If your stock is your inventory, production is a inflows that feeds it and sales is a outflow that reduces it. Meadows says that “resilience arises from a rich structure of many feedback loops that can work in different ways to restore a system even after a large perturbation” and that “A set of feedback loops that can restore or rebuild feedback lops is resilience at a still higher level–meta resilience, if you will.” (Meadows, p 76), Meadows also notes that resilience is not the same as being unchanging, stating that “Resilient systems can be very dynamic…people often sacrifice resilience for stability, or for productivity, or for some other more immediately recognizable system property.” (Meadows, pp. We’ll briefly describe each below, and refer to you the article for more. Design Thinking—a term and strategic approach that means far more than the simplistic “outside the box thinking” epithet often attached to it—can change the paradigm to foster workplace innovation consistently. That process is emergence. Part of the policy is a promise of quick, quality customer service, but clients say you're not delivering. As Meadows notes: Self-organization produces heterogeneity and unpredictability. Before we move on to examples of how to use creative thinking skills in your workplace and how to show them off in the job search, one thing to keep in mind— Two terms that people often conflate are creative and critical thinking skills. politics, trust, hopes, ambitions, greed, favours, power struggles, etc. By The ReWork Editors. Suppose you've adopted an aggressive marketing policy for your company, successfully expanding your client base. As systems thinkers, we need to study how elements and their relationships come together to create emergence (and new things). Likewise, your workplace is a system with elements (workers, managers, buildings, desks, machines, computers, etc.) We’ve already explained that systems include stocks and flows. Self-organization can be a great force for innovation and continual improvement. If we want to strengthen the system, we should act to make the system more resilient. Meadows makes a few important points about the elements, interconnections, and functions of a system. In the credit-where-credit is due section, I should note that this article is largely based on the first-half of the book Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella H. Meadows. The shadow system is where all the non-rational issues reside; e.g. Changing relationships usually changes system behavior. Do you want the systems at work to lead to greater innovations and continuous improvement? The rise of increasingly complex business systems and technology mean that today's companies need a creative workforce more than ever. utilizing the systems archetypes to illuminate common systemic patterns in the workplace. I’m doing this as a bit of a “learning out loud” project, not entirely knowing where this will go or how useful it will be. Here’s how she puts it: Changing elements usually has the least effect on the system. Having open channels of communication is important for enabling feedback. From this, we can shift the way we see the world, from a linear, structured “mechanical worldview’ to a dynamic, chaotic, interconnected array of relationships and feedback loops. They are: Resilience is the ability for the system to persist despite changing circumstances. It requires freedom and experimentation, and a certain amount of disorder. The trick here is to remember not to try to study causality in a linear and reductive way. But she cautions that making this kind of  change in a system usually isn’t too impactful on the system’s behavior, and instead suggests instead considering making changes to the system’s interconnections or purposes. expands the range of choices available for solving a problem by broadening our thinking and helping us articulate problems in new and different ways And being averse to change can be the biggest hurdle to the optimisation of processes. While Tesla has received quite a bit of negative press as of late, the company is a great example of systems thinking versus solution thinking. The goal is to win, have fun and exercise. For example, it might be more growth or more recession. For example, your body is a system. If the interconnections change, the system may be greatly altered. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(2337212, 'a297246b-ab0b-4c69-8e98-16c4c8531664', {}); Editor's note: This article has been updated for relevance and freshness. The point that folks make is that if you want to really solve problems, or really grasp opportunities, you’ve got to think of issues systemically. Some of the illustrations include the causal loop diagram, behavior over time graph, management flight simulator, and simulation model. As Meadows puts it: It is the consistent behavior pattern over a long period of time that is the first hint of the existence of a feedback loop…A feedback loop is formed when changes in a stock affect the flows into or out of that same stock…Feedback loops can cause stocks to maintain their level within a range or grow or decline. In practice, systems theory is used to understand complex systems that are