Flow, Creativity and the Role of Collaboration

I am a solo law practitioner, and I am a single parent. Why, then, do I spend so much time reading, writing and speaking about collaboration? I ask myself that all the time. More specifically, I am constantly asking myself if I am practicing what I preach – am I being collaborative?Fortunately, collaboration can take many forms. One of those forms is reading the work of like-minded individuals, or the work of individuals with contrary points of view. And this I do constantly.Two of my favorite authors are Keith Sawyer and Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi, both of whom are psychologists who study the creative process. Czikszentmihalyi has developed the concept of “flow,” or peak experience. Sawyer, who was a student of Czikszentmihalyi, describes the concept as follows”“[E]xtremely creative people are at their peak when they experience “a unified flowing from one moment to the next, in which we feel in control of our actions, and in which there is little distinction between self and environment; between stimulus and response; or between past, present and future.””There are four environmental factors that make it more likely that a person can achieve a state of flow.1. The person is engaged in an activity where their skills match the challenge of the task.2. The goal is clear.3. There is constant and immediate feedback about whether or not the person is getting closer to the goal.4. The person is free to concentrate fully on the task.According to Sawyer and Czikszentmihalyi, flow is the most essential ingredient in creativity, and the most common place people experience flow is in conversation with others. “Conversation leads to flow, and flow leads to creativity.”I take these quotes as a few more nails in the coffin of the Myth of the Lone Genius. Creativity is not a solitary pursuit, it is a group activity. We all need the input of others in order to achieve something greater than ourselves, in order to reach beyond the limits of our individual capabilities.So, if you are like me, and you work alone, that does not mean that you have to forego the power of collaboration. You can read the work of others, listen to the work of others. The point is, if you want to achieve your best work, you must find a way to connect with others.