I share my story of how I became a leadership advisor, after starting my career as an occupational therapist treating ‘non-treatable’ cases.

A system is a collection of elements that are interdependent on each other to serve a purpose – that’s a very simple definition.

There are various terms used in this field, which have different meanings, such as systems thinking, system dynamics, and systemic intelligence.

Organisational systems are very different to family systems. While the same systemic principles are at play, they express themselves with important distinctions. If you’re working in organisational systemic work, it’s essential to understand that systemic principles apply to organisations very differently, even although there is an echo and a similarity to what applies in family systems. 

When you join an organisation, it’s really important that you have what we call a good beginning. This makes you feel that you’re welcome, and that you actually have a place. The other part of the equation is a good ending. A good ending allows you to feel free to go, when you leave.

Systemic intelligence facilitators’ purpose is to increase their clients’ capacity to navigate complexity and ambiguity. They help reveal the intelligence of their clients’ systems, giving powerful insights and transformative new perspectives that create an expanded capacity to respond.

In our world of increasing pace and complexity it is relatively easy to notice the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) challenges we are facing. Systemic intelligence has a lot to offer individuals and organisations when it comes to navigating VUCA challenges.

Why is it so important that we expand our choices when we’re dealing with today’s complexity? Typically, when faced with any situation, we go to our usual drawers to look for the levers or approaches that we know and understand, the things that make sense and that we’re comfortable with. However, if we want to create new futures, yet draw on the easy or obvious choices, that won’t necessarily create new opportunities, or lead to the outcomes that we hope for and need to achieve. If we reach for the familiar, we’re actually not creating anything new. We’re in a repeat loop.

What if troublemakers are hidden resources! While it may seem counterintuitive to talk about the value of troublemakers, in fact they often have profoundly significant value. Too often troublemakers are seen as mischief makers, causing disruption and difficulties for their own reasons. However systemically, if we look at troublemakers, they’re often doing something in service of the system. In this case we would be wise to listen to what the system is trying to communicate.

Recurring patterns occur across organisations of all shapes and sizes every day. When the pattern is not healthy, and the outcomes are negatively impacting people and the business, they can be halted by understanding the systemic principles that are at play.

Complex issues are characterised by non-linear dynamic relationships. It’s typically not possible to predict cause and effect, because the movement of one aspect influences multiple other aspects simultaneously and has an organic effect, like a living system. On the other hand, a complicated issue is typically characterised by several possibilities in terms of cause and effect. It requires someone with specialised expertise to be able to understand and diagnose the cause and effect relationships and advise about how to influence the issue.

What are the systemic levels of conscience, and how to do they play out in an organisational setting? Their impact can be profound. Levels of conscience can be in harmony or dissonance. When we experience significant events, it can throw us into turbulence, which arises with clashing levels of conscience. When we understand how to work with these different levels, we can create flow and vitality instead.

In today’s VUCA world, which is full of pace, complexity and ambiguity, there are many unknowns. How do we move forward, or start to map and model possibilities? The power of systemic intelligence is that it reveals things that we can’t see, and test ideas to see how they would impact or influence the system we’re operating in. Learn about the intelligence in systems and how to attune to it, in ‘Unlocking Systemic Intelligence’.