Systems Thinking has never been about thinking of the whole.
We want the world to embrace Systems Thinking. But when the world turns around and asks, "What is Systems Thinking?" our answers have clearly failed to draw people towards investing time, money, and resources into learning Systems Thinking. The problem is not with people. The problem lies in our answer we have been providing to people to seemingly benign question, "What is Systems Thinking?"
The Problem with Superficial Jargon
The answer we generally give, which has now become a collection of superficial jargon, includes terms like "interconnectedness," "thinking about the whole," and "holistic thinking." When people hear these answers, they think to themselves, "That makes so much sense." But the fact that it makes sense to them is actually the biggest barrier to learning and embracing Systems Thinking.
Why Making Sense is a Barrier
"Why? The reason answer makes sense to them is because humans always think about the whole. We have always thought about interconnectedness that makes up the whole. There is not a single CEO, CXO, or any member of an organization who only things about the part without the context of the whole. Mostly, no one comes to work thinking, "Let me do what's good for me or my department and screw what happens to the bigger department or whole organization." Even citizens, when they vote for their government, think about the whole country—far bigger a complex social system than a corporation of which citizens have little understanding. When people hear that Systems Thinking is thinking about the whole is either an insult to people who already think about the whole or a reaffiermation of their false belief that they are already a Systems Thinker. This tends to be a false belief because, while Systems Thinking is indeed about thinking about the whole like every other thinking paradigm , the real difference lies in the way Systems Thinking approaches the development of understanding the whole. But because talking about that approach can't be done in a few minutes or in a brief write-up, those conversations never take place. With the answer "thinking about the whole", What sticks in the listener's mind are three things:
- Systems Thinking is thinking about the whole.
- I already think about the whole and all my life I have designed and operated Systems and therefore, I am already a Systems Thinker
- World agrees that Systems Thinking will solve my problems, but because I am already a Systems Thinker, my people must not be, So shall ask my people to learn Systems Thinking as that would lead to people solving my organizational problems.
- So the listener starts to perpetuate Systems Thinking, rather mis-understood systems thinking without investing any time, energy and money in understanding ways of Systems Thinking/
The Perpetuation of Misunderstanding
Now, listeners—without investing any time, energy, or money in understanding the real ways of Systems Thinking—go on to perpetuate these same platitudes without any real understanding. I'm sure you've heard your leader or someone around you say, "Think holistically", "think about the whole". But if you ask them (which most people never do) what do you mean by think holistically, the answer would be, "Think about the whole." Ask them (again, no one asks this) where did they learned to think holistically, and the answer would be some gobbledygook. This loop continues where a lots of people have heard about Systems Thinking, believing Systems Thinking can solve lots of their problem and believing that they are Systems Thinking which they are clearly not. All we have created bunch of delusional Systems Thinker. Delusion is a false belief that people hold without any awareness, in this case that false belief is that "thinking about the whole" equates to System Thinking.
So where is the problem ?
Why is it problematic to say that Systems Thinking is simply about thinking about the whole, when all types of thinking involve considering the whole in some way? The issue is that when people ask, "What is Systems Thinking?" they are really asking how it differs from their current way of thinking. But answering with "thinking about the whole" focuses on the commonality with other thinking approaches, not on what makes Systems Thinking unique. Just because this statement is true doesn't mean it can't be harmful. In fact, it can be very harmful.
Imagine a president of a developing country who has never seen or heard of an airplane and asks an advisor, "What's an airplane?" If the advisor responds, "It takes you from one place to another," it's a true statement—but dangerously misleading. The president might think that a horse cart or car is also an airplane. As the saying goes, "A half-truth is more dangerous than a lie," and in this case, it's worse because the answer provides a commonality when the question was seeking differentiation. The responsibility to clarify lies with the person answering, not the person asking, who may not have the knowledge to discern the differences on their own. No wonder, people become delusional Systems Thinker and it prevents them from investing any efforts on learning the tools, methods, approaches that truly differentiation from other form of thinking.
So how Systems Thinking is different
If Systems Thinking is "thinking about the whole" is a commonality answer and not the differential answer from other form of thinkg, so what's the differential answer to question of "what is Systems Thinking". We can't answer it or in better words we are incapable of answering those in five-minute elevator pitch or a social media post in a way for you to understand and we do not even want to try it because when you try to make sense of those answers using your current implicity, intutive thinking and heuristics, you would dismiss it as non-sense, not sense making or already believing that you are Systems Thinking. Much of our five day workshop on Introduction to Systems Thinking, goes on making your current implicit, intutive thinking explicit so that you are can understanding the power and limitiaton of that thinking and how those limitaitons is failing us to manager comlexity of modern world of 21st centry.
How do I learn Systems Thinking then
The truth is, Systems Thinking is a paradigm shift. A paradigm shift doesn't make sense by default; otherwise, no one would call it a paradigm shift. Paradigm shifts require a leap of faith. We know it's difficult to take a leap of faith. This is the same technique used by spiritual healers, Scientology, and other belief systems. We understand your hesitation and skepticism.
No Need to Abandon Logic or Reason
But we promise that at no point in this journey will we ask you to suspend your reason, your logic, or become unscientific like other gurus might ask you to do. We understand it's hard to take a leap of faith. Because understanding what Systems Thinking truly is can be hard, we will continue to write more articles on why you should learn Systems Thinking. Hopefully, this will build enough credibility for you to take that leap of faith.
Leap of Faith is Hard, but Here's Some Convincing
To persuade you to take our course on Systems Thinking, we would typically dive into the tools, methods, and approaches involved—but we've already mentioned that these might not make sense until your current thinking becomes explicit. However, let's see if this pitch resonates with you.
Your current way of thinking, which also considers the whole and interconnectedness, could be called "wholistic thinking." Systems Thinking, on the other hand, produces what we call "holistic thinking." The holistic understanding of the whole is fundamentally different from the wholistic understanding you're familiar with, but you won't fully grasp this difference until you experience holistic thinking firsthand. You may have been confusing "wholism" with "holism," and it's not your fault—any reasonable person would, especially when Systems Thinking is described simply as "thinking about the whole."
Not Ready to Take the Leap?
We hope this helps you take the leap of faith and join our workshop. If it doesn't, that's understandable. We'll continue writing articles to help bridge the gap, as we can't truly explain Systems Thinking until you become more aware of your implicit and intuitive thinking. In the meantime, feel free to read our testimonials—they may help you take that leap. We'll keep sparking your curiosity and hope to see you in a workshop one day!
Notes:
Note: We are not saying that people do not make decision that is best for them but bad for their organization. They do it all the time. What we are saying that no one comes to work with that intention. The systems in which people are embedded mostly leave no choice for people to make any other decision. Important to note, neither the system or people are cause of it, it's the thinking using which systems are designed by designer and operated by operated is the issues. Think of which designers and operators have no awareness of.
A Note of Caution: Just because SystemsWayAcadmey struggle to make you understand "What is Systems Thinking" doesn't mean others academies can't. There are always more qualified people in the world than us. However, if that understanding comes very easily to you, or if it makes you believe you are already a Systems Thinker, be skeptical—you might be wrong. As some wise person once said, "It's not what you don't know that gets you in trouble, it's what you believe you know but ain't so."
