What 'systems thinking' actually means - and why it matters for innovation today

systems thinking approach to problem solving

Systems thinking helps us see the part of the iceberg that's beneath the water Image:  Ezra Jeffrey

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  • Systems thinking can help us grasp the interconnectedness of our world.
  • During the uncertainty of the pandemic, it can spur innovation.

We are currently living through VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) times.

As innovators, general professionals, key workers, citizens and humans, everything we do is ever more interdependent on each other. ‘No man is an island’ is a well-known phrase, yet in practice, how often do we understand the interconnectedness of everything around us? Enter systems thinking.

In some circles, there has been a lot of hype around taking an "ecosystems view" during this global pandemic, which frankly is not something new. Systems thinking has been an academic school of thought used in engineering, policy-making and more recently adapted by businesses to ensure their products and services are considering the ‘systems’ that they operate within.

Defining innovation

Every firm defines innovation in a different way. I enjoy using the four-quadrant model (see figure below) for simplicity: incremental innovation utilises your existing technology within your current market; architectural innovation is applying your technology in different markets; disruptive innovation involves applying new technology to current markets; and radical innovation displaces an entire business model.

systems thinking approach to problem solving

During COVID-19, we are seeing a mixture of these. Many firms will start with incremental changes, adapting their products to a new period of uncertainty. With the right methodology and balance of internal and external capabilities, there is potential for radical and disruptive innovation that meets new needs, or fundamentally, creates new needs based on our current circumstances. Systems thinking is essential in untapping these types of innovation and ensuring they flourish long-term.

A dynamic duo

‘Systems thinking’ does not have one set toolkit but can vary across different disciplines, for example, in service design some may consider a ‘blueprint’ a high-level way to investigate one’s ‘systems of interest’. Crucially, this school of thought is even more powerful when combined with more common approaches, such as human-centered design (HCD).

The latter is bottom-up – looking in detail at a specific problem statement, empathising with its users and developing solutions to target them. Whereas the former is top-down – understanding the bigger picture, from policy and economics to partnerships and revenue streams. Systems thinking unpacks the value chain within an organisation and externally. It complements design thinking: together they’re a dynamic duo.

For starters, this philosophy needs to enter our everyday thinking. Yes, it is crucial for innovation, but an easy first step is to use systems thinking casually throughout your life. How is this purchase affecting other systems in the supply chain? What is the local economic impact of me shopping at the larger supermarket? Who will be the most negatively impacted if I don’t practice social distancing?

systems thinking approach to problem solving

This mapping tool from the World Economic Forum is central in understanding causal relationships and effects during COVID-19. It helps to drive systems-informed decision making. Once this becomes mainstream, we can begin integrating data for systems modelling tools that will help us map impact across the multiple layers of influence from this pandemic. So, what does this mean for businesses?

Systems thinking for business

To illustrate how systems thinking applies in business, let's use a simplified example of a bank branch.

Event: COVID-19 declared a pandemic, lockdown implemented for all people and businesses, except key workers and essential firms. Branches are shutting, people are afraid to go to non-essential establishments.

Patterns/trends: what trends have there been over time? Scientists have warned us about being ‘pandemic-ready’ for years, but we have had misinformation or a lack of transparency from other ‘systems’ who should have been driving this.

However, what about banking patterns? More customer service has moved online, digital banks and fintech developments have decreased the urgency for face-to-face business in branches. Are there trends in customer behaviours? More consumers are searching for all their products and services online, and this was common before the pandemic had begun.

Underlying structures: what has influenced these patterns and how are they interconnected? A growing desire for digitalised experiences and convenience is popular in financial services and customers will begin to seek and only interact with businesses who have the infrastructure to operate this way. A minimal number of touchpoints is seen as desirable, providing quicker, stress-free experiences, as consumers want to spend less time on these engagements when work-life balance has become more integrated, and therefore is important to preserve.

Mental models: what assumptions, beliefs and values do people hold about the system? Behavioural economics tells us that customers will adapt and change their consumer spending habits. Used to the convenience of online, less relevance will be seen for branches, and banks will need to further adapt. The ‘new normal’ will contain old and new beliefs. Which ones keep bank branches in place? Human contact and customer service? The agency in dealing with your finances face-to-face? Will a new experience or service be required to keep bank branches relevant or are online digital banks all consumers will need?

Beyond this, do banks have an ethical obligation to monitor spending habits to identify signs of debt and underlying mental health problems? What relationship should banks have with data? How do they balance intuitive service with consumer privacy?

Going through the layers of this iceberg unearths part of the power from using systems thinking and exemplifies how to guide your strategy in a sustainable way.

Only focusing on events? You’re reacting.

Thinking about patterns/trends? You’re anticipating.

Unpicking underlying structures? You’re designing.

Understanding mental models? You’re transforming.

Transformative thinking is how we innovate and systems thinking is essential for this journey.

systems thinking approach to problem solving

We’ve only explored the tip of the iceberg (pun intended) on the philosophy of systems thinking. There are many in-depth tools available to discover the approach in more depth.

Ask yourselves if you want to survive the VUCA future ahead. Do you want your organisation to have the capacity to innovate and sustain itself? Are you willing to change your thought pattern to consider the systems in which we all live in?

If the answers to any of the questions above are yes, then you are on the right path to mastering systems thinking to successfully innovate.

The more we begin to use systems thinking every day, the better our innovation will become. We can all be architects for a better world with sustainable growth if we understand the core tenants of this approach. To echo my introduction, no customer, or citizen, or business, or policy, or company, or idea itself is an island. Whatever ‘new normal’ we have, systems thinking should drive this future and will ensure innovation is pursued with knowledge of the complex intricacies that we are living through.

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License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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Taking a systems thinking approach to problem solving

systems thinking approach to problem solving

Systems thinking is an approach that considers a situation or problem holistically and as part of an overall system which is more than the sum of its parts. Taking the big picture perspective, and looking more deeply at underpinnings, systems thinking seeks and offers long-term and fundamental solutions rather than quick fixes and surface change.

Whether in environmental science, organizational change management, or geopolitics, some problems are so large, so complicated and so enduring that it’s hard to know where to begin when seeking a solution.

A systems thinking approach might be the ideal way to tackle essentially systemic problems. Our article sets out the basic concepts and ideas.

What is systems thinking?

Systems thinking is an approach that views an issue or problem as part of a wider, dynamic system. It entails accepting the system as an entity in its own right rather than just the sum of its parts, as well as understanding how individual elements of a system influence one another.

When we consider the concepts of a car, or a human being we are using a systems thinking perspective. A car is not just a collection of nuts, bolts, panels and wheels. A human being is not simply an assembly of bones, muscles, organs and blood.

In a systems thinking approach, as well as the specific issue or problem in question, you must also look at its wider place in an overall system, the nature of relationships between that issue and other elements of the system, and the tensions and synergies that arise from the various elements and their interactions.

The history of systems thinking is itself innately complex, with roots in many important disciplines of the 20th century including biology, computing and data science. As a discipline, systems thinking is still evolving today.

How can systems thinking be applied to problem solving?

A systems thinking approach to problem solving recognizes the problem as part of a wider system and addresses the whole system in any solution rather than just the problem area.

A popular way of applying a systems thinking lens is to examine the issue from multiple perspectives, zooming out from single and visible elements to the bigger and broader picture (e.g. via considering individual events, and then the patterns, structures and mental models which give rise to them).

Systems thinking is best applied in fields where problems and solutions are both high in complexity. There are a number of characteristics that can make an issue particularly compatible with a systems thinking approach:

  • The issue has high impact for many people.
  • The issue is long-term or chronic rather than a one-off incident.
  • There is no obvious solution or answer to the issue and previous attempts to solve it have failed.
  • We have a good knowledge of the issue’s environment and history through which we can sensibly place it in a systems context.

If your problem does not have most of these characteristics, systems thinking analysis may not work well in solving it.

Areas where systems thinking is often useful include health, climate change, urban planning, transport or ecology.

What is an example of a systems thinking approach to problem solving?

A tool called the iceberg mode l can be useful in learning to examine issues from a systems thinking perspective. This model frames an issue as an iceberg floating in a wider sea, with one small section above the water and three large sections unseen below.

The very tip of the iceberg, visible above the waterline, shows discrete events or occurrences which are easily seen and understood. For example, successive failures of a political party to win national elections.

Beneath the waterline and invisible, lie deeper and longer-term trends or patterns of behavior. In our example this might be internal fighting in the political party which overshadows and obstructs its public campaigning and weakens its leadership and reputation.

Even deeper under the water we can find underlying causes and supporting structures which underpin the patterns and trends.

For our failing political party, this could mean party rules and processes which encourage internal conflict and division rather than resolving them, and put off the best potential candidates from standing for the party in elections.

The electoral system in the country may also be problematic or unfair, making the party so fearful and defensive against losing its remaining support base, that it has no energy or cash to campaign on a more positive agenda and win new voters.

Mental models

At the very base of the iceberg, deepest under the water, lie the mental models that allow the rest of the iceberg to persist in this shape. These include the assumptions, attitudes, beliefs and motivations which drive the behaviors, patterns and events seen further up in the iceberg.

In this case, this could be the belief amongst senior party figures that they’ve won in the past and can therefore win again someday by repeating old campaigns. Or a widespread attitude amongst activists in all party wings that with the right party leader, all internal problems will melt away and voter preferences will turn overnight.

When is a systems thinking approach not helpful?

If you are looking for a quick answer to a simple question, or an immediate response to a single event, then systems thinking may overcomplicate the process of solving your problem and provide you with more information than is helpful, and in slower time than you need.

For example, if a volcano erupts and the local area needs to be immediately evacuated, applying a thorough systems thinking approach to life in the vicinity of an active volcano is unlikely to result in a more efficient crisis response or save more lives. After the event, systems thinking might be more constructive when considering town rebuilding, local logistics and transport links.

In general, if a problem is short-term, narrow and/or linear, systems thinking may not be the right model of thinking to use.

A final word…

The biggest problems in the real world are rarely simple in nature and expecting a quick and simple solution to something like climate change or cancer would be naive.

If you’d like to know more about applying systems thinking in real life there are many online resources, books and courses you can access, including in specific fields (e.g. FutureLearn’s course on Understanding Systems Thinking in Healthcare ).

Whether you think of it as zooming out to the big picture while retaining a focus on the small, or looking deeper under the water at the full shape of the iceberg, systems thinking can be a powerful tool for finding solutions that recognize the interactions and interdependence of individual elements in the real world.

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What’s systems thinking? The secret to a future-minded organization

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I’ve been working on widening my aperture. What does that mean? In photography, zooming out. Seeing the forest for the trees.

As a writer, I find that I often get bogged down in the details. Sometimes, I look too closely at a topic or an idea without considering the complexities, relationships, and implications. 

It’s easy to see things when we’re close to them. But it takes a concerted effort to step back and look at the bigger picture. It requires a different type of mindset, strategic thinking, and perspective on problem-solving .  

We probably can all think of people who approach the world as system thinkers. You probably can name a few off the top of your head: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Steve Jobs, Stacey Abrams, Bill Gates, Malala Yousafzai, Barack Obama, and many more.

They’re big-picture thinkers , dreamers, and strategists. They all share curiosity, courage , and the willingness to challenge the status quo. They see the problem at hand in a network of complex systems, and they aren’t afraid to prod at the larger ecosystem. Systems thinking might sound like a clunky, corporate jargon phrase. And in some ways, by definition, it is complex. But at its heart, systems thinking is about seeing things through a wide lens, recognizing how interconnected we are, and acting with empathy and innovation.

Actions have consequences, not always the ones intended. While it can be about solving wicked problems, systems thinking can also be about getting stuff done in ways that are beneficial to the whole organization, not just your little piece of it. A system can be a company, a school, a community, a region, or even a family.

In the context of today’s world of work, systems thinking can help you to be more strategic and better prepared for what the future has in store. Applying systems thinking to our current climate can help us look ahead with a more strategic lens. 

Especially when things are constantly changing — and uncertainty looms overhead — systems thinking helps organizations be better prepared to solve complex problems. Let’s break down what systems thinking is. We’ll also talk about what it takes to become a systems thinker — and how applying systems thinking can help your organization thrive. 

What is systems thinking?

Before we go any further, let’s pause to understand what we mean by systems thinking . 

Systems thinking is the ability that an individual or organization has to solve tough problems. With systems thinking, individuals use strategic, big-picture thinking to make sense of a complex system. 

For example, at BetterUp we talk about how optimizing for the company typically means sub-optimizing for individual teams. But it holds true for any large organization.

Without systems thinking, a team might set its goals very narrowly and pursue them. Sometimes, those pursuits result in strategies that are detrimental to another team or the bigger company objectives.

Companies that want to be more than the sum of their parts need managers who can think systemically and with enough transparency that people can understand the system.

Systems thinking is a holistic approach to problem-solving. It’s a way of looking at how systems work, what that system’s perspective is, and how to better improve system behaviors. 

The systems thinking methodology isn’t necessarily formulaic. It takes some understanding of key concepts to be able to take a systems approach to today’s most challenging problems. 

