Coro’s Blog: On Purpose
Systems Thinking: Connecting the Parts to the Whole
Published on May 1, 2015
Part 2 of 7 in the series: Sustainability Leadership Competencies
In my first article, Sustainability Talent Management: Lofty Goal or New Business Imperative?, I provided an overview of the essential competencies needed by business leaders to steer their organizations through the dynamic terrain of the coming decades. In the coming weeks, I’ll dive deeper into each of the five sustainability leadership competencies that companies should add to their existing competency models to position their firm for future success.
The number one competency
Ask any sustainability or corporate social responsibility (CSR) practitioner what the most important sustainability competency is and they will tell you Systems Thinking.
What is systems thinking?
Starting with a simple definition, a system is a collection of parts that interact with each other to function as a whole. Systems thinking, therefore, is the ability to see relationships, patterns and context in order to understand how each influences the other. Taken a step further, it’s the ability to understand interconnections and interdependence between actors (stakeholders, relationships, etc.), domains (social, economic, environmental), across time (past, present to future) and scales (local to global) to reframe and address challenges and opportunities for business and societal progress.
Mother Nature knows best
Nature is perhaps the best example of a system, teaching us that everything in the world is connected to other things. Life on planet Earth exists because of a complex, tangled web of interdependent ecological and social systems. Businesses that understand this and adapt their business models to these realities will not only build their competitive advantage, but will better serve the larger system of which they are a part and help build a viable society for all.
The number one competency
Ask any sustainability or corporate social responsibility (CSR) practitioner what the most important sustainability competency is and they will tell you Systems Thinking.
What is systems thinking?
Starting with a simple definition, a system is a collection of parts that interact with each other to function as a whole. Systems thinking, therefore, is the ability to see relationships, patterns and context in order to understand how each influences the other. Taken a step further, it’s the ability to understand interconnections and interdependence between actors (stakeholders, relationships, etc.), domains (social, economic, environmental), across time (past, present to future) and scales (local to global) to reframe and address challenges and opportunities for business and societal progress.
Mother Nature knows best
Nature is perhaps the best example of a system, teaching us that everything in the world is connected to other things. Life on planet Earth exists because of a complex, tangled web of interdependent ecological and social systems. Businesses that understand this and adapt their business models to these realities will not only build their competitive advantage, but will better serve the larger system of which they are a part and help build a viable society for all.
Why does it matter?
A company is a complex social system and a living community that doesn’t operate in isolation. Adopting a systems-thinking perspective helps leaders understand issues more comprehensively to identify leverage points to foster change and inspire a shared vision across and beyond an organization. Seeing a system from multiple viewpoints increases insights and options that improve organizational adaptability and agility. Such a lens is the only way to fully understand and address complex problems and may allow win-win solutions to surface even when dealing with entrenched conflict and competition.
Further, systems thinking enhances leaders’ ability to observe, detect and analyze behavioural details in the activities of customers, suppliers, competitors and others to improve innovation and yield beneficial outcomes. It also improves capacity to account and plan for possible rebound effects – where gains are made in one area while there is fall back in others.
In my report I provide a set of illustrative behaviours that demonstrate proficiency at either the foundational or the advanced level of systems thinking. Each competency builds upon and enhances existing leadership competencies and is designed to complement current organizational development processes, rather than replace them.
When it comes to systems thinking, here’s a summary:
Builds upon these conventional competencies:
- Problem-Solving, Analytical Thinking and Strategic Planning
Foundational systems-thinking competencies:
- Applies systems thinking to problems and decisions
Advanced systems-thinking competencies:
- Applies systems thinking in collaborations to advance organizational and systemic change.
Interested in exploring systems thinking further? Here are four short (2 – 5 minute) videos introducing and describing it:
Up Next
Key to systems thinking is its application in collaborative scenarios—particularly with external stakeholders—to advance organizational and systemic change.
Next in the series we’ll explore External Collaboration competencies.
Ready to dive deeper now?
If you’re keen to know more about systems thinking and other characteristics of a leader sustainability competency model, you can read the report here.
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