impossible to fully model, predict or understand using standard thinking such as analysis. Here’s how Meadows explains it: A system is a set of things–people, cells, molecules, or whatever–interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of behavior over time. It is an ethical way of solving problems by ensuring that they do not transfer to other areas within the system. Systems Thinking can help us see why measures that may superficially seem likely to worsen the situation may, in fact, be optimal solutions. In systems, elements are interconnected to create new things. System thinking seeks permanent solutions by considering the impact of many interrelated parts. Should we brush off close shaves? Here’s a quote from Peter Senge in The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization: “When you ask people about what it is like being part of a great team, what is most striking is the meaningfulness of the experience. It is likely to come up with whole new structures, whole new ways of doing things. It utilizes computer simulation and different graphs and diagrams to illustrate and predict system behavior. People talk about being part of something larger than themselves, of being connected, of being generative. Harness the power of systems thinking to solve complex problems and arrive at sustainable solutions. Applying systems thinking in your organisation makes you and your team become better problem-solvers in that it allows you to ask better questions to reach a conclusion or make informed an decision. Systems Thinking enables a framework that can produce sustainable success. The company has been aggressively working to improve their workplace injury rates but has not fully achieved their desired goals. It may even become unrecognizable, even though the same players are on teh team. As Acaroglu puts it. — Peter Senge, American systems scientist. Meadows makes an interesting point about inflows and outflows: The human mind seems to focus more easily on stocks than on flows. A common example of the systems thinking method is the life around us where multiple systems interact with each other and are affected by each other. Companies, therefore, need to not only implement systems thinking in the workplace. Design Thinking involves a creative, agile mindset that incorporates the ability to ask questions from a variety of vantage points. There are many ways to map, from analog cluster mapping to complex digital feedback analysis. Creating how-to books is an excellent activity for using systems thinking to identify and write out the steps of different systems. We are deeply endebted to Meadows here and in no way do we think this captures all the great thought in the book. This article concerns its use in understanding IT-reliant systems in organizations. Identify and map the elements of ‘things’ within a system to understand how they interconnect, relate and act in a complex system, and from here, unique insights and discoveries can be used to develop interventions, shifts, or policy decisions that will dramatically change the system in the most effective way. It enables teams to work in synergy instead of siloes, unlocking teamwork and collaboration. Your email address will not be published. So What’s NOT a System? Change the rules from those of football to those of basketball, and you’ve got, as they say, a whole new ball game…Changing interconnections in a system can change it dramatically. Synthesis is about understanding the whole and the parts at the same time, along with the relationships and the connections that make up the dynamics of the whole. Culture & Leadership, Step Change, WOTSO Building Level 3, 55 Pyrmont Bridge Rd, Pyrmont, Sydney, NSW, 2009(02) 8030 8655, How to Develop Systems Thinking in Your Organisation, Content Strategy: Help People Find Your Business Online. Step Change, Required fields are marked *. But these are not the same. This is the power of systems thinking. We’ve already explained that systems are made up of elements that are related. In the most abstract sense, emergence describes the universal concept of how life emerges from individual biological elements in diverse and unique ways. (Meadows, pp. Dr. Deming also believed in removing fear from the workplace, changing the mindset from “What did this individual do wrong?” to “What is wrong with the system or process that created an opportunity for error?” To help identify systems, and to possibly later attempt to change their behavior, it helps to know that systems have three parts: For example, the traffic system where you live includes elements, such as people, cars, pedestrians, bikes, roads, and so on; these elements are interrelated, at least in part, by the rules and laws that govern behavior on the road, by different methods of communication, and by people’s individual decision making; and the purpose is to help move people, vehicles, and economic goods from place to place. that are interrelated in a way to achieve a function, such as producing your product or achieving your organization’s mission statement. Systems also have the ability to self-organize, becoming increasingly diverse and complex over time. In nature, systems thinking examples include ecosystems in which various elements such as air, water, movement, plants, and animals work together to survive or perish. And that raises the next logical question–what’s the best way to do that? Steven Shorrock on Systems Thinking for Human Factors, Tools for Systems Thinkers: The 6 Fundamental Concepts of Systems Thinking, ANSI/ASSP Z490.1 & Z490.2 Discussions at ASSP Podcast Webpage, Effective EHS Training: A Step-by-Step Guide, Online Safety Training Buyer's Guide Checklist, Online Contractor Orientation Buyers Guide, Learning Management System (LMS) Buyer's Guide. How to Implement Design Thinking In Your Workplace. We exist to inspire step changes in businesses and in people. 