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Systems thinking in leadership 

As we mentioned, many of today’s most notable strategic leaders lean on their systems thinking skills to drive change. It requires a deep understanding of mental models with the goal of improving them to optimize organizational performance . And while you might not know it, many leaders have applied system thinking tools to help come to new conclusions. 

Systems thinking in leadership, however, isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Every problem is different with its own set of system dynamics. Let’s break down what some of this could look like in leadership. 

  • A future-mindedness. At BetterUp, we’ve studied future-minded leaders . It’s the idea that a leader looks ahead with a sense of pragmatism and optimism. Leaders who use the future-minded lens say they spend 147% more time planning in their lives and 159% more time planning in their work than those with low future-minded leadership skills. The result of all this planning? Future-minded leaders have higher-performing teams. increased agility, team engagement, innovation, risk-taking, performance, and resilience.  

systems-thinking-future-minded-ness

  • Strategy and planning. As you could’ve guessed, strategic thinking and strategic planning are big components of adopting a systems perspective. Leaders are able to zoom out to see the whole system, then zoom in to see how the system works. 
  • A growth mindset. If we really strip down systems thinking, it’s about problem-solving. This means leaders don’t know everything. They need to learn — and be willing to learn — new things. Leaders who adopt a growth mindset are better equipped to see how the system works because of this perspective. 
  • The willingness to be wrong. We’ve probably all had managers who are unwilling to be wrong. Even if the data and science back it up, there’s some excuse as to why their theory, strategy, or process will still work. It’s a fixed mindset that won’t let go. But with system thinkers in leadership, they’re willing to be wrong. They can see when a systems theory isn’t working. And they embrace that vulnerability of admitting they need to re-think what they originally thought. 
“We learn more from people who challenge our thought process than those who affirm our conclusions. Strong leaders engage their critics and make themselves stronger. Weak leaders silence their critics and make themselves weaker. This reaction isn’t limited to people in power. Although we might be on board with the principle, in practice we often miss out on the value of a challenge network.”  Adam Grant, BetterUp Science Board Member, organizational psychologist, author, Think Again

What are examples of systems thinking?

To better understand systems thinking, let’s look at these three examples. Each example demonstrates the innovation that arises when you see the potential for a whole new board game rather than just swapping out one piece of the puzzle.

  • Smartphones. I grew up in a house where phones were plugged into the wall and computers took over phone lines. When I wanted to call a friend, I dragged the landline — cord still plugged in — into my bedroom. If I wanted to look something up on the internet, I had to make sure no one in my household was using the phone. Why? Well, because the internet required dialed-in access to the phone line. Fast forward a couple of decades and now, we have tiny, little computers that fit into our pockets. Smartphones allow you to access the internet virtually everywhere you go, so long as there’s a signal or a WiFi log-in. Smartphones didn’t come about just to change where and how we could make a phone call. They evolved because system thinkers like Steve Jobs anticipated how connectivity could change the bigger system of how we consume and interact. Systems thinkers see what could be instead of what is.
  • Cryptocurrency. When is the last time you had cash in your wallet? If you’re like me, you rarely carry any cash anymore. Though just twenty years ago, I made sure I had at least $10 in cash with me at all times. But soon, the world evolved with plastic cards that somehow, became much more valuable than any number of bills you could carry in your wallet. Debit and credit cards replaced weekly bank withdrawals. But system thinkers took currency one step further: crypto . Money now moves in networks that securely transfer different types of digital property over the Internet. This technology reimagines how the world does business, but it also has implications for larger monetary, regulatory, and political systems.
  • Renewable energy. With climate change , we’re living on the brink of irreversible damage. With global temperatures rising faster than before, system thinkers had to find a way to power the world that doesn’t harm the planet.  Enter: renewable energy. Renewable energy sources (like solar and wind power) have reimagined how we run businesses, travel, and even produce goods. This system-of-systems approach is helping to shape a low-carbon economy . According to Deloitte, slowing the accelerating pace at which the climate crisis is progressing requires overhauling how systems work. 

Push a little further on these examples and you might also see that each also shows the failure to fully imagine the impact on the broader systems they touch.

Smartphones and crypto-currency each have environmental effects, increasing demand for energy and rare materials. Shifts in demand can create new supply chains and new companies as well as shortages and power imbalances. Systems thinking is recognizing that there are no simple answers.

Complex adaptive systems are just that: adaptive. They’re dynamic systems that hinge on feedback loops, innovation, and collaboration . And it’s with systems thinking that we’re able to evolve and innovate to find better solutions to today’s modern challenges. 

systems-thinking-team-meeting-with-people

6 important concepts of systems thinking

For your organization, adopting concepts of systems thinking can help your business stay a step ahead. Especially in a fast-changing world, it’s critical that organizations stay agile and strategic to stay relevant. Here are six important concepts of systems thinking to help your organization stay resilient, agile, and relevant for the future. 

1. Systems mapping 

To understand how to solve a problem, you need to understand the ecosystems in which the problem lives. This is called systems mapping: getting to know the systems where a problem lives to better take it apart. 

Once you’ve mapped out the systems to help solve your problem, you can do some systems modeling to help understand how they’re connected. Which leads us to … 

2. Interconnectedness 

Interconnectedness. If we know anything about the world, it’s much smaller than we think. And after you’ve mapped out the systems for the problem you’re trying to solve, it’s time to figure out how the systems are connected. 

Sometimes, it may seem nonlinear or non-consequential. But if you dig deep enough, you’ll likely find some fibers connected between specific systems. 

For example, let’s use the pandemic. COVID-19 illuminated that our systems are more connected than we think. The impacts of COVID-19 disproportionately impacted communities of color and those of lower socioeconomic status. On its face, it might not have been readily apparent that a public health crisis would bleed into a different system, our economy. 

3. Synthesis 

This concept is synthesizing. Essentially, it’s making sense of things in the context of the problem you’re trying to solve. Opposite to analysis, synthesis usually is when you combine ideas or things to create something new. 

4. Emergence 

Let’s look at the solar system. We know that the solar system is a large, abstract, and complex system. It’s made up of planets, stars, galaxies, and many other things that we likely have yet to discover. 

But that’s the point of emergence: larger things emerge from smaller things. And when it comes to figuring out how synthesizing (or how you’re putting together different parts), emergence is critical. 

5. Feedback loops 

Feedback is critical to understanding if something is working. More importantly, feedback helps us understand when things aren’t working. 

If you’re adopting systems thinking in your organization, consider how you’re implementing feedback loops into the process. 

For example, let’s say you’re rolling out a new performance management software. Your HR teams are working with managers across the business to adequately train folks on how to use the platform. However, you realize that some managers are missing key milestones, like annual performance reviews . 

You set up some focus groups and office hours with your managers. In these sessions, you learn that your managers are missing out on performance review milestones in the system because they don’t know how to navigate the software. After gathering feedback , you realize that your organization requires more support. 

6. Causality 

Causality is the idea that there’s a cause and effect. It’s pretty simple: your actions impact the outcome. And so when you’re looking at a part of the system to solve, it’s important to test the cause and effect pieces of your systems. 

Let’s go back to our example from above. Because you’ve implemented regular feedback checkpoints within manager office hours, your HR team can better adjust their communication strategy. With help from the internal communication team, your HR team put together some guides on how to best use the software. This helped improve the number of “missed” performance reviews by 30%. 

How to apply systems thinking to the workplace

If you’re ready to apply systems thinking to the workplace, here are four things to keep in mind. 

Practice future-minded thinking 

Future-mindedness can keep organizations prepared for the future. Of course, we know the future is unknown. Especially now, there’s plenty of uncertainty and change looming. 

But with future-mindedness, your organization can be better equipped for what the future holds. Training your leaders to build their future-minded skills can help to keep your organization agile, resilient, and relevant for whatever the future holds. With future-mindedness , the impact speaks for itself: 

  • Individual performance and well-being increases 
  • Team performance increases with more agility, resilience, and risk-taking 
  • Teams are more innovative, creative, and collaborative 
  • Employee retention increases by 33% 

Promote a growth mindset 

Organizations, now more than ever, need to adopt a growth mindset. Learning is a lifelong journey for any person. Why wouldn’t organizations adopt the same sort of mindset? 

Think about how you can cultivate a growth mindset within your workplace. For example, how are you encouraging professional development ? Are you promoting from within and encouraging career mobility ? In what ways are you creating career advancement opportunities? Do your employees invest in upskilling or reskilling? 

systems-thinking-woman-at-white-board-strategy

Create space for feedback 

The success of any organization hinges on the ability to provide — and receive — feedback . At BetterUp, we see feedback as a gift. It’s a way to identify what’s working. But more importantly, it’s how we evolve and grow. 

Are you creating spaces for feedback? How are you keeping a pulse on your employees’ engagement ? Are you encouraging upward feedback or 360-degree feedback ? 

Use coaching 

We all need guidance. Especially when we’re tasked with solving some of the toughest problems, it helps to have an outside perspective. 

That’s where coaching comes in. With BetterUp, you can pair your employees with personalized support to help crack tough problems. A coach can help your employees tap into parts of themselves that they didn’t know existed. In turn, it will help improve your organizational effectiveness . 

Try BetterUp. Together, we can build a future better equipped to solve tomorrow’s problems.

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Madeline Miles

Madeline is a writer, communicator, and storyteller who is passionate about using words to help drive positive change. She holds a bachelor's in English Creative Writing and Communication Studies and lives in Denver, Colorado. In her spare time, she's usually somewhere outside (preferably in the mountains) — and enjoys poetry and fiction.

6 big picture thinking strategies that you'll actually use

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Reqi Systems Engineering Articles

Understanding Systems Thinking: A Path to Insightful Problem-Solving

Understanding Systems Thinking: A Path to Insightful Problem-Solving

In today’s dynamic and complex business landscape, traditional problem-solving approaches often fall short in addressing persistent challenges. Enter systems thinking, a powerful methodology that offers a fresh perspective by considering the interconnectedness of various elements within a system. In this article, we delve into the fundamentals of systems thinking, exploring its principles, benefits, and practical tips for beginners. Whether you’re eager to introduce this approach in your organisation or looking to enhance your problem-solving skills, let’s embark on a journey of understanding the intricacies of systems thinking.

Table of Contents

Understanding Systems Thinking

Practical tips for beginners, the benefits of systems thinking, when to apply systems thinking, getting started, utilising systems thinking tools, indicators of progress in systems thinking.

Systems thinking encompasses a broad range of principles, tools, and a philosophical mindset. It involves understanding the circular nature of the world we live in, recognising the role of structures in shaping the conditions we face, and acknowledging the existence of powerful laws governing systems. By adopting a systems thinking approach, we gain a deeper understanding of the consequences of our actions, allowing us to make more informed decisions.

  • Study Archetypes: Dive into the classic stories and patterns to enhance your understanding.
  • Practice Frequently: Analyse real-world scenarios, such as newspaper articles and current headlines, through a systems lens.
  • Apply Systems Thinking Everywhere: Extend your application of systems thinking beyond the workplace to gain a holistic perspective.
  • Embrace Different Perspectives: Use systems thinking to explore alternative viewpoints and understand how others perceive a system.
  • Accept the Learning Curve: Recognise that becoming skilled in utilising systems thinking tools takes time and practice. Embrace the journey!

Systems thinking offers several compelling reasons to adopt its principles in problem-solving endeavours. By broadening our thinking and enabling us to articulate problems in novel ways, it expands the range of choices available for resolving complex issues. Furthermore, systems thinking emphasises the importance of considering the interconnectedness of various elements, highlighting that every decision has ripple effects throughout the system. By anticipating these impacts, we can make informed choices and minimise unintended consequences.

Ideally, systems thinking is suited for problems with the following characteristics:

  • Importance: The issue at hand holds significant significance.
  • Chronicity: The problem persists over time, rather than being a one-time event.
  • Familiarity: The problem has a known history, indicating previous attempts at resolution.
  • Previous Failures: Past efforts to solve the problem have been unsuccessful.

When approaching a problem through systems thinking, it’s crucial to foster a blame-free environment. Instead of focusing on assigning blame, encourage curiosity within the team. Prompt discussions by asking thought-provoking questions like, “What aspects of this problem are we failing to comprehend?”

To ensure a comprehensive analysis, employ the iceberg framework. Encourage the team to describe the problem by examining its events, patterns, and underlying structures. Additionally, diverse perspectives are essential. Involve individuals from various departments or functional areas to capture a comprehensive range of mental models.

One of the fundamental tools in systems thinking is the causal loop diagram. When using this tool, remember that simplicity is key. Start with a small and straightforward diagram, gradually adding elements as necessary. The diagram should reflect the story your group aims to depict accurately. Don’t fret about creating a diagram that includes every variable; focus on capturing the causal relationships that matter most.

Another valuable resource in systems thinking is the use of archetypes. These classic stories serve as powerful illustrations of systems behaviour. Keep the application of archetypes simple and relatable, allowing individuals to draw parallels between the archetypes and their own problems.

