The inversion of ordinary experience creates extraordinary leadership

A SEAL team entering a flow state of thinking and acting as one. A marathon runner opens up to a state where time seems to stand still while the body moves on its own. An opera singer who resonates with other singers, with the audience, with the moment, and gives a transcendent performance. The rescuer spontaneously entered the fire to rescue the child. Such examples of unusual human behavior can be found in many disciplines and situations. Studying this has become a focus of positive psychology, especially with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s research on flow. Flow, according to Csikszentmihalyiis characterized by “total involvement in the activity itself.” It is created through an intense mix of challenge and support.

Robert Dilts was another keen researcher of human behavior and how people change. A leading figure in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), he formulated what became known as Dilts’ pyramid covering six levels of human experience (See Figure 1): spirit, identity, beliefs and values, opportunities, behavior and environment.

A key insight from his work was that lasting change at any level requires comparable change at the levels above it. Conversely, changes at higher levels trickle down to lower levels. Although Dilts was clear that spirituality was part of a complete description of the human experience, he was not entirely sure how to present it. For example, another visualization of the Dilts pyramid is shown in Figure 2. Determining spiritual level was not easier; how can we actually talk about spirituality while recognizing that it is a radically different experience for different identities? He compared it to secular leadership terms like purpose and vision, something our identity serves.

While the effort to blend the spiritual and secular in the workplace may seem awkward, it is an awkwardness worth overcoming, as these two strands of research show: when we transcend our ordinary sense of identity—when we forget ourselves—extraordinary achievements are possible. When this transcendent experience reverses our enduring sense of who we are, extraordinary leadership becomes possible.

Research on flow leaves no doubt that flow unsettles the ego, at least temporarily. Lack of self-awareness is one of the necessary conditions for entering a state of flow, thanks to which you can fully engage in a demanding activity in itself. As Csikszentmihalyi described the flow in the interview“The ego is gone. Time flies. Every action, movement and thought inevitably flows from the previous one, like a jazz game. Your whole being is involved and you get the most out of your skills.

Similarly, Dilts’ pyramid leaves no doubt that flow is a spiritual experience. This is not the only type of spiritual experience, but it certainly qualifies as one because the ego disappears and one serves the purpose or vision completely. The pyramid structure suggests that such an experience will somehow spread downward, changing the levels below. Thus, returning to the earlier example, once a SEAL team mission is completed and the flow state ends, team members can make sense of the experience while still seeing themselves as individuals who, under the right conditions, can transition into this altered flow state. They may believe that some warm-up activities, such as hiking together to the mission site, will be needed to make the change and take advantage of this opportunity in future missions. They may notice that change happens more easily when you don’t talk and pay close attention to your surroundings, and all of this becomes part of future behavioral protocols. This example is taken from the actual experience of a SEAL team leader he interviewed Kotler and Wheal for their book Fire theftthe spiritual experience of flow is interpreted by the “I” as the peak experience that “it” has had, giving rise to certain new values, beliefs, capabilities and behaviors, just as Dilts’ Pyramid predicted.

Similarly, a marathon runner may look back at the magic that occurred and interpret it as “I ran great.” An opera singer may also consider her extraordinary performance a personal achievement. A first responder may also look back on events and say, “I don’t know what came over me, I just acted.” In such cases, people may remember the wonder and magic of their experiences and want to recreate them, so they take on another mission, run another race, and so on. Although their sense of self has been expanded by this experience, it still remains relatively intact. Their ego may have expanded to include “losing themselves” in that particular activity. But their sense of identity has not changed and does not encompass everything that is outside and inside.

But such a return is possible. Another interpretation of the flow experience might be: “I shifted from ‘I’ to ‘not-I’ and the universe (or God, source, inspiration, purpose, mission, team, emptiness, absence, force) flowed through me.” Or “I became the whole team, the whole picture came into being and magic happened.” This is exactly the phrase that occurs in Zen training and that shapes Zen leadership.

The conditions for entering flow – high challenge, high support, requiring total commitment where the ego disappears – are also apt descriptions of the highly physical form of Zen training on which Zen leadership is based. For example, intensive Zen sesshin training induces a state of flow (i.e. samadhi) that resembles a kind of jazz in which each action inevitably flows from the previous one. However, at its core this state of flow is without self. He sees through the ego its universal nature, not the ego trying to take credit for it.

This reversal of identity changes everything.

By making this change, we go from being an ego riding the roller coaster of life to being whole and having a body (and its ego) with which to play the game of life. We could predict from Dilts’ work that this transformation of self into non-self has radical implications for every other aspect of human experience. Extending the spiritual dimension as shown in Figure 3, we find a spiritually enriched parallel with each other layer:

Coming from the non-self, values ​​and beliefs are no longer thoughts stuck between our ears, but rather an internal flow of inspiration and an external flow of intention, oneness with the field and everything we face.

Originating from a lack of self, ability becomes mastery because it no longer carries the scent of a self-validating self, but rather a naturalness and universality that has wide resonance. It is the art of a Zen master or master craftsman, the poetry of a mystic or the grace of a selfless act of leadership.

Coming from a lack of self, behaviors become “wu-wei“actions” – actions without ego or effort without effort – supported by clear perception, without the “I” getting in the way. It is the natural movement of a martial artist or athlete, or the altruistic acts of a leader who cares about the whole.

Coming from the non-self, the environment comes to life as a swirling energy system that can be danced with; an endless whirlwind of presence from absence, the creation and destruction of forms arising in the void, the coming and going in the field of non-coming and non-going. It is an environment of sages and fearless leadership, dancing with the cosmos.

As Csikszentmihalyi summarizes, flow states ensure not only optimal performance and service to others, but also happiness. This joy brings the entire journey to wholeness as we allow the spiritual nature of flow to be not only the peak experience that the “I” has, but the radical revelation that our lives and leadership do not have to be limited by the ego of the “I”. When the “I” strays from the path in a capable leader, that leader’s actions follow the Way in a universal sense.