⚠️ Systems Thinking in Everyday Work

• Free systems thinking courses
• Systems thinking for project managers
• Systems thinking for business process consultants
• Systems Thinking vs Lean Six Sigma - Synergies and Dissonances
• Systems Thinking vs Agile - Synergies and Dissonances
• 🌱 Example of a system with feedback loops

Shift from Events to Patterns and Structures

Instead of focusing on isolated incidents (e.g. a missed deadline), aim to recognise patterns or structures that lead to recurring issues (e.g. unclear handoffs, siloed teams).

Systems Thinking Action

• Map out multiple events over time.
• Identify trends and systemic causes (e.g. resource allocation, unclear incentives).
• Ask: “What’s the structure behind this pattern?”

Tool: Use a simple behaviour-over-time graph to track key metrics (e.g. team velocity, incident counts, engagement scores) over weeks or months.

Map the System: Elements, Connections, Purpose

1. Identify key elements (roles, tools, decisions).
2. Draw the connections – what affects what?
3. Clarify the goal or function – what is the system really achieving?

Systems Thinking Action

• Learn visual tools such as causal loop diagrams that shows feedback connections.

Avoid over-detailing. Focus on key loops relevant to your problem.

4. Identify and Work with Feedback Loops

Reinforcing Loops

These accelerate or amplify change (e.g. good performance → more funding → better results). Examples: viral marketing, AI self-learning.

However, they can cause instability if unchecked.

Balancing Loops

These resist change and stabilise the system (e.g. increased backlog → more urgency → higher throughput, but eventually stabilises). Examples: budget limits, quality controls.

Leverage Point: Tune the strength or responsiveness of these loops. A sluggish balancing loop (e.g. slow data feedback) can allow problems to grow unnoticed .

Systems Thinking Action
For any ongoing issue (e.g. rising customer complaints), ask:

• What feedback is missing or delayed?
• Are actions creating unintended loops?

Understand Stocks and Flows: The Building Blocks of System Behaviour

Every system you work with is made up of stocks and flows. They are the fundamental components that determine how the system behaves over time.

• Stocks are accumulations: things you can measure or observe at a point in time.
• Flows are rates of change: they increase or decrease the stock.

Systems Thinking Action
Understand these concepts to help diagnose problems more accurately, anticipate time delays, and avoid misguided interventions that only treat symptoms. See 🌱 Systems Thinking - Stocks and Flows

Find and Use Leverage Points

Leverage points are places in the systems where small shifts lead to big changes:

• Information flows (who knows what and when)
• Rules and incentives
• System goals (explicit vs. implicit)
• Mindsets/paradigms

Example: Changing the KPI from “number of tickets closed” to “first-time resolution rate” can shift behaviour across an entire support function.

Systems Thinking Action
Don't just fix the symptoms. Address the things that will have a real impact.

Clarify Mental Models and Assumptions

System Design is driven by mental models - systems often reflect implicit beliefs (e.g. “More features mean better products”).

Systems Thinking Action

• Surface assumptions with structured questioning: What are we assuming about X?
• Test assumptions: How do we know that more reports lead to better decisions?

Tool: Use a Rich Picture or 🌱 The iceberg model to explore:

• Events (tip)
• Patterns
• Structures
• Mental models (deep root)

Build Systemic Indicators

Relying only on short-term, linear KPIs (e.g. revenue this month) can overlook the long-term impacts.

Systems Thinking Action

• Track leading indicators: e.g. customer effort, staff turnover, technical debt.
• Use composite metrics or dashboards with behavioural over time data.
• Reflect on lag between action and result.

Example: AI rollout may initially boost speed but hurt long-term data quality if training or governance is neglected.

Practice Scenario Testing and Delay Awareness

Many systems have time lags. A process improvement may show benefits weeks later.

Systems Thinking Action

• Be aware of delays
  • Model time delays in your plans.
  • Ask: When should we expect to see the impact?

• Use scenario thinking to design multiple plausible future
  • What if demand spikes?
  • What if the policy is misinterpreted?
  • What if our AI behaves in unintended ways?

Collaborate Across Boundaries

Systemic problems don't respect silos! Siloed departments make it hard to trace systemic effects.

Systems Thinking Action

• Form cross-functional problem-solving groups.
• Use shared system maps or stock-and-flow diagrams to align views.
• Start with shared concerns, not rigid roles.

Tip: Invite people affected by the system into early-stage planning. They often have key insights.