As you progress in your journey of applying systems thinking, it’s essential to gauge your proficiency and recognise when you have truly grasped its principles. Here are some indicators that can help you determine if you’re on the right track:

  • Asking Different Kinds of Questions: A hallmark of systems thinking is a shift in the types of questions you ask. Instead of focusing solely on immediate causes and effects, you start exploring the underlying systemic structures and interconnections. You find yourself inquiring about feedback loops, dependencies, and unintended consequences, seeking a more holistic understanding of the system at play.
  • Recognising Cautionary Flags: With a growing understanding of systems thinking, you become attuned to catchphrases that may oversimplify complex problems. For instance, when someone suggests, “The problem is we need more (sales staff, revenue),” you instinctively recognise the need to delve deeper. You redirect the discussion towards systemic factors, understanding that increasing staff or revenue alone may not address the root causes.
  • Detecting Archetypes and Balancing Processes: As you deepen your knowledge of systems thinking, you begin to identify recurring patterns or archetypes in stories and real-world situations. These archetypes, such as “The Tragedy of the Commons” or “Shifting the Burden,” illustrate common systemic behaviours. Recognising these archetypes enables you to spot imbalances and reinforcing processes within a system, facilitating a more comprehensive analysis of complex issues.
  • Surfacing Mental Models: Systems thinking invites a deep exploration of mental models—the deeply held beliefs, assumptions, and perspectives that shape our understanding of the world. As you progress, you become adept at recognising and challenging your own mental models and those of others. By surfacing and examining these mental models, you can uncover potential biases and broaden your perspective, enabling more robust problem-solving.
  • Identifying Leverage Points: Leverage points are strategic areas within a system where interventions can have a significant and lasting impact. With increasing proficiency in systems thinking, you start recognising these leverage points, understanding which actions can create meaningful change. This heightened awareness empowers you to identify leverage points in classic systems stories and apply them creatively to real-world challenges.

Systems thinking is a transformative approach to problem-solving, offering a powerful lens through which to understand complex issues. By embracing these principles and utilising its tools, you can unlock fresh insights and uncover interconnected patterns. Whether you’re just beginning your journey or seeking to refine your skills, systems thinking empowers you to tackle challenges more comprehensively, paving the way for effective and sustainable solutions.

Remember, systems thinking is not just a method; it’s a lifelong practice that cultivates curiosity, clarity, compassion, choice, and courage. Embrace this holistic approach, and you’ll witness a paradigm shift in the way you perceive the world and address complex problems.

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The Systems Thinker -

Systems Thinking: What, Why, When, Where, and How?

I f you’re reading The Systems Thinker®, you probably have at least a general sense of the benefits of applying systems thinking in the work-place. But even if you’re intrigued by the possibility of looking at business problems in new ways, you may not know how to go about actually using these principles and tools. The following tips are designed to get you started, whether you’re trying to introduce systems thinking in your company or attempting to implement the tools in an organization that already supports this approach.

What Does Systems Thinking Involve?

Tips for beginners.

  • Study the archetypes.
  • Practice frequently, using newspaper articles and the day’s headlines.
  • Use systems thinking both at work and at home.
  • Use systems thinking to gain insight into how others may see a system differently.
  • Accept the limitations of being in-experienced; it may take you a while to become skilled at using the tools. The more practice, the quicker the process!
  • Recognize that systems thinking is a lifelong practice

It’s important to remember that the term “systems thinking” can mean different things to different people. The discipline of systems thinking is more than just a collection of tools and methods – it’s also an underlying philosophy. Many beginners are attracted to the tools, such as causal loop diagrams and management flight simulators, in hopes that these tools will help them deal with persistent business problems. But systems thinking is also a sensitivity to the circular nature of the world we live in; an awareness of the role of structure in creating the conditions we face; a recognition that there are powerful laws of systems operating that we are unaware of; a realization that there are consequences to our actions that we are oblivious to. Systems thinking is also a diagnostic tool. As in the medical field, effective treatment follows thorough diagnosis. In this sense, systems thinking is a disciplined approach for examining problems more completely and accurately before acting. It allows us to ask better questions before jumping to conclusions. Systems thinking often involves moving from observing events or data, to identifying patterns of behavior overtime, to surfacing the underlying structures that drive those events and patterns. By understanding and changing structures that are not serving us well (including our mental models and perceptions), we can expand the choices available to us and create more satisfying, long-term solutions to chronic problems. In general, a systems thinking perspective requires curiosity, clarity, compassion, choice, and courage. This approach includes the willingness to see a situation more fully, to recognize that we are interrelated, to acknowledge that there are often multiple interventions to a problem, and to champion interventions that may not be popular (see “The Systems Orientation: From Curiosity to Courage,”V5N9).

Why Use Systems Thinking?

Systems thinking expands the range of choices available for solving a problem by broadening our thinking and helping us articulate problems in new and different ways. At the same time, the principles of systems thinking make us aware that there are no perfect solutions; the choices we make will have an impact on other parts of the system. By anticipating the impact of each trade-off, we can minimize its severity or even use it to our own advantage. Systems thinking therefore allows us to make informed choices. Systems thinking is also valuable for telling compelling stories that describe how a system works. For example, the practice of drawing causal loop diagrams forces a team to develop shared pictures, or stories, of a situation. The tools are effective vehicles for identifying, describing, and communicating your understanding of systems, particularly in groups.

When Should We Use Systems Thinking?

Problems that are ideal for a systems thinking intervention have the following characteristics:

  • The issue is important.
  • The problem is chronic, not a one-time event.
  • The problem is familiar and has a known history.
  • People have unsuccessfully tried to solve the problem before.

Where Should We Start?

When you begin to address an issue, avoid assigning blame (which is a common place for teams to start a discussion!). Instead, focus on items that people seem to be glossing over and try to arouse the group’s curiosity about the problem under discussion. To focus the conversation, ask, “What is it about this problem that we don’t understand?”

In addition, to get the full story out, emphasize the iceberg framework. Have the group describe the problem from all three angles: events, patterns, and structure (see “The Iceberg”). Finally, we often assume that everyone has the same picture of the past or knows the same information. It’s therefore important to get different perspectives in order to make sure that all viewpoints are represented and that solutions are accepted by the people who need to implement them. When investigating a problem, involve people from various departments or functional areas; you may be surprised to learn how different their mental models are from yours.

How Do We Use Systems Thinking Tools?

Causal Loop Diagrams. First, remember that less is better. Start small and simple; add more elements to the story as necessary. Show the story in parts. The number of elements in a loop should be determined by the needs of the story and of the people using the diagram. A simple description might be enough to stimulate dialogue and provide a new way to see a problem. In other situations, you may need more loops to clarify the causal relationships you are surfacing.

THE ICEBERG

THE ICEBERG

The Archetypes. When using the archetypes, or the classic stories in systems thinking, keep it simple and general. If the group wants to learn more about an individual archetype, you can then go into more detail. Don’t try to “sell” the archetypes; people will learn more if they see for themselves the parallels between the archetypes and their own problems. You can, however, try to demystify the archetypes by relating them to common experiences we all share.

How Do We Know That We’ve “Got It”?

Here’s how you can tell you’ve gotten a handle on systems thinking:

  • You’re asking different kinds of questions than you asked before.
  • You’re hearing “catchphrases” that raise cautionary flags. For example, you find yourself refocusing the discussion when someone says, “The problem is we need more (sales staff, revenue).”
  • You’re beginning to detect the archetypes and balancing and reinforcing processes in stories you hear or read.
  • You’re surfacing mental models (both your own and those of others).
  • You’re recognizing the leverage points for the classic systems stories.

Once you’ve started to use systems thinking for inquiry and diagnosis, you may want to move on to more complex ways to model systems-accumulator and flow diagrams, management flight simulators, or simulation software. Or you may find that adopting a systems thinking perspective and using causal loop diagrams provide enough insights to help you tackle problems. However you proceed, systems thinking will forever change the way you think about the world and approach issues. Keep in mind the tips we’ve listed here, and you’re on your way!

Michael Goodman is principal at Innovation Associates Organizational Learning

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Understanding systems thinking concepts and workplace applications

By Michael Feder

A professional takes a break to think about solutions

This article has been vetted by University of Phoenix's editorial advisory committee.  Read more about our editorial process.

Kathryn Uhles, MIS, MSP, Dean, College of Business and IT

This article was updated on 12/1/2023.  

At a glance

  • Systems thinking looks at connected wholes rather than separate parts.
  • Systems thinkers are curious, have open minds, are good listeners and seek out root causes.
  • A systems thinker tries to expand the range of options available for solving a problem.
  • Learn systems thinking with a  Bachelor of Science in Management  degree,  Bachelor of Science in Data Science  degree or with an  Operations Management Certificate  from University of Phoenix!

Have you ever met people who intuitively see things from a 10,000-foot view? They look at the big picture rather than get derailed by details, and they’re good at assessing problems before taking action. Such people are probably good “systems thinkers.”

A systems thinking approach means recognizing that a sum is greater than its parts — that all the pieces of an organization connect, interact and play a part in outcomes.

Put another way, according to Study.com, “ systems thinking is based on the idea that all key processes in an organization are interrelated ” — and they work together to achieve a common goal.

Are you tracking so far? If so, systems concepts are probably in your DNA.

If you’re like the rest of us, read on for a systems thinking definition, key elements, examples and ideas on how you might use systems level thinking in your own educational journey or career.

Systems thinking can be applied in business and healthcare settings. Learn more about online management degrees at UOPX!

What is systems thinking?

Is systems thinking a framework? A philosophy? A diagnostic tool?

It can be all those things. By one definition, systems thinking is literally a system of thinking about systems.

University of Phoenix instructor Dr. Michael Marticek teaches systems thinking and explains the concept to his students this way: With systems thinking, you solve problems by investigating factors and outcomes of those factors on your operation or educational work.

“It gets made to sound so tricky,” he says. “But it’s really just logic.”

It might help to view systems thinking as a puzzle, and how the pieces connect to each other to make the whole. A systems perspective is the opposite of “working in a silo.”

Here’s a simple example. Let’s say you’ve got a piece of machinery in which one pesky gear keeps breaking. Instead of replacing that same gear over and over, a systems thinking approach might look at the gear’s construction and design (casting, forging, metallurgy), the operational conditions (weight, friction, torque, noise), the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, sanitation), and the maintenance (cleanliness, lubrication). Various interconnected factors could be affecting the gear’s performance and durability.

An iceberg metaphor is often used to describe systems thinking. With an iceberg, there’s what we see above the water, and the much bigger, unseen portion underwater.

Continuing with this metaphor, a systems thinker might approach a problem by asking:

  • What could be under the surface that we don’t see?
  • What are the conditions (workplace expectations, staffing issues, budget constraints, etc.) that influence the problem?
  • What issues, people or systems are working together to create what is seen above the water?
  • What ripple effects might be created by our ideas/solutions?

When should I use systems thinking?

Marticek says systems theory can be used to solve complex problems at work, in school or at home. The key is to apply a systems perspective when problems have many interrelated parts.

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According to The Systems Thinker , if a problem meets these four criteria, it could benefit from a systems thinking approach:

  • The issue is important.
  • The problem is recurring.
  • The problem is familiar and has known history.
  • People have unsuccessfully tried to solve the problem.

Key elements of systems thinking

Marticek says systems thinking has six key building blocks:

1.    Interconnections : Projects and people are connected. A systems thinking approach identifies those connections. This shifts the problem from a linear solution to a circular solution.

2.    Emergence : The opposite of working “in silos,” emergence is where a larger idea or outcome is born from smaller parts. It often is a better solution than any single “silo” could have designed.

3.    Synthesis : This means combining two or more things to create something new. “Sometimes you’re combining old ways to make a new way. Sometimes you gain new information and create something new,” Marticek says.

4.    Feedback loops : This is the step that makes whiteboard geeks drool. Feedback loops illustrate via charts or diagrams the feedback between various parts of a system. “You gather different pieces of the pie, and at the end, hopefully you have an outcome,” Marticek says.

5.    Causality: Causality looks at how one thing influences another in an interconnected system.

6.    Systems mapping : Again, whiteboard geeks unite! Systems mapping is the chart or flow that will inform decision-making. “If you hand this to an executive, this flow diagram will help them understand what is needed to make the change,” Marticek says.

For this process to work, buy-in from the top-down and bottom-up is essential. “If you’re going to alter your business or organization, you have to have a new vision. This is the road everyone is on. Everyone has to be on board with the process — you can’t have holdouts who think, ‘My idea is the best,’” Marticek says.

Characteristics of systems thinkers

Systems thinking may seem formulaic, but it’s actually quite the opposite. Rather than work a linear, predictable formula, effective systems thinkers usually have an open mind. Marticek says those who operate from a systems thinking perspective:

  • Are curious
  • Find root causes
  • Have an open mind
  • Are good listeners

“If you have ‘I-know-everything’ executives, this never works. People will try to dismantle that process because of frustration with the person creating it,” he says.

What are examples of systems thinking?

The earlier example of a gear looked at a mechanical system. That can be complicated, but not nearly as complicated as human systems or ecosystems.

Marticek refers his students to a real-life example from Borneo in the 1950s. The people were suffering from an outbreak of malaria, so they went to the World Health Organization (WHO). A decision was made to spray pesticide to control the malaria outbreak.

This killed malaria-carrying bugs, but it also killed wasps, which controlled a worm population. Worms ate through the thatch roofs, many of which collapsed.