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As systems thinkers, we have avoid the temptation to analyze, breaking things down into single components, and instead study synthesis. Not if reporting them makes the workplace safer—and it does. Often, creativity involves lateral thinking, which is the ability to perceive patterns that are not obvious. Pretty soon you lose sight of the system. When you and your members apply systems thinking, you get a handle your systems and are able to fully harness it. If we want to weaken the system, we should act to make the system less resilient. Essentially, synthesis is the ability to see interconnectedness. The 4 Executive Modes: Which One Are You? Systems thinkers use the concepts of interconnectedness, synthesis, and emergence to study causality. when we say ‘everything is interconnected’ from a systems thinking perspective, we are defining a fundamental principle of life. If you’ve got your own favorites sources about systems thinking, your own thoughts about systems thinking and how to apply it at work, or if you can begin to point out how to apply some of the lessons below in specific contexts, please do share! When we map systems, we need to take account of not only the elements, but the connections, relationships and feedback loops between them. Jeff frequently writes for magazines related to safety, safety training, and training and frequently speaks at conferences on the same issues, including the Washington Governor's Safety and Health Conference, the Oregon Governor's Occupational Safety and Health Conference, the Wisconsin Safety Conference, the MSHA Training Resources Applied to Mining (TRAM) Conference, and others. What if you keep the players and the rules but change the purpose–from winning to losing, for example…A change in purpose changes a system profoundly, even if every element and interconnection remains the same. In a soccer team, the elements are the coach, players, the field, and a ball. When it comes to systems thinking, the goal is synthesis, as opposed to analysis, which is the dissection of complexity into manageable components. He's worked in training/learning & development for 25 years, in safety and safety training for more than 10, is an OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainer for General Industry OSHA 10 and 30, has completed a General Industry Safety and Health Specialist Certificate from the University of Washington/Pacific Northwest OSHA Education Center and an Instructional Design certification from the Association of Talent Development (ATD), and is a member of the committee creating the upcoming ANSI/ASSP Z490.2 national standard on online environmental, health, and safety training. Returning to our example of the ocean as a stock, rivers are inflows that feed oceans, rains are another inflows, and evaporation is an outflow that drains oceans. This wide perspective of systems thinking promotes it to solve complex problems that are dependent on external factors. Systems thinking will make people realise that their decision will have an impact on other areas of the business. The discipline of systems thinking involves investigating issues thoroughly and accurately before taking the right action. Reviewing your systems and processes on a regular basis helps to keep them up-to-date and in line with current strategies and technologies. You never know — you might stumble across an ingenious way of streamlining an existing process that saves the company extensive time and resources. I’ve heard this same basic point made by people in different work circles: learning and development, safety, operations, maintenance, HR, and more. As the saying goes, you can’t see the forest for the trees. Top articles, guides, and freebies delivered straight to your inbox. In any case, the flows into our out of the stock are adjusted because of changes in the size of the stock itself. 15-17). (Non-challenging is important, helping to minimise defensiveness which might occur if other people feel the existing processes are being undermined.). And so is the watershed in your area, the national economy, global climate, and the solar system. Work system has been used loosely in many areas. That’s the result of relationships/interconnectedness. If you change all the players on a football team, it is still recognizably a football team… A system generally goes on being itself, changing only slowly if at all, even with complete substitutions of its elements–as long as its interconnections and purposes remain intact…. The stock level feeds back through a chain of signals and actions to control itself. Download this free infographic of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle commonly used for quality control, project planning, and continuous improvement. Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. Cultivating an environment of system thinking, where your teams are constantly optimising their own processes and concepts and reaching new levels of efficiency, begins by doing the following: If a staff member notices something inefficient, such as a process involving unnecessary double-handling of paperwork, they should feel comfortable voicing their opinion in a non-challenging way. A reinforcing feedback loop causes more of the same in a system. Your workplace is a dynamic, complex system comprised of various systems of people, departments and technologies, and these are your best resources for contemplating the bigger picture. January 26, 2017 . The article “Tools for Systems Thinkers: The 6 Fundamental Concepts of Systems Thinking” by Leyla Acaroglu gives a nice list of six ways to think about systems (and is part of a longer series of articles on systems and systems thinking that is definitely worth checking out). Strong decision-making skills are particularly relevant in high-stakes settings. Although systems are rarely if ever simple, at least the definition seems simple enough, right? When it comes to making improvements to business processes, losing sight of the big picture is likely to happen. We hope you found this introduction to systems thinking helpful and perhaps see some ways to benefit from systems thinking at work right now. Be holistic. For the cities I work with, acute events are often the latest storm or the intersection where every day there is another car accident. The world is constantly evolving. Reinforcing feedback loops are often (though not always) bad for the continuation of the system. If your stock is your employee population, your inflow is hiring and your outflow is employee departure. Many people don’t like change. They might not even realise they don’t like change. Some s… In systems, things come together to create new things. So your stock may increase/rise, stay in equilibrium, or decrease/fall. The new traffic-control system has led to shorter trip times, lower operation costs (for example, for the bus and tram systems, owing to shorter trip times), a drop in pollution levels, environmental benefits, less individual traffic, and more traffic safety. It’s about looking closely at a process and analysing what works and what doesn’t. Systems thinking can help you in analyzing the connections between subsystems and understanding their potentials to make smarter decisions. Now think about your workplace: workers in different job roles, supervisors, upper management, customers, suppliers, vendors, your office building, your IT infrastructure, and more are all interrelated in a way that creates a behavioral pattern. Meadows notes: When a subsystem’s goals dominate at the expense of the total system’s goals, the resulting behavior is called suboptimization…Just as damaging as suboptimization, of course, is the problem of too much central control…To be a highly functional system, hierarchy must balance the welfare, freedoms, and responsibilities of the subsystems and total system–there must be enough central control to achieve coordination toward the large-system goal, and enough autonomy to keep all subsystems flourishing, function, and self-organizing. Meadows explains that while there are many different systems, they all have certain things in common: “the foundation of any system” and that “you can see, feel, count, or measure” stocks “at any given time….A system stock is just what it sounds like: a store, a quantity, an accumulation of material or information that has built up over time” (see pages 17 and 18). Below are some of the stations that system thinking may contribute to solve. Here are three great examples of systems or integrated thinking in action. https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/intro-to-systems-thinking-for-workplace-performance-improvement, Intro to Systems Thinking for Workplace Performance Improvement. From healthcare to advanced technological solutions, businesses that have applied this approach to be sustainable and achieve organisational change gained a better understanding of how elements are interrelated and were able to come up with effective ways to develop impactful solutions. 30 Near Miss Examples Improve Reporting – For Employees Improve Reporting – For Employers Reporting Systems Using Safesite to Report Near Misses Digitally. Facilitating regular feedback sessions can work well, too. Systems thinking creates a drive for never-ending improvement. The level of things in a stock, and ultimately the fate of the system, is determined by feedback loops. It seeks to address areas that may benefit most of the people. It is important to thoroughly understand how a system works, and how all of its connections are made prior to attempting to change behavior within a system. For example, your body is a system. This means being willing to let go of control at times and may be uncomfortable or messy, but can lead to large benefits. But all systems are dynamic and often complex; thus, we need a more holistic approach to understanding phenomena. Transforming and updating business systems and processes is crucial in keeping up with — and ahead of — the pack. Systems Thinking involves more than drawing feedback loops or using the archetypes. 