Systems thinking is a big-picture approach to tackling workplace problems.
The idea behind systems thinking is to see problems caused by how the parts fit together rather than focusing on individual parts.
The key principle of systems thinking is that everything is connected. For example, when trying to make your company more efficient, it’s simple to focus on individual employees or different departments. However, your organization is more than the sum of its departments. Combined together, they interact in new and complex ways.
Proponents of systems thinking believe systems thinkers are different. They get things done without fuss on time and cost at the right quality level. They are high performing people who deliver real results.
Systems thinking can be applied in many different ways, such as:
- Exploring new business opportunities
- Creating compelling vision of the future
- Understanding the complex human factors challenges associated with change
- Understanding and fix the problems that never seem to go away
- Re-designing broken systems
- Designing new systems
Another of the benefits of systems thinking is that it can make it easier to spot patterns and feedback loops in the way employees, project teams or departments interact. A feedback loop takes place when different parts of your company reinforce each other’s behavior for better or worse.
Like most management ideas, systems thinking isn’t a miracle cure for corporate problems. Before embracing it, leaders need to keep in mind both the strengths and weaknesses of systems thinking.
The big strength is its effectiveness at finding problems. The big weakness is that it’s difficult to do successfully – which is why training in systems thinking is highly advisable.
Want to learn more? Tonex offers Systems Thinking Training, a 2-day course that covers the theory, rational, tools, and techniques associated with systems thinking.
Systems thinking training course concentrates on determining the interconnections between the various components of a system and manufacturing them into a coherent perspective of the whole.
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.