The pesticides also were ingested by other insects, which were the food for local lizards, which were the food for local cats. Eventually, cats died off from pesticide poisoning, which caused the rat population to explode. In the end, one infestation was traded for another.

“Thinking one thing would solve the problem created multiple problems along the way,” Marticek says. Systems thinking takes into account the possible ripple effects of an idea before a decision is made.

What is systems thinking in an organization?

Now, let’s apply this to an organization. Let’s say you’ve got a favorite delivery app or home delivery company that’s trying to quickly connect goods or transportation with people in a diverse geographic area.

“Everyone is trying to compete in record time,” Marticek says. “If they’re late, you as the customer might even get 50% of your money back.”

But behind the scenes, morale may be crumbling, drivers may not be able to stop for adequate nutrition or bathroom breaks, and there may even be an unintended consequence of roads that are less safe as drivers push the limits of getting from point A to point B. Wrecks, insurance claims and employee turnover may all be high.

Someone using a systems thinking approach would look at individual decisions and their systematic consequences.

A systems thinking approach can be applied to business situations such as:

  • The complexities of managing airline fleet maintenance and setting schedules, and staffing for on-time arrivals.
  • The difficulties a marketing department may have in getting projects out the door — as finance, legal, creative and business realities collide.
  • The implementation of a new software that addresses customer service issues but may trigger business inefficiencies or require large expenses.

How can I practice systems thinking?

In review, systems thinking looks at all parts of an overall system — rather than isolating them into individual sections. A systems thinker tries to expand the range of options available for solving a problem.

This can be helpful at work, in a volunteer organization, in your educational journey or at home.

Curiosity — rather than criticism — can be a great starting point. Questions like, “What am I not seeing here,” or, “What's under the iceberg that I don’t understand,” can help.

From there:

  • Find the interrelated connections.
  • See what outcomes emerge.
  • Consider how you might be able to synthesize two or more things to make a new thing.
  • Connect feedback between different parts of the system.
  • Examine how one thing influences another thing (think: Pesticides! Rats!).
  • Make your plan, keeping in mind the possible ripple effects and consequences of your decision.

See? No sweat.

Michael Feder

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Feder is a content marketing specialist at University of Phoenix, where he researches and writes on a variety of topics, ranging from healthcare to IT. He is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars program and a New Jersey native!

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What is systems thinking?

Systems thinking is an approach to problem solving which takes into account the overall system as well as its individual parts. According to Peter Senge, it’s “a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns rather than static snapshots. It is a set of general principles spanning fields as diverse as physical and social sciences, engineering and management” [ Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline, 2nd Ed 2006 ].

Why is it important?

Complex projects need both technical and managerial leaders who understand each other’s needs and requirements, and who consequently can work in an integrated way. There is substantial evidence that an integrated project management and systems engineering approach adds value by reducing the need for re-planning and rework, and optimising the risk margin, allowing projects to fulfill their objectives both on time, and to budget.

Read more on the Systems Thinking resource page .

You can also find more through the Systems Thinking Specific Interest Group (SIG), which has a valuable resource area with links to material including books, papers, presentations and webinars. The aim of the  Systems Thinking SIG  is:  “To promote systems thinking as a methodology to improve delivery of complex change initiatives“  and welcomes collaboration and input. To read more about the origin of the SIG, have a look at the article published on  the integration of P3M and systems engineering .

John McGlynn’s blog  also explains more about the development and aim of the SIG and encourages involvement.

According to new research from APM, conventional project management relying on prescribed systems and processes leaves no room for flexibility. Even agile methods are not enough as projects increase in complexity.

The research was awarded funding from APM’s research fund in 2017 to gain a better insight into the current level of understanding, application and recognition of the potential benefits of systems thinking.  Read the report  to discover how systems thinking can be used in project management.

People who think about systems thinking in projects argue that when you have complex interactions between people or other variables on a project it becomes very difficult to plot a straight linear path towards the defined outcome. One solution to dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity is to use a programme approach to organising the work – a framework that expects the outcomes to be created in iterative tranches or chunks of activity. Read more  in this blog  by Ruth Murray-Webster.

Finally, the excerpt below explains how project managers can benefit from a systems thinking approach:

The management of change in projects that are building or modifying complex systems is challenging. We define systems as complicated if they consist of many elements of different types, although, individually, each may have characteristics that can be described in simple terms. We consider systems as complex if some of the relationships and interactions between subsystems are not easily understood, and thus difficult to manage.

But project managers can borrow from engineering systems thinking, which evolved as a consequence of technical systems becoming too complicated to analyse and manage by means of conventional engineering approaches. Systems thinking enables managers to analyse the components of systems and to handle their interactions.

Systems thinking can be applied not only to technical systems, but also to projects. In this sense, projects can be considered as complex and complicated systems, where tasks and activities are the equivalent of subsystems.

Read more about this in the recent  Project Journal  article,  Chess or dominoes .

You can search across all our content by topic, methodology and content type.

A systems thinking approach

Systems thinking is a mental framework that helps us to become better problem solvers. Systems thinkers find ways to shift or recombine the parts in the system that offer an improved outcome.    

The Prevention Centre delivers internationally significant knowledge about the application of a systems-based approach to the prevention of chronic disease.

Illustration suggesting the systemic approach: different small shapes create a large pattern.

Page contents

What is systems thinking?

Systems thinking is defined as a way to make sense of a complex system that gives attention to exploring the interrelated parts, boundaries and perspectives within that system. 

Rather than a systematic approach, system thinking takes a systemic approach. Research can be more effective if you use a balance of both the systematic and systemic approaches.

We introduce the idea of taking a flexible approach in the short video below, written by Melanie Pescud and Lucie Rychetnik based on empirical case studies and the Systemic-Systematic duality described by Ison and Straw. The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking: Governance in a Climate Emergency . (2020)

How can systems thinking and systemic approaches help?

Systems thinking is useful because it can:

Systems thinking and chronic disease prevention

Work in chronic disease prevention, and public health more generally, has targeted individual behaviour, but many factors, including where we work, eat, play and live, and our access to work and education, all affect our health.

It is not enough to simply urge Australians to eat better and exercise more.     We need to look at the wider systems that directly impact on our health or can help or hinder behaviours that cause chronic health problems. We need to look in depth at our communities, our food systems, our environments and workplaces and how each of these interacts to create communities in which healthy behaviours are the easier, more sustainable options.   

Systems thinking helps us to look at these wider systems. Rather than just tackling the tip of the iceberg, a systems thinking approach delves below the surface and identifies the fundamental and interconnecting causes of complex issues such as chronic disease.  

We asked systems thinking experts to explain their perspectives and provide insights into why they use a systems approach in chronic disease prevention research.

A round table covered in papers at a workshop as participants work together

Systems change frameworks

The Prevention Centre has developed two frameworks for systems change.

Systems change framework

Hands protecting people figurines

The Prevention Systems Change Framework

A dramatic modern building with a curved lattice framework (Azadi Square in Tehran). Photo by Sam Moghadam Khamseh on Unsplash

What can systems thinking contribute to public health?

Policy makers and practitioners working to prevent chronic disease are using system thinking and systems science methods to better understand complex public health problems and inform their decision making about how to intervene. For example, participatory system dynamics modelling uses a range of evidence sources and data to map and model complex problems, engaging academics, policy experts, practitioners and community members in the process. This results in a co-designed decision support tool that can simulate and compare the likely impact of a range of intervention and policy solutions.  

System dynamics modelling and the underlying theories have the advantage of allowing decision makers to experiment with different scenarios and policy options before they are implemented to reduce the risk of negative consequences and unexpected outcomes.  

Models can be used to experiment with different intervention combinations to forecast their impact on alcohol-related emergency department presentations, chronic disease prevalence over time, and cost implications for the health system.  

Examples of projects using system dynamics modelling for improving public health

Compelling case project – phase 2.

Illustration of a dial marked 'Prevention' with indicator turned up to maximum

Gestational diabetes through a systems science lens

Pregnant woman checking her glucose level at home

Model behaviour: A systems approach to alcohol-related harm

Hand chained to glass bottle of alcohol

Principles in systemic theory

  • A system is a set of interacting pieces that combine for a common purpose. A system is not only the sum of its parts but the product of their interaction. 
  • Systems thinking is about understanding relationships and their implications so that we can be better problem solvers. 
  • Systems thinking poses two fundamental questions about each interacting part of a complex problem: What does it influence, what influences it? 
  • Systems thinking doesn’t look at problems or solutions in isolation. It looks at inter-linkages and interdependencies. This might mean tackling things in clusters or bundles. 
  • Systems thinking looks for causes and solutions to problems beyond the immediate vicinity of where the problem is experienced. It asks, how does shifting the boundary change the way something is understood. 
  • Systems thinking will also focus on how problems change over time, because that allows better understanding of the dynamics that might explain them. 
  • Systems thinking seeks multiple perspectives of the same thing, because this clues us into dynamics we might not otherwise see, including multiple paths to the same outcome. By ‘dynamics’ we mean processes, procedures, perceptions, practices, policies and incentives that cause increases or decreases in the drivers or reinforcers of change. 
  • Systems thinking seeks to create positive and lasting change. Before we intervene we need to understand why a situation is as it is, and the context in which it occurs, otherwise any change may be temporary, we may make the situation worse, or create new problems. 
  • Using systems thinking to address problems allows us to identify the opportunities and solutions that might otherwise remain invisible or unnoticed. 

How and when should systems theory be used?

Our systems project is identifying and collating key lessons on the use and value of systems thinking, systems practices, and systems science tools in applied prevention research. Using Prevention Centre projects as case studies, this research will illustrate how researchers, policy makers and practitioners can use systems approaches to better work together to bring about change. It will inform policy makers and funders of the key factors that support the use of effective systems approaches, and when, and in what combination, these approaches are appropriate for prevention research.  

Katrina D'onise at a workshop with colleagues

How can I use systems theory in practice?

In undertaking systems thinking activities, we want to have the capacity to see and sense a system, that is, patterns, structures, relationships, boundaries, feedback loops and unintended consequences of actions. This means regularly reflecting on our assumptions and mental models and exploring unintended consequences of actions and how we listen and learn from other perspectives. These practices will enhance our capacity to see and sense the system when we engage with specific tools such as causal loop diagrams or systems mapping.  

Download a PDF flyer on practices you can use in your everyday systems work.

Circular diagram showing the four steps: Define situation, Gain clarity, Find leverage, Act strategically (and repeat).

Complex is not the same as complicated

Challenges can arise when problem-solving approaches that are useful for complicated problems are applied to complex problems. This can often result in quick fixes that fail to recognise and intervene in the root causes of problems. It can also lead to new or worse problems because we have failed to understand the relationships between parts in the system.  

By recognising the complex nature of the problem, and applying systems thinking approaches, investigations can delve below the surface and identify the fundamental and interconnecting causes of the complex issue – such as the patterns of behaviour, the underlying structure and the beliefs of the people and organisations responsible for creating that complex issue.  

Download a PDF  flyer on why complex is not the same as complicated and what this means for how we approach complex problems.

Diane Finegood presenting from a lectern

Systems thinking tools and resources

I want to do systems in my everyday practice.

  • Journal article: Leadership for systems change: Researcher practices for enhancing research impact in the prevention of chronic disease
  • Blog: Creating systems of leadership in prevention research by Dr Melanie Pescud
  • Blog: Pig on the Tracks by Luke Craven  

I want to do systems in my work with others

  • Book:  Growing wings on the way: systems thinking for messy situations  
  • Book:  Systems concepts in action  
  • Book:  Wicked solutions: A systems approach to complex problems  
  • PDF:    Systems thinking tools: a users reference guide  
  • Book:  Community-based systems dynamics  
  • Software: STICK-E
  • Software: System Effects

I need an introduction to understand systems

  • Video:  Systems thinking  
  • Article:  Systems methodology  
  • Book:  Systems thinking for social change  
  • Website:  The systems thinker  
  • Report: Systems-based approaches in public health: Where next?

I want more systems theory and concepts

Book:   Systems Practice: How to Act in a Climate Change World  

Book:  The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking    

Book:  Handbook of Systems and Complexity in Health  

Book:  Thinking in systems: A Primer  

Book:  Critical Systems Thinking and the Management of Complexity    

Journal Article:  Places to intervene in a system  

Journal Article:  Learning in and about complex systems  

Website:  Stanford Sociological Innovation Review  

Website:  Systems Change Academy    

I want to see systems applied to health

  • Report:  Greater than the sum: Systems thinking in tobacco control  
  • Journal Article: F our-year behavioral, health-related quality of life, and BMI outcomes from a cluster-randomized whole of systems trial of prevention strategies for childhood obesity    
  • Book Chapter:  Systems and Evaluation: Placing a Systems Approach in Context  

I want to understand how to fund systems change work

  • Website:  Systems grant making resource guide      
  • PDF Report:  Funding systems change: Challenges and opportunities  
  • Report:  Systems grant-making resource guide  
  • Article:  Leveraging grant-making

Videos and podcasts: Experts talk about systems thinking

How a wellbeing economy approach could promote health equality for future generations, systems thinking in the community: nothing about us, without us, systems thinking across disciplines: working, moving and living within systems, the past, present and future of chronic disease prevention research, why prevention policy is better than cure, global impact to local action – top 5 lessons from driving systems change, creating systems change for physical activity, why use a systems approach in chronic disease prevention research, how can i use systems thinking in my chronic disease prevention research, how to measure success using a systems approach, a guiding principle for systems work, practical strategies to mobilise knowledge in complex systems, the practice of systems change: tips from a change agent, five minutes with allan best, partnering for change in a complex world, translating systems thinking into public health innovations, five minutes with professor nate osgood, integrating big data and simulation models to support health decision making, browser not supported.

