System:
A system is a set of elements or parts interconnected in such a way that they may produce their own, potentially unexpected, pattern of behaviour over time.
When dealing with complexity, it can be easier to jump to suggesting solutions to ill-defined problems without analysing the causes of these problems. Systems approaches shift the focus towards understanding issues and developing goals that fulfil multiple goals rather than one single goal. This enables solutions to emerge that address the causes of problems rather than treating the symptoms. Source Civil Service:
Systems thinking is a framework for seeing the interconnections in a system and a discipline for seeing and understanding challenges in the context of the whole system; the relevant ‘structures’ that underlie complex situations.
Systems Thinking
Systems thinking can seem difficult, but it doesn’t need to be. Introducing some systems thinking into your work is better than none. Systems thinking is applicable to all, regardless of prior knowledge, grade or profession. Systems thinking is clearly relevant to strategic work, but it is also valuable and applicable when work is more reactionary and fast-paced. It helps to create the conditions in which innovative ideas can emerge. This is vital at times of crisis, when the way forward isn’t always clear or obvious. Bringing in some key aspects of systems thinking into your work can be done quickly and still increase the effectiveness of your work, for example ten minutes developing a rough map of a system, or listing possible enablers and blockers to success, or identifying your key question for testing your intervention is performing, can all be very impactful. Likewise, systems thinking is relevant even if the goal/output for the project has already been set, for example to increase the number of apprentices by x amount or reduce the time taken for a passport application by x. Understanding how to achieve that goal through identifying key drivers of system behaviour and broader project dependencies and exploring how best to influence the system to set the conditions for success, are all parts of a systems thinking approach. Source Civil Service:
Systems Leadership
Systems leadership is about building a culture in which systems approaches can flourish.
Systems leaders set the tone for an organisation to work more systemically and encourages staff to embed systems approaches in their work.
A systems leader will:
Influence other leaders to shift the collective focus in the right direction and develop and maintain cross-departmental and cross-directorate relationships so there are shared understanding of goals and of the system.
Encourage the use of systems principles and tools for complex problems by promoting collaboration across traditional siloes, within or outside the team.
Think about the wider system and ask questions that explore the possible impact of certain actions on the wider system.
Ensure positive changes towards shared goals are sustained through monitoring and evaluating progress towards them.
Leaders must navigate complexity and foster collaboration across organisational boundaries. System leaders adopt a ‘both/and’ mindset, focusing on framing problems rather than providing immediate solutions. They balance lateral agility with adherence to governance and processes. Enabled leadership is crucial to ensure our people take ownership, make decisions, and act at the point of greatest impact.
As a public sector systems we must ensure accountability and ensure our work and decisions are robust and are held strong under scrutiny. Distributed decision-making ensures leaders can make decisions as close the the impact as possible while ensuring appropriate oversight via our ICS leadership groups. This is what we call collective leadership with distributed decision-making.
| An agile culture – where people are encouraged to develop ‘lateral agility’ with the ability to move from side to side while maintaining balance |
Systems Leadership
Systems leadership is relational, focusing on connections rather than centrally delivering programmatic objectives. Success cannot be measured by outputs alone but by the quality and quantity of interactions along with the outcomes they produce. At the heart of this is the creation of meaningful relationships in environments that foster agency. These connections, and the activities that arise from them, generate valuable data. Leadership conversations, guided by positional leaders, help make sense of complex challenges and direct attention to what truly matters, creating an organic, evolving focus. Our senior leaders must hold the dissonance to create both/and mindset to bring all along in understanding the paradoxes of multi-level leadership,
Achieving System Leadership
To achieve effective system leadership, we need a groundswell of leaders from all parts of our system who prioritise the system first, promoting collaboration and empowering others.
Fostering a Mindset for Collaboration and Transformation
Good collaboration starts with listening and meeting people where they are at, not where we think they should be. We aim to cultivate an organisational mindset that empowers leaders to drive change where it is most needed, enabling them to maximise their impact at the point of decision-making. The Exemplar hub is a recommended key enabler for activating system transformation key initiatives. One of our key approaches for our wicked challenges is our Innovation Challenge
Psychological Safety
Learning Organisation: Top Watch:
In order to achieve our goal and find a new way we must ensure that it is possible to learn and explore. We must have enabled leaders everywhere who can take action and make decisions as close to the issues as possible. They must be supported to do this with an environment that is conducive to learning. A blame culture will stop innovation. This does not mean we are not accountable, quite the opposite. We are eager to learn what could be better and how we can improve our approach. Where we have made mistakes we have so much to learn.
