Embrace flow to transform your leadership style for enhanced clarity and productivity

28 May 2025

The modern manager must be enlightened enough to know personal emotional triggers and learn to respond.

In today’s corporate landscape, where deadlines loom like predators and targets dictate our daily grind, it’s no wonder that leadership has you feeling like a lion tamer in a circus — overwhelmed, reactive and occasionally wondering if you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.

There’s a powerful alternative to this chaotic existence: embracing the state of flow. By adopting this mindset, we can manoeuvre through the chaos, not by wrestling with the lions, but by finding harmony with the wild energy around us.

We can sense you sceptics out there rolling your eyeballs. And we get it. Flow is often dismissed as a vague or “hippy-ish” concept, little more than a luxury in a world obsessed with ambition and achievement.

But understand this: flow isn’t about tossing aside your goals; it’s about approaching them with clarity and an enviable sense of ease. Imagine a river winding effortlessly — that’s productivity at its finest. When we stop forcing the issue and allow ourselves to be present in the moment instead, we actually enhance our productivity.

Workaholic cultures have placed us in a pressure cooker, leading to burnout on both personal and professional fronts, especially in environments that glorify ceaseless ambition. Statistics on declining life expectancy for those caught in this relentless cycle are alarming. Yet, we hold the power to flip the script by changing our own internal dialogue. When we practice kindness and patience towards ourselves, we unlock greater creativity, adaptability and, ultimately, personal success.

Embrace the big picture

The first step to unlocking flow is cultivating awareness around our reactions. How often do we react impulsively to trivial stimuli, ramping up our stress levels? It’s all too easy to let minor annoyances dictate our mood. By momentarily stepping back, we can remind ourselves that we have the power to choose our responses, providing a detour from the frantic rat race of corporate life.

As Viktor Frankl wisely pointed out: “Between stimulus and response, there is a space, and that space is our power to choose how we respond.” This insight leads us to a profound yet simple truth: sometimes the most potent response is to let go entirely. This doesn’t mean we become apathetic. Rather, it allows for a calm detachment. Acknowledge that while outcomes matter, not everything demands immediate fixing — some things can patiently await your attention.

By strategically letting go, we carve out the necessary space for greater flow. The benefits are plain: when we embrace the moment and ease our grip on control, we are free to lead with clarity, curiosity and a revitalised sense of purpose.

Expansion Point

Is it time to make space for personal coaching? Do an emotional audit: objectively review your recent actions and reactions. Identify patterns and develop a plan to engage with a mentor or coach who can provide candid feedback and strategies for improvement.

Following in the footsteps of their successful eponymous podcast, South African thought leaders and award-winning podcasters John Sanei and Erik Kruger have written their book, Expansive, which is available from Amazon and at leading retail outlets.

Where in your life can you begin to let go of the need for control in order to create more flow?

Leadership on a high wire

There are enough platitudes about leadership, so let’s get right to the crux: being a leader is tough. We see you and we feel your challenges. Self-reflection might feel like just another chore on your overflowing to-do list — but this one isn’t optional if you want to thrive.

Firstly, if you’re at the helm, your emotional state is not a private affair; it’s a broadcast that reverberates throughout your entire organisation. Your mood sets the agenda, whether you want it to or not.

Emotional intelligence on your part isn’t optional — it’s fundamental. Maturity is recognising what your mood trigger has been and determining how quickly you can move out of it.

If that trigger isn’t addressed quickly, it becomes a mood. If that mood isn’t addressed, over a period it becomes a temperament, then a personality. Leadership that cannot confront past issues is destined for a reactive roller coaster, dragging the organisation along with it.

Fail to master this, and you’re on a trajectory to compromise not just your decisions, but the organisation’s coherence. Start by dropping the ego. Leadership is not about posing on a pedestal; when your team stumbles, it’s your credibility that’s on the line. Companies are complex organisms and, let’s face it, at best they’re hectic and chaotic.

Adding to this burden, a leader is responsible not just for themselves but for an entire cast of characters. The downside is that if your people aren’t happy, you won’t be either.

Their problems become your problems. You’re expected to juggle the expectations of employees and stakeholders while navigating an ever-shifting corporate landscape. This is a high-wire act demanding precision.

All mood triggers stem from past versions of ourselves. Healing that trauma is essential if you want to stay planted in the present and make decisions that aren’t emotionally charged. Rehearse new behaviours, so that when those inevitable triggers are pulled, you can a) recognise them and b) deploy a toolkit that anchors you into more effective responses.

You need to steer through the pressures; you won’t always get things right and there’ll be points where you are T-boned. As a modern leader, though, if you haven’t already learnt to lead collaboratively, this is where you haul yourself into the current arena.

You are human. This is a complex world. The days of the solitary leader are dead and buried (thank goodness). Own your limitations and tap into the collective intellect of a capable team for problem solving. Yes, the ultimate accountability is yours, but leaning into fear and frustration will only alienate your team and undermine your strategic direction. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

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Embrace the big picture

Expansion Point

Leadership on a high wire