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Systems Thinking: How to Solve Problems So They Stay Solved

From production to customer service and marketing, organizations are made up of a series of interconnected parts. While each function may appear to operate efficiently on its own, a change in just one cog can throw the whole system out of whack. The problems that arise in interconnected organizations can be difficult to solve.

Systems thinking is problem-solving approach that examines the relationships between functions in an organization. Systems thinking is powerful because it enables you to predict the consequences of a potential change. This problem-solving method can also help you eliminate silos, see different viewpoints, and remain focused on the big picture.

Ultimately, systems thinking empowers you to solve problems so that they stay solved. Instead of offering quick-fix solutions that work only in the short term, systems thinking helps you make decisions that benefit your organization in the long run.

You will learn how to:

  • Apply systems thinking in the workplace in ways that benefit you and your organization: encouraging innovation, learning from mistakes, and enhancing leadership and management skills.
  • Apply the tools of systems thinking to solve a problem.
  • Minimize the unintended consequences of major decisions.

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Systems Thinking

Systems Thinking: A Deep Dive Into The Framework To Successfully Solve Complex Problems

Systems thinking, also known as systems analysis or system dynamics, looks at the world that emphasizes how things work together and interact. It’s an approach to understanding complex problems by breaking them down into their constituent parts so you can analyze them in terms of cause-and-effect relationships. This detailing helps us understand why something happens rather than just what it looks like on the surface. This article will explore the critical concepts around systems thinking.

Professor J. W. Forrester developed the concept of Systems thinking in 1956. Researchers have defined complexity as “the property of being composed of many interrelated elements.” Systems thinking is not new; philosophers have been using this concept since ancient times. But until recently, most people did not realize that their everyday lives were governed by rules similar to those found in natural phenomena. However, scientists have begun to recognize that living organisms also exhibit emergent properties and self-organization in recent years. These discoveries suggest that there may exist universal principles governing life on Earth.

systems thinking

Table of Contents

How Does Systems Thinking Differ from Critical Thinking?

Systems thinking is a way of looking at the world that emphasizes how things are connected. It’s about seeing patterns and relationships, not just in individual parts but also across systems as a whole. This approach can be applied to any situation or problem you encounter—from personal life to business management to global politics.

Critical thinking is an entirely different type of mindset. Instead of viewing problems through the lens of interconnectedness, it focuses on identifying what needs to change and then figuring out ways to make those changes happen. In this sense, critical thinking is more like detective work than systems thinking: You start with a hypothesis and then try to prove whether or not your theory is correct by testing it against reality.

Why are systems thinking important?

Systems thinkers are those who understand the world as a complex adaptive system. They see that everything in nature, including human society and organizations, has dynamics that one cannot comprehend by studying only one part or even looking at details from different perspectives. Instead, they look for patterns across all aspects of reality to know how things work together. This approach leads them to ask questions such as: How do we create change? What makes something successful? Why do some organizations fail while others thrive? And what can we learn about ourselves when we study other species?

What are Complex Systems?

Complex systems can be defined as a set of interacting elements that produce emergent properties. The American mathematician and philosopher John von Neumann coined the term complex system in his book “Theory of Self-Reproducing Automata.” He used it to describe self-reproducing machines or automatons. In this context, he meant an entity that can reproduce itself from its parts without any external intervention. This definition has been widely adopted since then. It is also known as autopoiesis, self-organization, self-regulation, self-maintenance, or self-production.

A simple example would be a living cell where each component interacts with other elements. These interactions lead to the production of new proteins and DNA molecules. Thus the whole process leads to the reproduction of the original molecule.

What Are Complex Systems In Business?

Complex systems are a new way of looking at the world. They’re not just about understanding how things work, but also why they do what they do and how to make them better.

The term “complex system” was coined by John P. Kotter in his book Leading Change. He defined it as: “a set of people or organizations that interact with each other more than one would expect from chance alone.”

The idea is simple – if you look closely enough at any group of people interacting together, patterns will emerge to help us understand their behavior. This insight has been used for centuries in psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, and politics. But until recently, these insights have only applied to small groups of individuals.

What Are Adaptive Systems?

Adaptive systems are complex, dynamic, and self-organizing. They can be viewed as a collection of interacting components that continuously adapt to changing conditions in their environment. The term “adaptation” is used in the sense of an ongoing process rather than a one-time event or outcome. Adaptive systems have no fixed state, but instead, they continually change over time. In this way, they resemble living organisms that also constantly evolve through adaptation.

Adaptive systems are a way of looking at the world. You can use them to describe any system changing and adapting to its environment or apply to business processes. The term adaptive was coined by John Todd, who defined it as “a process which changes itself according to external conditions.” He also said: “The purpose of an adaptive system is not to achieve some pre-determined goal but rather to maintain stability within the context of change.” This definition has been widely adopted since then.

What are the characteristics of systems thinking?

Systems Thinking is a way to look at the world. It’s not just about looking for problems but also finding solutions and making things better. Systems Thinking helps us understand how to make our lives more sustainable by changing ourselves and our environment.

Characteristics of the Systems Thinking approach include;

1) A focus on understanding complex social-ecological interactions in their natural context. This understanding means that it considers all aspects of an issue or problem – from human behavior to physical processes, including feedback loops between these two levels.

2) An emphasis on learning through experience rather than knowledge alone. The goal is to understand what works best when applied to specific situations.

3) Emphasis on action over-analysis. We need to act now to solve current issues and create new opportunities. Analysis should be used to inform decisions, not dictate them.

4) Focus on creating positive change. Change happens if people want it to happen. If you don’t like something, then do something about it!

5) Use multiple perspectives. Each perspective provides different insights into the same situation. However, when combined, they give a fuller picture.

6) Look beyond the obvious. There may be other factors involved which you may have overlooked. 

7) Think globally, act locally. Our actions affect everyone around us. Therefore, we must think globally before acting locally.

How do you use System thinking?

Systems Thinking is a way of looking at the world. It’s not just about seeing things as they are, but also how we can change them to be better for everyone involved. Systems Thinking helps us understand that everything in our lives impacts other parts of life and vice versa. We need to think more holistically when solving problems because there isn’t always one solution or many solutions.

Here are the steps you can use to adopt systems thinking;

1) Understand what system means: A system works together with others so that all its components work towards achieving some goal. For example, if I have a car, my engine will run by itself without pushing buttons. But, if I want to start the car, I press the button, and the starter motor turns over the engine. The same thing happens inside people – their heartbeats, lungs breathe, or the stomach digest food. All these processes automatically happen unless someone stops them from doing this.

So, a system is like a machine where each part does its job independently until another component comes into action. So, when we talk about systems, we mean anything that functions with other elements to achieve a common purpose.

2) Identify the problem: Once you know what a system is, you must identify the problem within the system. The problem could be due to a lack of knowledge, skills, resources, time, money, motivation, or support. You may find yourself asking questions such as “Why did this happen? Why didn’t anyone else notice this before now? What would make this situation different next time? How can we prevent this happening again?” These types of questions help you get started identifying the problem.

 3) Define the boundaries: Now that you have identified the problem, you should define the perimeter around the problem. In other words, you should decide who needs to take responsibility for fixing the issue. For example, who is responsible for making sure the problem doesn’t occur again? Is it only the person who made a mistake? Or is it the whole team/company? Whose fault was it? Was it the manager’s fault? Did he fail to supervise his staff correctly? Or were the employees lazy or under-skilled? Is it a training issue or lack of enough equipment? Is the environment conducive to learning new skills? There are lots of factors that contribute to creating a good working environment. Some of these might include physical space, communication channels, management style, culture.

 It depends on the context of whether you consider these issues essential or not. But once you have defined the boundaries, you can move forward to solve the problem.

4) Decide on possible actions: After defining the boundaries, you should develop several options to fix the problem. Each option should address the root cause of the problem. For instance, if you were trying to improve employee performance, you wouldn’t just focus on improving pay rates. Instead, you would look at how your organization trains employees, provides opportunities for career development, encourages feedback, rewards positive behavior, and promotes teamwork. Similarly, when you try to reduce waste in an organization, you don’t simply cut down on paper consumption. Instead, you need to think about ways to eliminate unnecessary paperwork, streamline procedures, and encourage collaboration between departments. Again, you will observe the patterns of behavior of your employees and act accordingly.

 5) Choose one solution and implement it: Finally, after deciding upon all the necessary steps to resolve the problem, choose one answer and start implementing it. If multiple solutions are available, pick the most appropriate one based on cost, complexity, risk, impact, and feasibility. The key here is to ensure that you do something rather than nothing. And remember, no matter which approach you use, you will always face challenges along the way. So be prepared!

What kind of problems do systems thinking solve?

I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I’ve been reading a lot about “systems thinking” lately, and it seems like there are many different definitions. Some people say that it’s just an approach for solving complex problems, while others claim that it can be used as a tool for understanding any system or process. So what exactly do you mean when you talk about systems thinking? What kinds of problems does it help you solve? Is it only applicable in specific fields? Or could anyone use it to understand their own life better? Let’s explore the application of systems thinking in detail.

Systems Thinking is a way of looking at things from multiple perspectives simultaneously. The problems may represent complex systems or not. It helps us see how all parts fit together into one whole picture. For example, we might look at our body and think about its functions separately, such as digestion or respiration, and consider them holistically by seeing how they work together to keep us alive. 

These two approaches allow us to apply systems thinking to other areas of our lives. We can learn more about ourselves through systems thinking than we ever thought possible!

For instance, let’s imagine your car breaks down on the side of the road. You have no idea where to go, so you call AAA. They send out someone who will come pick up your vehicle and bring it back to the shop. The mechanic tells you that he needs to replace some parts because something went wrong during the repair. He says he has to order new parts online since his store doesn’t carry those particular items anymore. While waiting for him to return, you start wondering why you need to buy another set of tires. Why don’t you already have good ones? After all, you drive every day. Then you remember that you haven’t changed the oil in over a year. That means you should probably get a tune-up soon. And maybe you should change the air filter too. Perhaps even clean the windows.

All of these tasks seem simple enough, but now you’re starting to realize that each job requires several steps before it gets done. If you could view everything around you in terms of systems, you would notice that the entire situation was much bigger than you initially realized. 

Examples of systems thinking in everyday life/Business.

In this section, we will describe some examples of how the concept of Systems Thinking can be applied to real-life situations. We have chosen these cases because they represent many other similar problems people face every day and could benefit from a more systemic approach. The first example is about an organization with no clear vision or strategy; the second one shows how a company has created value using Systemic Thinking. In both cases, it is essential to understand what kind of system you want to build.

Example 1: A lack of strategic direction

The following case study describes a large international corporation where several departments had strategies without any overall plan. Each department had its own goals and objectives, but none knew anything about the others’ activities. This disparity resulted in much confusion among employees who did not understand why they should do certain things. There was also a high turnover rate within each department as well as between departments. It took years before anyone realized that all parts needed to work together towards achieving the same goal.

The solution? Create a shared vision and common values across the whole organization. Once everyone understood the big picture, everything became much clearer. Employees started working on projects that made sense and helped achieve the desired results. They felt part of something bigger than themselves. And most importantly, the company’s performance improved significantly.

Example 2: Creating value through systemic thinking

This story illustrates how a small business used Systemic Thinking to improve its operations. When the owner decided to sell his business, he wanted to ensure that the new owners would continue running it successfully after him. So he asked himself, “What does my business need?” After answering this question, he came up with three primary needs: Generating revenue, providing exemplary service to customers, and keeping costs low. These three requirements formed the basis of his business plan.

He then looked into the market and discovered that two companies were already providing services very close to his business. However, neither of them met all three criteria mentioned above. So he set out to find another way to meet these needs. By doing so, he discovered that four distinct markets existed in his area. He created a marketing mix that included advertising campaigns targeting specific groups of potential clients with this knowledge. As a result, his sales increased dramatically. His profits went down slightly due to higher production costs, but he still raised his net income substantially.

Systems Thinking helps us see our world differently. We can use it to help solve the problems we are facing today and prepare for future challenges.

     Systems Thinking is an approach to problem-solving based on understanding systems instead of focusing only on individual elements. The idea behind this concept is simple: if you look at your environment from a broader perspective, you will be better prepared to deal with unexpected events. In addition, you will have more options available when making decisions because you will consider many factors simultaneously rather than just looking at a single aspect.