Leadership Development and System Thinking
Our approach and initiatives are showcased through an Exemplar Hub we set up when we work with whole systems. This has demonstrated success in collaborative initiatives for leadership development and effective for the whole system.
How to move to Enabled Leadership:
Executive leaders are now stepping into roles that resemble global leadership, requiring diplomacy, rapid decision-making, and the capacity to navigate both internal and external complexities. This impacts senior and middle managers and leaders. These leaders have a key role in helping leaders at all levels to ‘sense-make’ so they can lead in increasingly Volatile, Uncertain, Ambiguous, Complex terrain. (VUCA)
Mid to Senior Leaders must now operative with a both/and mindset as system framers not solution providers. This is a significant transition and is occurring globally but for our country and public services it is a significant move away from mechanistic output based working to outcomes. Crucially these outcomes can only be uncovered through co-design.
Enabled Leaders Everywhere are the cornerstone to successful system leadership. Everyone, everywhere must enabled to make the best decisions at the point of most impact and be supported in the intended and unintended consequences. These are typically supported by junior to Mid -Leaders and Operational Managers who provide appropriate support within a hierarchical structure and autonomously to operate their role for our population current and future needs. They are best placed to know what our citizens needs and how to make that happen.
As strategies continue to place thier solution the top of an inverted triangle, we also need to flip our leadership triangle. No longer is the leader at the top but is a the bottom. They are servant leaders, enabling their workforce to lead rather than command and control from the top. This allows our leaders to make the most impact where it is needed, as it is needed – we call this enabled leadership. Apart from times of crisis, this is our approach and marks a significant shift. Our Exemplar hub saw this tested in reality with some amazing results. Ultimately if we do not allow distributed leadership our senior leaders will become even busier.
Useful links
Mary Uhl-Bien – Whole systems – how we work over a lenght of time – Leading in Complexity and adaptability
Adam Kahane – Facilitating with Emergence (ie Innovation Challenge/Accelerated Design Approach
Micheal West – Compassionate Leadership – Keynote session by Sarah for HFMA here soon.
Critical Systems Thinking – Great overview of systems thinking applied
Leadership not ego leaders – Celine 2022 leadership book of the year podcast.
Russ Ackoff Lecture –
Peter Senge Interview
Dana (Donella) Meadows Presentation
Mike Jackson – Open University Different systems thinking approaches and methodology . Cranfield Lecture
4sd Professor Sir David Nabarro – Dialogues uses in food that we have adapted at system synergy
Asch Social forces study – why do followers blindly conform
Amy Edmondson – Fireside chat
Edgar Schein and his son Peter an insightful and delightful interview – Humble Inquiry
Simon Western – Coaching Psychoanalytic Approach
Dr Catherine Sandler – Psychodynamic Coaching and leadership
Listen:https://nw.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/home/resources/videos-and-podcasts/leadership-live/
Top listen – what works in systems leadership – V
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Leslie Brissett, Mannie Sher, Tazzie Lorraine Smith (2021) Dynamics at Board Room Level – A Tavistock Primer for Leaders Coaches and Consultants.
Wilfred Bion, 1961 Experiences in Groups. Ackoff, Senge.
Recent publication that pulls together decades of work in organisational development and consulting from the tavistock tradition making it accessible for all trying to use this approach to enhance thier leaderhship practice. The triplogy explains and applies decades of theories from Menzies Lyth, Bion through, 2nd and 3rd generation and to current and invite us to question what is now post modern. Mannie Sher and David Lawlor launched in December and can be found here: to purchase and listen here to the recording Look out for the recordings and free to attend monthly talks on the website to give an insight into what is inside the books to help you.
This fabulous book is highly accessible walk what this looks like and reads like a novel – by Gabriella Braun , who has consulted to hundreds of clients including the British Library, RADA, Tate, Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, University of Cambridge and Queen Mary, University of London. Holds a master’s degree in Consulting to Organisations: Psychoanalytic Approaches from the Tavistock Clinic; and was a Principal Consultant in the Tavistock Consultancy Service.
Those interested in understanding more about how to work under the surface, in what we sometimes we refer to as the unconsious will find the above an excellent starting point and as a taster into how to work under the surface Leslie explains how group relations works. Those trained in this tradition always have a core element of experiential learning in their programme and attend group relation conferences. These can be attended outwith a programme for those interested in developing this practice. Leslie Brisset Full Clip
System Synergy 