Systems Thinking Case Study #4:
Climate Survey is out and people are griping ... (more and more!)
HOW COME DESPITE EFFORTS TO COORDINATE WORK PROCESSSES ACROSS
TEAMS, WORKLOAD AND WORK PRESSURES CONTINUE TO INCREASE ?
DIALOGUE NOTES:  WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING?

  • "People say they have no time for themselves"
  • "People feel stressed by having to cope with the workload and feel the pressures are mounting
  • "There are persons assigned to coordinate the work across teams and it helps smoothen the workflow.  However at
    some level it also increases the work and therefore the sense there is a lot of work than needs to happen."
  • "People are griping and complaining all the time"
  • "People brace for 'the next bad news', yet are numb (non-chalant) when it comes along"
  • "People are finding harder to collaborate and focus their energies and efforts at finding ways to review their work
    processes"
TESTING THE ARCHETYPE:
Assuming this archetype was true,
what kinds of behaviour and actions
would we see?

- By the CEO
- By the members in teams
- By the Facilitators

What (our paradigms) is keeping
the archetype alive at the
workplace?
Insight / clue:   Proclivity to
'griping' is a function of the degree
of 'engagement' (heart and the
mind) at the workplace.

INHERENT SYSTEMIC STRUCTURE:  SUCCESS TO THE SUCCESSFUL
LESSONS FROM THE SYSTEMIC STRUCTURE:

the griping.  This is a sign that the second legthrough grapevine) that ‘somebody’ hears that,
yet do it in a way that masks the origin of less the need to gripe!)

less the need to gripe!)

  • Who is the ‘somebody’, do you think they hope the news would ‘reach’ them?

  • Also, what do you think could happen next if this is working well?  As conversations with
    each other become more generative (when there is greater clarity and understanding,
    and less defensiveness and they know how to forge shared visions), could inefficient and
    effective things go away by itself?  In its place, more efficient and effective processes
    emerges for the group.  What they need is of course to clarify what is the picture towards
    which they are ‘shaping’ the work processes! (a Success to the Successful archetype
    structure suggests that the visions are not ‘really’ shared as yet!)

Where is your thinking on this?  How do you just that?  Share us your thoughts.

That’s what the 60 tools are about!
INTERVENTION AT DIALOGUE:
“What is the price we are paying by
allowing this structure to
perpetuate at the workplace?

What's is (are) making it difficult for
us to see or do things differently?

“What would it look like if things at
the workplace was working at its
inspired best?  What do you see?”

“What would need to happen first
before the redesigns work well?”
Page published in LOPN In-Touch Mar 2006,
Vol 1 Number 2/6
What is causing things to escalate?
WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE IF WE LEARN TO APPLY THESE STRATEGIES?

WHAT MIGHT MAKE IT DIFFICULT OR GET IN THE WAY OF MAKING THESE HAPPEN?

WHAT KEEPS OUR CONVERSATIONS LIKE THESE AND IS MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO SEE THESE STRUCTURES?

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