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systems thinking approach to problem solving

Designorate

Designorate

Design thinking, innovation, user experience and healthcare design

The Six Systems Thinking Steps to Solve Complex Problems

A quick overview of common problem solving techniques indicates that most of these methods focus on the problem rather than the whole eco-system where the problem exists. Along with the challenges of global economy , problems turn out to be more complicated and sometimes awakening problems. Climate change, traffic problems, and organizational problems that have developed through the years are all complex problems that we shouldn’t look at the same way as simple or linear problems. Part of the problem of thinking about a complex problem is the way we approach it, which may contribute to making the problem even more complex. As stated by Albert Einstein, “The problems cannot be solved using the same level of thinking that created them.” Systems thinking tends to focus on the broader ecosystem rather than the problem itself.

Systems thinking was developed by Jay Forrester and members of the Society for Organizational Learning at MIT. The idea is described in his book, The Fifth Discipline , as follows: “Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns of change rather than static ‘snapshots.’” A common example of the systems thinking method is the life around us where multiple systems interact with each other and are affected by each other. This wide perspective of systems thinking promotes it to solve complex problems that are dependent on external factors. Below are some of the stations that system thinking may contribute to solve.

  • Complex problems that involve different factors, which require understanding the big picture in order to be efficiently solved
  • Situations that are affecting, are being affected by, or affect the surrounding systems
  • Problems that have turned more complicated by previous attempts to solve them

Concepts of Systems Thinking

In order to understand systems thinking, a number of concepts should be highlighted in order to define the relation between the problem and the other elements in the system and how to observe this relation in order to reach an effective solution. These principles include the following.

  • All systems are composed of interconnected parts, and changing one part affects the entire system, including other parts.
  • The structure of a system determines its behavior, which means that the system depends on the connection between parts rather that the part themselves.
  • System behavior is an emergent phenomenon. System behavior is hard to predict due its continuously changing, non-linear relations and its time delay. It can’t be predicted by simply inspecting its elements or structure.
  • Feedback loops control a system’s major dynamic behavior. The feedback loop is a number of connections causing an output from one part to eventually influence input to that same part. The number of feedback loops are larger than the system parts, which contributes to increasing system complicity.
  • Complex social systems exhibit counterintuitive behavior. Solving complex problems can’t be achieved through everyday problem solving methods. They can be solved only through analytical methods and tools. Solving complex problems can be achieved through systems thinking, a process that fits the problem, and system dynamics , which is an approach to model systems by emphasizing their feedback loops.

Systems Thinking in Six Steps

In their paper Six Steps to Thinking Systemically , Michael Goodman and Richard Karash introduced six steps to apply systems thinking principles while solving complex problems. These steps were part of their case study to Bijou Bottling company’s problem of getting their orders shipped on time.

Set 1: Tell the Story

The first step in solving the problem is to understand it, and this can be achieved through looking deeply at the whole system rather than individual parts. This step requires meeting with the stakeholders to share their vision about the situation. One of the common tools to build this understanding is to utilize Concept Maps, which are graphical tools used to represent the organization or a structure of knowledge. Concept Maps visually present the system’s elements, concept links, proposition statements, cross-links, and examples.

concept maps

Step 2: Draw Behavior Over Time (BOT) Graphs

When thinking about a problem, we are influenced with the current situation that is reflected in our analysis, yet the problem follows a time dimension, which means that it should be tracked through the time. The Behavior Over Time graph draws a curve that presents a specific behavior (Y) through the time (X). This graph helps us to understanding whether or not the current solution is effective.

behavior over time

Step 3: Create a Focusing Statement

At this point, there should be a clear vision about the problem solving process, which is defined in the from of a statement that indicates the team’s target and why the problem occurs.

Step 4: Identify the Structure

After having clear vision about the problem through the proposed statement, the system structure should be described, including the behavior patterns. Building these patterns helps in understanding more about the problem, and it can be formed as a system archetype.

Step 5: Going Deeper into the Issues

After defining the problem and the system structure, this step tends to understand the underlying problems through clarifying four items: the purpose of the system (what we want), the mental models, the large system, and personal role in the situation.

Set 6: Plan an Intervention

The previously collected information is used to start the intervention phase, where modifications to the current problem relate parts to connections. This intervention attempts to reach the desirable behavior.

concept maps

Practice Example of Systems Thinking

One of the direct examples of adopting the systems thinking method was presented by Daniel Aronson highlighting insects who caused damage crops. Traditional thinking to solve crop damage is to apply more pesticides to reduce the number of insects and subsequently reduce the crop damage. However, this solution solves the problem for a short term. In the long run, the problem isn’t truly solved, as the original insect eating the crops are controlling the population of another species of insect in the environment either by preying on it or competing with it. Subsequently, the crop damage increases again due to the increasing numbers of other insect species.

systems thinking

Observing the ecosystem that includes both the insects and the crops, systems thinking suggests exploring a solution that ensures reducing the crop damage in the long run without affecting the environmental balance, such as deploying the Integrated Pest Management that has proven success based on MIT and the National Academy of Science. This solution tends to control the number of an insect species by introducing its predators in the area.

Unlike everyday problems, complex problems can’t be solved using traditional problem solving methods due to the nature of the problems and their complexity. One of the theories that attempts to understand complex problems is systems thinking, which is defined by a number of characters. Six steps are to be used to explore and solve complex problems under the umbrella of systems thinking, which help us to observe and think in a whole eco-system rather than individual parts. Systems thinking can be deployed in multiple domains to solve organization problem, or global problems such as energy, pollution, and poverty.

Dr Rafiq Elmansy

I'm an academic, author and design thinker, currently teaching design at the University of Leeds with a research focus on design thinking, design for health, interaction design and design for behaviour change. I developed and taught design programmes at Wrexham Glyndwr University, Northumbria University and The American University in Cairo. Additionally, I'm a published book author and founder of Designorate.com. I am a fellow for the Higher Education Academy (HEA), the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), and an Adobe Education Leader. I write Adobe certification exams with Pearson Certiport. My design experience involves 20 years working with clients such as the UN, World Bank, Adobe, and Schneider. I worked with the Adobe team in developing many Adobe applications for more than 12 years.

systems thinking approach to problem solving

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3 thoughts on “ The Six Systems Thinking Steps to Solve Complex Problems ”

systems thinking approach to problem solving

“Systems thinking was developed by Jay Forrester and members of the Society for Organizational Learning at MIT. The idea is described in his book, The Fifth Discipline, as follows:” Peter Senge is the author of The Fifth Discipline

systems thinking approach to problem solving

Thank you so much Misi for the helpful information.

systems thinking approach to problem solving

Thank you for the valuable information. I believe that systems thinking can be applied to every aspect of our lives. When you teach yourself to spot patterns, cycles, and loops instead of individuals elements. You see behind the scenes. Understand what actually needs addressing to move forward and make progress faster with less damage.

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Systems Thinking and How It Can Help Build a Sustainable World: A Beginning Conversation

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systems thinking approach to problem solving

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This article was originally published in the July 2018 Edition of The Solutions Journal

“For some, the development of systems thinking is crucial for the survival of humanity.” – John Sterman

“The light begins to twinkle from the rocks:   The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, ’Tis not too late to seek a newer world.”   – Alfred Lord Tennyson, Ulysses 

Humanity stands at a precipice. Overpopulation, resource scarcities, degraded ecosystem functioning from pollution and biodiversity loss, and anthropogenic climate change are damaging the life-supporting capacity of the planet. Diminishing returns on fossil fuel energy investments, combined with their dwindling availability and environmental harm, threaten industrial civilization. Many people recognize the need to transition to sustainable, resilient ways of living, but the prospect of such a transition is daunting, not only from a logistical perspective, but also because it requires new ways of thinking about and addressing complex problems. Widespread adoption of systems thinking represents one of society’s best bets for making real progress towards this daunting transition, but few actually understand what it is. This article is intended to introduce systems thinking into our common lexicon – to explain what it is at a basic level, how it can be used, and why it may very well be the key to humanity’s survival over the long run.

Let’s start at the very beginning. What is a system? 

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A system is a set of things interacting in a way that produces something greater than the sum of its parts. Systems can range in complexity. Compare, for instance, a car, which is relatively easy to understand and even diagnose when something goes wrong, to a tropical rainforest, which contains so many living and nonliving components that we’re only just beginning to understand how they work. All systems have a function or purpose that is brought about by the very nature of how the system is built. The universe can be viewed as a massive set of systems interacting in infinitely complex ways, with any given system containing various subsystems while simultaneously acting as a subsystem of a larger system.

This vast and almost cosmic beauty is part of the appeal of thinking in terms of systems. Yet before going further, it’s important to understand three concepts for framing discussions about systems:

  • Systems aren’t objective things that exist “out there.” They are subjective ways of thinking that humans have come up with to make sense of the complexities of the world.
  • Since “systems” are human constructions and can be thought of in infinitely many complex ways, we have to be clear about how we’re framing any particular system of interest. For example, what are its boundaries? What perspective are we taking when talking about it? How do its parts interact? And so forth.
  • It helps when framing a system to know why we’re even talking about it in the first place! Sure, we can wax poetic about abstract notions of “systemsness,” but ultimately, thinking about things as systems is useful because it helps us to understand the world and solve problems. When analyzing or discussing systems, try to ground them in the practical context of real-world  problems or phenomena, or the conversation will likely go nowhere fast.

Here are some examples of a system:

  • A human body is a set of DNA, cells, tissues, and organs that interrelate in complex ways to form a unique organism with higher intelligence and consciousness – a “greater whole” that simply cannot be explained by studying cells and neurons themselves.
  • A forest is a collection of plants, animals, soil, water, and countless other tiny creatures and materials interacting in vast food webs and biological processes that give rise to a unique landscape dominated by trees. (Another set of plants, animals, soil, and water interacting in different food webs and with different biological processes produces something entirely different – say a grassland or a desert.)
  • An economy is the set of rules, behaviors, and institutions that govern how people within a society exchange goods and services. Like the landscapes in the example above, all economies have the same general parts – people, goods, services, rules, and laws – but the unique ways in which they interact determine the unique form each one takes.

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We tend to think of structures or phenomena as systems when we know there are things interacting in complex (often elusive) ways that generate a result we want to understand better – and likely change or improve.

What, then, is systems thinking?

Systems thinking is concerned with expanding our awareness to see the relationships between parts and wholes rather than looking at just discrete, isolated parts. Holism, which is synonymous with systems thinking, derives its name from the Greek word holon , which refers to a universe made up of integrated wholes that cannot be understood by their parts alone. At its core, systems thinking means:

  • Looking at the big picture
  • Taking a wider perspective
  • Considering multiple perspectives
  • Peeling back the layers of the onion
  • Examining how things relate
  • Looking for root causes and improvements
  • Challenging and changing our paradigms

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Systems thinking is not new. Humans have been recognizing and contemplating the interaction between parts and wholes since the dawn of civilization. Vedic philosophy in ancient India is the oldest known example – almost 10,000 years ago – of humans thinking holistically. Indeed, holism is at the center of most Eastern cultural and spiritual traditions. In Western culture, the Pythagoreans of ancient Greece developed a school of thought based on cosmic wholes and harmony through numbers. It was around this time that the word “holon” originated. Indigenous peoples around the world are known for their ability to view people as part of a greater complex web of life that they respect and harmonize with. Some Amazonian tribes interact with and ingest plants in their environments that break down barriers in the mind, allowing for transcendent awareness and understanding. Yogic meditation can have a similar effect. Systems thinking is just a new name for a natural, innate way of relating to the world around us. Reductionism (looking at just the parts), dualism (viewing things as separate), and myopia (taking a narrow view) have increasingly supplanted this ancient way of relating, particularly in the last few hundred years of the industrial revolution. Systems thinking – the term given to the modern rebirth of holistic thinking in academic and professional fields – compels us to listen to our instincts, break down barriers, see the bigger picture, explore possibilities, and relearn much of what we’ve already known.

It’s worth emphasizing that it is these habits of the mind, not the terms we use to describe them, that are most important. We use the terms “systems thinking” or “holistic thinking” here because they’re common in our current lexicon, but remember that the Hindu realizing transcendent Oneness with the universe, the scientist using a formal systems thinking methodology to do research, and the American store clerk who understands that we no longer live in a democracy are all “thinking in systems,” whether they know it by that name or not.

Here are a few examples of shifting from reductionist, dualist, or myopic thinking to systems thinking:

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  • Reductionist/dualist/myopic thinking . Humans are separate from nature and need to control it to make our lives better and realize the greatest possible material progress.
  •  Systems thinking . Humans evolved from nature and are inextricably linked to it. Nothing exists independent of the natural world. We depend upon it for our survival, even if the things it provides us – food, water, and natural resources for all the products we use – are coming from places we can’t readily see. If we use up and damage too much of nature, we’ll ruin the very habitat we and other creatures depend upon for survival.
  • Reductionist/dualist/myopic thinking . In order to reduce terrorism, we need to wage more war against the terrorists.
  • Systems thinking . Waging unprovoked war is what largely leads to terrorism in the first place. To stop terrorism, we need to stop the very actions that are causing it, not intensify those actions.
  • Reductionist/dualist/myopic thinking. People who are poor or struggling to get by just aren’t working hard enough.
  •  Systems thinking. Poverty and hardship are the inescapable result of our societal system. Modern industrial capitalism inherently creates “haves” and “have nots.” The unluckiest – those born into the wrong family or who are victims of the worst circumstances – suffer more than everyone else.

