create the conditions. The rest will flow.

When a person’s capability is way higher than the challenge faced, the result is very often, boredom & disengagement.
When a person’s capability is way lower than the challenge being faced, anxiety, self-doubt & frustration often ensues
It is when a person’s capability is well matched with a challenge such that it can stretch them and make them feel that they have accomplished something both difficult & worthwhile, that one can be said to be in a state of ‘flow’ - a term coined by Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi  to describe a state of deep voluntary absorption in what one is engaged with, and with Happiness as the much sought after by product. These ‘flow’ moments are usually the ones we remember as being the best moments,  where there was a canvass for us to fully express and interact with our strengths. 
 
Organizations should use this framework of thinking about ‘Flow’ to craft a better and more meaningful approach towards talent management and culture creation. 
 
The question that organizations and their leaders need to constantly ask is whether and how they are creating the right conditions for flow – for talent to emerge and bloom. More often than not, when there is an issue of underperformance, it is the individual in question that is thrown under the bus, instead of looking at ways the organization/ leadership could create conditions for talent to emerge and express itself – a systemic, smarter, effective and certainly more cost effective method given the massive cost of talent acquisition, retention, management, especially in people oriented businesses like advertising and communication.
 
Death Valley one of the least hospitable places on earth– a barren, desolate, wasteland saw a super blooms in 2016. When conditions are right, these Utah Deserts explode with colorful flowers. These flowers remain dormant for most of the time – and don’t reveal any of their beauty or being – until the conditions are right for them to emerge. But when the right conditions emerge, these flowers bloom creating an extraordinary explosions of color & life. Talent is pretty much like these desert flowers. If the conditions are right, it will bloom. Else stay dormant. Possibly forever. 

​How are you getting to know your people? And how are you creating the right conditions for their strengths to emerge and express?  Answers to these questions will give you a happier and fulfilled and loyal workforce. A solution more meaningful and purposive than superficial benefits like a pantry stacked with alcohol and snacks (though some might vehemently disagree!  ;)) ​