Systems Thinking

Systems Thinking takes the view that any problem we’re working on is part of a larger, interconnected system. Instead of making a quick fix, systems thinking encourages us to work with our team to discover the larger context that surrounds our current problem.

A good example of systems thinking in action is the game of pool. You sank a coloured ball. Was it the cue ball that worked? The cue? Or the player? The player. Yet, if our perspective were the coloured ball, we might think the cue ball sank us. Systems thinking challenges us to see problems from a broader perspective than just the pieces immediately visible around us.

Many problems you see in your current situation were caused by an outside force. For example, if you see poor performance in a team, you want to study the incentive system or leader behaviour. The team is often not the source of the problem. (There are another 100+ levers I look for.)

A simple version of systems thinking to start:

• Always ask yourself, “And then what?”
• Think in increments of time. What do the consequences look like in five days? Five months? Five years?
• What contributed to this five days ago? Five months ago? Five years ago?
• Draw out the possible courses of action you might take using columns to organize consequences.

Other Questions To Ask

• What is the range of likely future outcomes?
• Which outcome do I think will occur?
• What is the probability I’m right?
• What does the consensus think?
• How does my prediction differ from the consensus?
• How does the current situation align with the consensus view of the future, and with mine?
• What will happen if the consensus turns out to be right, and what if I’m right?

Feedback Loops

Systems thinkers are always looking for where feedback loops play a role in the system. There are two kinds of loops: positive (reinforcing) and negative (balancing).

Positive feedback loops reinforce and amplify growth. An example is as the team’s morale improves, so does their productivity, and as their productivity increases, so does their morale.

Negative feedback loops balance. An example is as the temperature in a house increases, the air conditioning starts, and the temperature is reduced.

Emergence

A system can exhibit properties that aren’t present in the individual components. A team can become high-performing, but the performance isn’t present in any of its parts.

In our CSM workshop, I coach ScrumMasters to use Systems Thinking to understand the problems their Scrum teams face.