Systems thinking and power structures – there’s a reason most of us have never heard of it

Most people have never heard of systems thinking. Chances are the concept is relatively new to you if you’re reading this now. If so, or if you’re just naturally curious, you might ask, “Why should I think in systems and how is systems thinking more helpful than reductionist, dualist, or myopic thinking?” Hopefully the section above – and your own instincts – sufficiently answer this. Why would one choose to take a narrow, incomplete view of the world, seeing everything and everyone as separate, when we can take a wider perspective that recognizes the simple fact that things are interconnected in many different ways, leading to consequences because of those connections, not in spite of them?

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Rather than asking why one should think in systems, perhaps the more piercing question is: why has holistic thinking been stamped out of us again and again over time, most vigorously so during the modern industrial age? The simple answer is that power and control are not compatible with a well-educated citizenry that sees the big picture. Modern industrial civilization is built upon the mechanization and commodification of society and nature, with those at the top benefiting from the enormous outputs generated by the “cogs in the wheel” toiling at the bottom. If we become aware of this vast, complex machine and start to understand how it works, we might want to break or change it! We might want to create a different system in which all parts of society and nature can flourish, not just those in power. Such is the struggle of humankind (at least within the last 10,000 or so years of civilization) and hence the struggle between power structures and holistic education. It’s no coincidence that our modern educational system is oriented around rote memorization of endless facts that most people find useless in their lives. If we learned what is really useful – how parts and wholes interact, tapping into the full capabilities of our minds – power structures would face a serious threat.

How to cultivate the habit of systems thinking

There’s no silver bullet to thinking in systems – no five simple steps, no condensed guidebook. But you don’t have to be an academic with a fancy degree. Systems thinking is a furnishing of the mind, a way of viewing the world that one simply develops more and more over time, like any other practice. Here are some basic habits to consider cultivating – whether you’re new to systems thinking or it’s been your modus operandi :

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  • Be a critical thinker. Don’t just readily accept what anyone or any ideology says. Think for yourself. Consider the motivations behind what anyone says or claims and demand cogent reasoning and empirical or experiential evidence.
  • Be a badger. Badgers are known for their expert digging skills. Start unearthing things. Ask questions; be curious. Pull back the layers and continually dig deeper and wider.
  • See the connections. In the process of digging you’ll start to see all the complex ways in which things in our lives are intertwined. Pull on one string and find it’s connected to another – which is connected to yet another, and so on. Nothing exists in isolation. The parts dwell in the wholes and the wholes dwell in the parts. As the ancient Hindu text The Upanishads famously states, “Tat tvam asi” – “thou art that.”
  • Expand the time horizons of your thinking. The extent to which we think way back in time and way forward in time has a tremendous impact on how barriers are broken down – or erected – in our thinking and thus how we see the ways in which parts and wholes interact. Like the digging badger in a cosmic time machine, try going back before modern industrial times… then to the beginnings of the agricultural revolution 10,000 years ago… then to ancient hunters and gatherers… then to the first appearance of life on earth… then before there was an Earth… and likewise forward to your children’s time, and their children’s time… then 500 years and thousands and millions of years into the future, even when the Earth will eventually collide into the sun and the universe will expand to the point of heat death.
  • Expand the spatial horizons or your thinking. We can think about things on a very small spatial scale or a very large spatial scale, or anything in between – from atoms, to cells, to organisms, communities, ecosystems, the planet, the solar system, the galaxy, the universe, and even other universes.
  • Consider multiple perspectives. What is meant by “perspective” in systems thinking is not an opinion or position, but another way of framing a system, usually its boundaries and dynamics. For example, take someone who is fishing on a river. We can examine this scene from a number of perspectives. We can take an energetic/economic perspective, looking at the gas and money spent to drive to and from the river and how that measures against the return of energy gained through sustenance from any fish caught. We can look at the angler through a recreational/spiritual perspective, considering the joy, expansiveness, and oneness with nature one feels when being on a river trying to outsmart a fish, just like our ancient ancestors did millennia ago when trying to survive in the wild. We can look at the angler from the perspective of fish management by examining the role recreational fishing plays in managing a fish population. We can take a long-term evolutionary perspective and see that the knowledge, skills, and spiritual connections of  fishing are valuable – if not vital – to maintain and pass on to future generations. Surely ten other people could come up with ten other perspectives. Considering different perspectives is important because it generally expands our awareness and affects how we frame problems and intervene in systems.

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How can systems thinking help to build a sustainable world?

Systems thinking is the ideal problem-solving framework for sustainability. The two go hand-in-hand. A sustainable community is one whose actions don’t diminish the social opportunities and ecosystem health for future generations while being resilient against social and ecological shocks or changes. This requires looking far into the future, thinking beyond ourselves about the greater collective (born and unborn, human and non-human), and looking deeper below the surface to understand how things really work. Systems thinking is precisely poised to help do just this.

Here are some starting places, corresponding to the habits outlined above, for how systems thinking can help move us towards sustainability.

Be a critical thinker

  • Think beyond what is espoused in the mainstream, whether it be a major political party, the conventional wisdom of a social group, or the media. That which becomes mainstream has a decent chance of being influenced (with or without good intentions) by the likes of power, group think, and myopic feel-good-ism.
  • Even if something isn’t mainstream, consider its motivations and whether it’s backed by cogent reasoning, empirical evidence, and/or evidence from your own experiences and observations. Look at original sources. Come to your own conclusions.
  • Most things in this world aren’t all good or all bad. Develop nuanced conceptions of people and ideas, realizing that both can be complex and multi-faceted.

Be a badger

  • Be curious about the world and understand how it really works. How do politics really work? Do we really live in a democracy? Where does all our “stuff” come from and where does our trash go? Are solar panels really “clean”? Is being vegan really the answer? Why are two billion people hungry every day? Why can’t I get a job despite my academic credentials and experience? Why has the US been at war for 15 years? Why are so many people miserable? Why were nearly all the global freedom leaders of the 20 th century assassinated and movements for freedom and justice squelched? Is the world I see around me the only reality that’s possible?

Expand the time horizons of your thinking

  • Look backwards to the deep history of humans, from ancient hunters and gatherers to stationary agrarians forming civilized societies. Doing so puts our current trajectory and way of life into perspective, highlighting: 1) that we are living through an extraordinarily short-lived Carbon Pulse marked by a way of life that is vastly different from what the vast majority of humans have ever experienced – or ever will experience, 2) potentialities for our future after the Carbon Pulse, and 3) a connection to our ancestors and the collective consciousness we carry from them.
  • Look forward to the future. If we want to understand how we can live equitably in healthy habitats in perpetuity, we must adopt a long-term outlook and think about the future consequences of our actions for humans – born and unborn – and non-humans alike. Think decades, a century, and several millennia out. Can our current trajectory and actions persist for that long? What legacy – that is, mix of opportunities and constraints – are we leaving for our posterity, other creatures, and the planet? Is the popular rhetoric about a sustainable future realistic?

Expand the spatial horizons or your thinking

  • An unfortunate advent of the Industrial Revolution is the widespread adoption of individual-oriented thinking rather than collective-oriented thinking. Our ability to shape a sustainable future is entirely dependent upon our ability to extend our sphere of concern beyond ourselves to our fellow brothers, sisters, creatures, and Mother Earth.
  • Think about the biophysical consequences of our individual and collective actions spread across the world, starting near you geographically and extending to far off places. What are the impacts of my actions – of our collective actions – on other people’s health and other ecosystems?

See the connections

Being a critically thinking badger with expanded spatial and temporal horizons will invariably reveal some key underlying connections – connections that represent the very heart of what we must address to move towards a sustainable world. Here are some:

  • A struggle between common people and those in power; between justice and corruption; between ignorance and truth seeking; between the forces of dark and light. We need to push past our fears to stoke the latent yet ever-present fire that burns in so many of us to fight against power and corruption for a better world we know in our hearts is possible.
  • Inputs and outputs. Nothing comes from nothing; there is no “away” to throw to. We must reconnect with these consummate ecological principles and open our eyes to see that which is not readily in front of us. Every physical product in modern industrial civilization requires, on the front end, energy and natural resources, and produces, on the back end, waste and pollution. We need to understand these dynamics and how they’ll have to be changed in a biophysically constrained world in order to maintain human and ecosystem health in perpetuity.
  • It takes energy to make energy. This can be succinctly described by the difference between energy and what is called exergy. Energy is, for example, the solar radiation that reaches the earth’s surface. But humans can’t directly use solar radiation – it has to be transformed into a useable form of energy that can do work for us, which is exergy. This transformation process itself requires energy. As we transition from the Carbon Pulse into a non-fossil fueled energy regime, it is of critical importance to understand how much net energy will be available, and in what forms – something sorely missing in most conversations about renewable energy.
  • It takes raw materials to make energy. The energy-to-exergy transformation process requires not only energy, but raw materials. In addition to assessing future net energy availability, we also have to analyze the metals, water, and other (often toxic) man-made substances that currently go into making renewable energy technologies and everything else in our lives, considering whether their supply can be sustained in perpetuity and what the impacts of their extraction and use will be.
  • Sustained life depends upon sustained healthy habitats. It’s easy to forget, living in our predominantly urban and suburban environments, that our lives depend inextricably upon the health and vitality of natural habitats. Even for those who appreciate this simple fact, having been disconnected from living directly off the land for several generations makes the practical, full implications of what this means challenging to grasp. Transitioning to a sustainable world will take more than focusing on energy and trying to preserve our current quality of life. It will require looking at the ecological implications of everything we do (from our population levels to manufacturing processes to the impacts of hydroelectric dams) and determining whether we find those impacts on the health of our habitats acceptable over the long-run. This process of evaluation is necessarily both objective (e.g. ecological integrity assessments) and subjective (e.g. value laden decisions by society about the conditions we chose to live in and how much “space” we chose to give to other creatures and the planet).
  • Politics matters. Journalist Jon Schwarz recently said, “Twenty years ago, U.S. elites had so successfully depoliticized America that simply caring about politics was like having a super-weird  hobby. It wasn’t even like being a Civil War re-enactor; it was like being a War of 1812 re-enactor. The social opprobrium meant that many of the people in grassroots politics were troubled kooks… If you can, make politics one of the centers of your life. Politics is absolutely a matter of life and death. Treat it like it is.” Let us not forget the definition of politics – the complex relations between people living in society. Getting these relations “right” – modifying existing laws, constitutions, and even forms of government, however minor or radical – is precisely what will shape the structural landscape that will either promote or hinder transitioning to a sustainable world. So is having the courage to talk about topics that matter – topics that all too often are placed under the “political” taboo simply because they make us uncomfortable or invoke ethics.

Consider multiple perspectives

  • There are many forms a sustainable world cannot take, but there are also many forms a sustainable world can take. A sustainable future will not be one size fits all. Consider, for example, that with a given amount of net energy and remaining natural resources, we could (hypothetically) cram nine billion on the planet in perpetuity, with little breathing room, or we could have two billion people living with more abundance. Also consider that one community may choose to live a subsistence lifestyle while another may choose to enjoy more luxuries.
  • Consider that the state of consciousness we know in the modern industrial world is not the only state of consciousness possible, nor necessarily the most helpful or desirable. As Timothy Leary famously said, “Turn on, tune in, and drop out….’Turn on’ [means] go within to activate your neural and genetic equipment. Become sensitive to the many and various levels of consciousness and the specific triggers that engage them…‘Tune in’ [means] to interact harmoniously with the world around you – externalize, materialize, express your new internal perspectives. ‘Drop out’ [suggests] an active, selective, graceful process of detachment from involuntary or unconscious commitments – a self-reliance, discovery of one’s singularity, a commitment to mobility, choice, and change.”  New scientific research coming out of the Imperial College of London’s Psychedelic Research Group suggests that mind manifesting psychedelics that have been used around the world for thousands of years may be an important key to bringing about systemic societal change through their ability to enhance cognitive connections and our sense of oneness with the world around us. Learn how to manifest the full holistic potential of your mind, whether through teacher plants, yoga, communing with nature, or other healthy forms of activation and development that resonate with you.
  • Challenge and evolve your paradigms. Use the knowledge you gain from growing a systems perspective to continually develop your paradigms about this world and the future, remaining flexible and nimble in your thinking, open to new information and considerations, always grounded in physical limits and ecological realities. Then use your particular talents and passions to help build a better future – because it can be better, but only if we act deliberately and quickly.

History has a knack for repeating itself. Waves of revolt, suppression, and enlightenment weave in and out of the fabric of the human experience, fading out in one generation to be replaced by something new, only to reappear in a new form decades or even millennia later. Such is the case with systems thinking. This age-old way of holistically viewing and relating to the world around us has taken new root in Western academic and professional fields under a new moniker. By understanding systems thinking and exploring its history and contemporary developments, we will find ourselves able to think more creatively (but with a solid grounding in physical realities) and be better prepared to tackle today’s environmental and social crises.

Megan is a systems thinker committed to steering humanity away from its failing trajectory.  She has an MS in Systems Science/Environmental Management and a dual engineering and international studies BS.  Her works spans the fields of sustainability, environmental action education, and government contracting.  She’s most concerned with the unprecedented transition civilization faces as the Fossil Fuel Age draws to a close and is working to spearhead a radical community-level action plan informed by holistic biophysical analysis. Megan lives near Corvallis, Oregon.

