moving through the group. ## Think, Then Feel Your Way Back Imagine for a moment that we're in a meeting that has devolved into conflict. Tempers are flaring, voices are raised, and it feels like the walls are closing in. You might notice your heart racing, heat rising in your face and your vision narrowing to a tunnel as you're consumed by feelings of anger, stress, and irritation. This feeling tone is a clear signal that the group, or part of it, has fallen off task. The key thing to recognize in this moment is that it doesn't actually matter who is off task or which [[Introduction to Shadow Dynamics|Shadow Dynamic]] has taken hold. Whether it's Dependency, Fight or Flight, Pairing, Oneness, or Me-ness at play, the path back to The Jetstream is always the same: consciously reconnect to the [[The Jetstream#The Flight Plan|flight plan]]. To do this, we use a process I call think, then feel your way back. The first step is to mentally disengage the group from the swirl of emotions and unconscious patterns by asking a simple question: "What are we trying to accomplish?" This question is like a cheat code to break the spell of Fantasyland and re-engage thinking energy, beginning the process of returning to task. ![[Group Flow Map Complete.jpg]] I used this phrase so often in my own company that it became a bit of a running joke, but it worked every time. Eventually, many other people began using it, creating a shared language and practice for getting back on track. The next step is to consciously reconnect to the flight plan at whatever level you're able to. Ideally, you can link back directly to the specific task at hand and resume productive work immediately. But sometimes, the influence of Shadow Dynamics is too strong for that direct connection. In those cases, you need to zoom out to the level of the primary objective, reminding everyone of the overarching goal you're working towards. If the chaos is so intense that even the primary objective feels out of reach, you work your way all the way up to the mission and vision–reminding the group why it exists in the first place. I once found myself in an executive meeting at Tradesy where two members of our leadership team were seconds away from a physical fight. They were out of their chairs, in each others' faces. One of them said to the other “If you don't step back right now, I'm going to punch you.” The negative energy was so palpable, it felt like the oxygen was being sucked out of the room. I stood up and said, in the calmest voice I could muster, “Hang on. What are we trying to accomplish here?” We had come together to review and approve a new brand strategy, but in that moment, the current of aggression was so overwhelming that I couldn't connect to that task, or even to our primary objective. So I went all the way up to our mission and vision. "Our vision is to make commerce sustainable. In order to do that, we need to make fashion resale as safe, simple, and stylish as retail at scale." I felt ridiculous, waxing poetic about our mission statement while my colleagues were about to come to blows. But it worked. Within moments, the tension started to dissipate. Reconnecting to our higher purpose broke the spell of Fight or Flight, and we were able to agree on next steps to move forward. There was still some residual tension, but we were back on task, and no one had gotten hurt. Once you've found an anchor point in the flight plan and re-engaged your thinking energy, the next step is to feel your way back to the Jetstream, allowing your emotions to catch up and come back into alignment. This part can take some time—you can't just flip a switch and instantly return to The Jetstream after your detour in Fantasyland. The return trip takes some time even when you're on course and have a GPS guiding you back. Once you're fully reconnected to the flight plan, you can start to diagnose what caused the breakdown in the first place. Was the task unclear? Do we have unresolved conflicts about priorities or resources? Do roles and responsibilities need to be clarified? From your renewed position of clarity you can make the necessary tweaks to your flight plan to prevent future mishaps. The think-feel-adjust process might need to happen several times, at different levels of the flight plan, before the group is fully on course again. That's normal—the key is to keep consciously reconnecting to what you're trying to achieve together until it sticks. What's powerful about this approach is that anyone in the group can initiate it. You don't need to be a leader to ask, "What are we trying to accomplish?" In fact, a key insight of Group Flow is that leaders are just as susceptible to getting pulled off task as anyone else. In order to prevent getting stuck in Fantasyland when we drift off course, we must empower all members of the group to keep each other on task. By cultivating the skill of navigating with feeling tone and re-anchoring to the flight plan through the think-then-feel process, everyone in the group contributes to a powerful, distributed, self-organizing system for staying on task and redirecting energy towards the common goal. It's like having a network of co-pilots, all working together to keep the plane flying smoothly in the Jetstream, making course corrections whenever necessary. ## Task-Orientation and Feeling Tone It's important to note that not all unpleasant feelings indicate that the group is off task. In some cases, unpleasant emotions are a natural and even productive part of the creative process. For example, frustration when grappling with a challenging problem can provide the grit and determination needed to persist. Similarly, a sense of fear or anxiety in the face of an ambitious goal can actually sharpen focus and motivation. The key is to learn to discern whether the feelings are task-oriented. Task-oriented unpleasant feelings, while uncomfortable, are ultimately in service of the work. They arise in direct response to the challenges inherent in pursuing the primary objective. shadow-oriented unpleasant feelings, on the other hand, are out of place in the context of the task at hand. Positive feeling tones also don't always mean the group is on track. Pleasant feelings can arise from Shadow Dynamics too: the euphoria of a Pairing or Oneness fantasy, the righteousness of indulging in Me-ness, the relief of falling into Dependency. These states might feel good in the moment, but they're ultimately a form of avoidance or distraction from the real work of advancing our Primary Objective. For example, a team might spend a meeting excitedly generating big picture ideas (Oneness) without stress-testing them or considering implementation details. Everyone leaves the meeting feeling inspired and aligned, but in reality no substantive progress was made. Or two team members might fall into an impassioned debate about a trivial matter (Pairing), derailing the agenda but giving them a feeling of being engaged, while the rest of the team is swept along in the powerful energy of the Pair. Navigating this emotional landscape requires developing a nuanced and clear level of self-and-system awareness. We need to develop the capacity to both notice our feeling tone in the moment, and swiftly cross-referecne it with the task at hand. Is this feeling directly related to the work we're doing, or is it a symptom of a Shadow Dynamic? With practice, this becomes an automatic habit. We notice frustration arise and we quickly ask "Is this task-oriented frustration or a sign we're off track?" We sense excitement in the room and check "Is this energy moving us toward our Primary Objective or is it a distraction?" As we develop this skill, we begin to appreciate the deep, fractal complexity at play in any group. Each individual is navigating their own inner landscape of emotions and perceptions, while simultaneously being influenced by the currents of Shadow Dynamics at the collective level. It's a delicate, intricate dance where the individual and the group are constantly shaping each other. Recognizing and embracing this complexity is a crucial part of working effectively in groups. Ultimately, navigating with feeling tone and re-anchoring to the flight plan is a dynamic, ongoing process that requires the participation of the entire group. Due to the complex, ever-shifting nature of groups, there is no permanent solution to staying on task. It requires a continuous practice. In the next section, we'll dive deeper into what this looks like in action and explore practical tools for cultivating a culture of sustained group flow. ## Next up [[The Practice]]