Common questions about systems thinking
Question 1
How do you go about dealing with asymmetric power dynamics within complex systems that could be contrary to programme experts?
Answer:
It depends on the asymmetric power dynamics that you're dealing with!
So, for example, where you've got public opinion saying one thing, and expert opinion saying something else, that there's clearly a learning journey that's needed in that situation to move people forward.
I mean, you can of course, it's entirely within the gift of some projects to move forward despite resistance, I mean, there are projects where you will never please all the people but I would think in any situation, you would want to try to move those people on a bit, at least using a learning journey.
So, it will be about what they’re really worried about or what they want. And for us it will be about how to tap into that. It's about using the learning journey as an approach to dealing with the objections and using evidence to draw out the opportunities that will appeal to them.
The learning journey is key to bringing opposing positions closer together. What you often find is experts have a particular view formed from their own biases and those will be very solid, there'll be a lot of evidence behind that. There will also be external groups who will have quite different views which often challenge in the right way and our role is to determine what evidence says by understanding why they believe a particular way forward is the right or why they believe a particular piece of evidence is better. Having those discussions helps to determine the path forward. But essentially, it depends whether the differing stakeholders are really willing to engage. If they're up for having a discussion if there are leaders of those groups who genuinely want to make a difference, then if you can have that forum where people can contribute as well as actively listen to other people then, that can move things on and can change people.
Question 2
So how do you design a learning journey before you can see the end game solution or destination?
Answer:
The end point can be quite fuzzy when you at the beginning. So the first phase isn’t about being too worried about the final step and being flexible, knowing that the journey can be a sort of moving feast will help the overall journey be successful. I wouldn't be at the outset quite so worried about you know, steps three, four, and five. So, I'll be focusing at the beginning on step one, with a view to step two.
For me, step one is to get all stakeholders to the point where they can have a dialogue and accept that we have a data set that represents the ground truth. Step two, is looking at the options; how valid all those options are in terms of a way forward and what might we do to bring in or adjust the range of valid options. At some point, there's going to be a review and down selection of options. But at each stage, I would be looking at what's coming up next. What's the big thing that I need to be doing next? And what follows, it's almost a sprint approach.
I'd have a bit of an eye around what may be needed at the end, and whether there’s something really important to consider, but I wouldn't be worrying about exactly what's in that last step. I would focus on what's the next step ahead, always asking; what am I really aiming for? What's the one after that? You often find as you go through each step of the journey, new things emerge, and that tends to change things quite substantially.
I once worked on a project where we thought we understood what we were doing right until the end, where suddenly someone said Ah, but there's a key component of this that you haven't looked at, it’s amazing what can emerge! So out of those discussions as part of the learning journey, huge wisdom can be elicited.