2  Creative thinking might mean devising new ways to carry out tasks, solve problems, and meet challenges. Systems thinking started in 1956 when the Systems Dynamic Group was created by Professor Jay W. Forresterat the Sloan School of Management at MIT. The trick at work, of course, is to determine if we want the system’s behavior to persist or to change. The interrelationships are strategies, communications among players, and game rules. Designate people to oversee the change, and encourage regular feedback both during and after implementation. When a report is used to improve safety processes, workplace injuries and deaths decrease. Keeping sub-purposes and overall purposes in harmony is an essential function of successful systems. The primary objective of the project was to determine if applying a new systems thinking approach to workplace safety could assist a large, aerospace manufacturing company to reduce workplace injuries. Changes in function or purpose also can be drastic. A stock might be made up of physical objects or things: the natural resources you extract, your inventory, finished goods/products, your employees, your machine guards, and so on. The following are illustrative examples of systems theory. 76-77). Our national economy includes things like consumers, businesses, banking institutions, the media, government agencies such as regulators and agencies empowered to levy taxes, and more to create patterns of behavior such as the business cycle. Systems thinking is typically explained with the Iceberg Model (see below). The first is that it can be easy to identify and therefore get fixated on the elements: The elements of a system are often the easiest parts to notice, because many of them are visible, tangible things…you can divide elements into sub-elements and then sub-sub-elements. In my previous post I discussed about what systems thinking is. Emergence is the outcome of the synergies of the parts; it is about non-linearity and self-organization and we often use the term ‘emergence’ to describe the outcome of things interacting together. The behavior of a system, including the stock grows, decreases, or stays stable, is sometimes but not always controlled by feedback loops, and feedback loops tend to cause systems to behave in a consistent manner. Practice Systems Thinking in Informational Writing. But of course, things can go astray in the hierarchies of a system as well. It’s our plan to return to some of the materials in the second-half of Meadows’ book in future articles. (Meadows, p. 12-13). As a result, I decided to do a little reading on systems thinking to learn more. And before you go, please consider downloading our free PDCA Cycle infographic.Â. It’s easier to learn about a system’s elements than about its interconnections…These kind of interconnections are often harder to see, but the system reveals them to those who look. However, systems thinking can best be understood by viewing real life phenomena and everyday issues through the systems lens. So there’s a definite benefit to hierarchy in systems. The best way to deduce the system’s purpose is to watch for a while to see how the system behaves…purposes are deduced from behavior, not from rhetoric or states goals…System purposes need not be human purposes and are not necessarily those intended by any single actor within the system. We spend most of our time at the top, thinking about and responding to acute conditions, events, and failures. The results of Munich COMFORT have been impressive so far. It empowers your entire organisation to think of challenges as exciting opportunities to be innovative. These conditions that encourage self-organization often can be scary for individuals and threatening to power structures.” (Meadows, pp. Systems mapping is a way to draw/visualize a system to better understand the elements and relationship/interconnectedness and begin understanding the system better. It is very difficult to make a change to a system that has existed for a long period of time, and for someone to come in on a time crunch without being given the proper time to identify and issue and correct it is where training fails. Yet, also, companies need to move beyond practices of so-called `corporate responsibility' that merely give the appearance of being environmentally friendly, to look good more for public relations than to show visible evidence of genuine long term benefits to the human family and life-sustaining environments. In the workplace, a skilled systems-thinking leader will ensure that mechanisms for multiple feedback loops are established and effectively communicated to their employees. 1. However, if you’ve pulled our your systems thinking mental model from your cognitive toolbox, there’s a good chance you’re doing it because you’re interested in modifying the behavior of that system. 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