3 Challenges Of Keeping A Systems Perspective

Leading at Light Speed is a groundbreaking leadership book by Eric Douglas describing the 10 Quantum Leaps which build trust, spark innovation, and create a high-performing organization.

Eric writes about Three Major Challenges of Maintaining a Systems Perspective in Chapter 7, Spread Systems Thinking.

First, because we live in an era of accelerating change, it’s easy to become distracted by the daily influx of events and issues – “to spend 24 hours a day fighting fires,” as the vice president of a health care system told me. In an somewhat instinctive way, a person’s focus tends to be on things right in front of them: focusing on those who aren’t performing, budgets that aren’t met, or logistical issues that need attention. It’s easy to become bogged down in the details and forget to use systems thinking to create leveraged solutions.

Second, people don’t get training in systems thinking. Few companies offer it. Few human resource managers recognize its value. It simply isn’t a priority. As a result, there is no forum, no conversation, for leaders and managers to engage in systems thinking together. It’s easy to miss the opportunities and the benefits without a dialogue around systems thinking.

Third, aside from getting distracted by day-to-day details and the lack of training, it’s human nature to avoid confronting deeply-rooted problems. “There are some issues I’d just as soon leave alone,” one manager said. “We have to pick our battles.”

That may be human nature. But a leader’s action must be focused through a systems thinking lens. Failing to listen to data, to challenge assumptions, or to use systems thinking to address underlying issues ultimately imperils the organization. One need look no further than General Motors, Lehman Brothers, or Enron. In contrast, think about Porsche, which has single-mindedly focused on engineering high-quality cars for five decades. Consistently, Porsche has remained amongst the word’s most profitable automobile companies. From a systems perspective, managers at Porsche put a premium on core values, on disciplined performance, and on analyzing their customers and their competitors. It’s this kind of thinking that builds high performing organizations in a time of accelerating change.

Helping people address hidden issues, are systems thinking. When leaders use different frames to identify problems, when they understand traps like the assumption of causality, feedback delays, and the substitution fallacy, they can steer clear of problems and focus their attention where it can have the greatest impact.

Better able to tackle problems at their core, are leaders who understand their own mental maps and the system of forces.

Is your organization implementing the practices of high performing organizations? Find out with this free work survey.