The  MAHB Blog  is a venture of the Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere. Questions should be directed to   [email protected]

How The Iceberg Model of Systems Thinking Can Help You Solve Problems?

Ivaylo Durmonski

  • Self-improvement

How should we solve a problem? Generally, what we commonly do, is to react based on what’s visible. For example, if we eat too much food, and we do not exercise, we will gain weight. The solution to this problem, looking solely at what happened, is eating less and exercising more. But that’s a wrong approach. In the world of systems thinking, we’ll ask this: “Why am I overeating and not exercising? What’s the real reason?” Figuring out what actually created the problem in the first place, and acting based on this realization, is what makes the iceberg model of systems thinking so damn efficient.

There are many more ways to solve a problem, of course. But what makes the iceberg model so graceful is the relentless desire to understand what’s behind the curtain. What’s the real reason something happened. And what you can do about it to make a change.

If you’re new to this concept – systems thinking that is – let’s get you up to speed.

There are systems everywhere. And everything is connected. Not just our phones in the monstrously big network we call the Internet. But our actions. Nature. Our relationships with other people, and a lot, lot more.

A simple action that we consider insignificant can cause huge complications along the way. Or, as is often cited, “a butterfly flapping its wings can cause hurricanes.” 1

The point of this metaphor is to portray how something small can cause a huge change.

And this is generally true for evertyhing and everyone. Something you do can cause good, or bad things, in other areas of your life simply because of the way things are connected.

That’s the essence of systems thinking. Everything is linked in one giant system. For instance, if you don’t treat your children well, they will grow up careless of others and afraid of exploring different ideas and concepts, but they’ll have a little idea of why that is. Eventually, they might even transfer the initial “education” received by you to their own successors.

Or, to give you another example, if you’re unable to figure out what are the weak spots in your organization, you’ll continue to invest in the wrong products which will lead to weak outcomes and financial losses.

By understanding and applying the concept I’m about to present, you’ll stop treating individual events. Stop looking solely at the cause. Instead, you’ll start to dig deeper. Ask questions that will help you unravel the relationships between elements, how they work (or don’t work) together, spot patterns, and finally figure out the root cause of the problems you’re facing.

What Is The Iceberg Model of Systems Thinking?

The iceberg model of systems thinking is a way of understanding the origin of a problem. Not simply reacting base on an event, on what’s visible, but going beneath what’s apparent and unraveling the motivations that caused the problem to exist in the first place. By applying a four-step model, you reach the core issue and find a better fix.

The iceberg is the perfect metaphor for the problems we’re experiencing daily because what’s visible, is often deceiving. You see a pile of ice floating above the water and, you’d think, “That’s not too big, we can simply go past it.” But as we all know, thanks to movies like Titanic, the ice beneath the water will tear your ship which will lead to a dramatic chase around the deck, boats, violinists playing music around screaming people, diamonds, and eventually the most infamous ship disaster in history, but let’s not digress.

When you think about it, you can understand why icebergs are “bigger” beneath the water. Most of the mass of an iceberg lies below the surface of the water because the conditions inside the water prevent the ice from melting. While at the top, since the atmosphere is warmer, the ice melts. Therefore, more ice beneath and less at the top. 2

Similarly, this is what happens in real life.

Since we want to present our best selves in front of the public, we’ll hide certain things from our friends and family members. We’ll say that we ate too much because the meal was delicious. Inside, though, we might feel depressed and discouraged and binge-eat because this makes us feel safe.

Or in other words, the “environment” beneath our personality, when not properly understood, is setting the conditions for disastrous events.

How Does The Iceberg Model Help System Thinking?

The core concept of systems thinking is to help you see under the hood of structures, groups, organizations, your own behvior, etc. From there, spot what are the real incentives of the governing body.

In simple terms, the iceberg model provides an easy-to-follow framework that helps you find the motivations. What actually caused the behavior to appear? What chain of thoughts led to a problem?

Once these questions are answered, you’re not reacting to the symptoms. You focus on curing the main problem.

Based on this framework, you are able to identify core problems because you patiently deconstruct behaviors until you reached the main cause of havoc.

And finally, the most important part, you will learn how to stop “fires” in the future well before they occur because you’ve figured out what caused them initially. In short, it’s a proactive approach to problem-solving .

Thankfully, you don’t need to understand a whole lot about systems thinking to get this concept and apply it to your life. The shared illustrations and steps below will help you become a master problem identifier and start to see the complete picture, not simply part of an idea or problem.

What Are The Four Levels Of The Iceberg Model?

The four levels of the iceberg model are the following: event, pattern, structure, and mental models.

Each step digs a bit deeper and helps you shift your perspective, so you can find the systems, the worldviews, that lead to the event in the first place.

Let’s see them one by one:

the four levels of the iceberg model

1. The Event Level

If we again use the example from above, the event is a person overeating.

This is what’s visible. What actually happened. And in most situations, the only thing visible if we don’t do the hard work of understanding what caused a particular problem.

2. The Pattern Level

When we look closely, we can see repetitions. Overeating is not a single event, we can see how this happens continuously. Or in other words, this is a trend.

3. The Structure Level

We go a step further down the iceberg and we start to ask questions like: “What is causing the pattern to exist?”

Usually, this is not a straight answer. There are different things causing the behavior.

  • Physical : Easy access to bad food. For example, your refrigerator is full of sweets. Or, there aren’t health stores around your neighborhood.
  • Environment : Here we can have different things: Stressful work; Your home is not prepared for exercises; Your closest friends and family members love to have a rich dinner.
  • Rituals : Our deeply integrated habits . For instance, every time you’re bored, you eat. Or, you tend to cook (or buy) unhealthy food.

4. The Mental Model Level

Lastly, there are the mental models. 3 The beliefs, the principles, the personal values that motivate the behavior. This is the core reason something tends to happen.

Or in relation to the example we are discussing, a person is probably overeating because he lived in a stressful environment when he was young and now, every time there is a similarly stressful situation, the person turns to food. In this case, food is considered a friend. An emotional partner that “understands” and calms.

Usually, these concepts are deeply integrated into our consciousness. So deep, that we don’t know that they exist. Unless we deliberately try to bring them to light, we’ll never overcome our reckless behavior.

One more important point here: Our beliefs are the systems that fuel our actions. The problem is that they are deeply merged into our personalities – who we believe we are. That’s why it’s so hard to make a lasting change – eradicate the bad behavior that leads to problems. We don’t only have to work on our habits , but we also need to work on our perceived identities. In simple language, to change our inner beliefs, which always leads to a personality change.

How Can We Use The Iceberg Model to Our Advantage?

OK, since we know what the iceberg model of systems thinking is. Quite naturally, we’ll ask ourselves this: “How can I use this method to approach a problem? And, most importantly, apply a permanent fix?”

Tackling the event level – level 1 – is not the optimal solution. We need to address our deeply embedded beliefs to create a lasting change. Or in other words, start to fix things from the bottom up.

The following framework will aid you:

How do you use the iceberg model to solve problems

Transform the Mental Models

The first step is to, as mentioned above, understand why we do what we do. If we are overeating, this might be a habit we picked when we were young. For example, we had a difficult childhood and unsupportive parents.

In the book The Body Keeps the Score , the author explains that if a person is not receiving the needed support from his parents, he’s likely to find comfort in things like alcohol, binge-eating, drugs.

Over time, you start to associate stressful events with something that happened to you in the past and you turn to your preferred poison – food in our example.

Transforming this chain of thought might be something like this: First, acknowledge that this is a stressful situation. Then, explain to yourself that it’s totally OK to feel this way but the way you feel now has nothing to do with what happened to you in the past. Third, do the mental work so you can remove the belief that stress should involve eating.

Designing a Better Structure

The things reinforcing a behavior that leads to a problematic future outcome are different. Thus, we need to address them accordingly.

Here are the main areas we need to consider:

  • Physical : Instead of filling the refrigerator with fast food, we can buy healthy snacks.
  • Environment : If the surrounding environment is unbearable – stressful work, a bad relationship – we need to talk with the person (boss, spouse) and find ways to correct things. If the latter is not possible, exiting the relationship is probably the best thing to do.
  • Rituals : Change the bad habits with good habits. If you eat every time you’re feeling bored, replace this with something else. 4

Anticipate Patterns

Once you know what might lead to a situation where there will be a problem, you can avoid doing this thing.

However, in the long term, it’s not a good idea to avoid your problems. It’s best to face them. This means that you need to be prepared.

If you know what type of situation triggers an emotional outburst in your spouse that leads to a fight that later leads to you eating. Then, it’s probably a good idea to sit and talk it out in a respectful and calm way.

React To Events

Once we know what type of events trigger an inner desire to do things that are not beneficial for us, we can better react to the actual event. The thing that is causing problems.

As explained above, instead of eating when we’re feeling a certain way, we can exercise or simply grab a notebook and write down our thoughts. The latter will give you more time to react. It will increase the gap between thought and action. Plainly, you invite reason – System 2 as explained by Daniel Kahneman – instead of reacting emotionally. Therefore, you will respond better to a problem.

Iceberg Model Systems Thinking Examples

Hopefully, you don’t have an eating disorder and the above example doesn’t directly apply to you. I’m positive that even if it does, the provided steps will give you ways to think more strategically and better handle upsetting events in your life.

Still, I wanted to add two extra examples that I believe a lot of people will find helpful:

The situation:

  • The Event : People are quitting their jobs.
  • The Pattern : These days a lot of people are quitting their jobs.

The solution:

  • Transform the mental models : Organizations can become more flexible and understand people’s real needs. Realize that the world is changing and that they must accept the change, not stay in the old ways of doing things.
  • Design a better structure : Focus on creating an environment where remote work, or at least the hybrid approach, is working and everyone feels equally rewarded. Review all processes and make them more flexible.
  • Patterns : Anticipate what might happen. Have conversations with your staff regularly. This will help you prevent people from burning out or feeling unmotivated .
  • Event : When someone wants to quit, you can have a conversation with him and understand his reasons. If his decision is final, you can at least make corrections to your system that will benefit the people who still work for you.
  • The Event : Feeling unmotivated.
  • The Patterns : Feeling unmotivated for the past couple of months because of the work you do. You’re a freelance writer working from home, creating articles for mediocre companies across the globe.
  • The Structure : Working alone from your home. No one to talk to. You’re regularly reading stories of successful writers who do meaningful work which makes you feel even more discouraged.
  • Mental Models : You’ve developed high-level writing skills but you want to use them for something bigger. Deep down, you want to create meaningful scripts that will be shared by others not because the advertising budget is high, but because what you’re creating is making people think deeply. Also, you think that you don’t have what it takes to be your own boss.
  • Transform mental models : Realizing that working for someone else while creating meaningful content is fully possible. The two can co-exist. Instead of feeling incapable of starting your own thing, recognize that you’re already running your own business. Freelancing is not something everyone can do. It requires strict discipline.
  • Design a better structure : Go out more. Work from co-working spaces. Join an online community of writers who support each other. Create time in your life where you can work on your own business – a writing studio.
  • Patterns : Figure out what type of work make you feel depressed and avoid such work. And, figure out what type of work brings you joy and focus more on this.
  • Event : Create a new daily system where you have the time to work on your own business while working for others too.

Why Is The Iceberg Model Important?

Lastly, I wanted to briefly explain why this thinking concept is so important.

If we operate based only on what we see in front of us – the event level – we are only in a position to react. We can skip a meal and think that we’re doing a change. Watch a motivational video to finish the boring project. But the underlying desire to eat or avoid doing your job will still be there, lurking. Patiently waiting for another moment to appear and cause distress.

You can imagine everything below the event as an independent system. The transformation lies in the thinking that created the structure, that drove the pattern, that caused the event.

how the iceberg model relates to systems thinking

Once you can see all of these as different systems, you will shift your perspective – do the work to remove the intervenor . Dig deeper to understand what’s really causing the problem. And all of this will help you become much better at solving problems.

Some Closing Thoughts

Before you go, think about this: “What problems that are troubling my mind are worth analyzing with the iceberg model?”

Don’t just skim the content without doing the work. Put the framework into practice. Even if you think you have the situation under control, the questions and the process of thinking about the different scenarios will make you more prepared for possible complications.

When we teach ourselves to look beyond what’s visible, we’ll learn to identify the root cause of the problems we face – the systems that drive the behavior. Therefore, become better problem solvers and even more importantly, create solutions based on our core desires or work towards adopting encouraging mental models. 5

“Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing ‘patterns of change’ rather than ‘static snapshots.” Peter Senge

Add to your mental toolset by reading the following:

  • How To Think Better (Evidence-Based Ways to Think Better)
  • How To Integrate The 16 Habits of Mind Into Your Daily Life
  • Thinking In 3D : A Better Way To Solve Complex Problems
  • Level Up With Self-Discipline Training

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  • This is most commonly used to explain the so-called butterfly effect . In short, a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.
  • Obviously, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but I believe you get my point.
  • You can learn here about the general use of mental models.
  • I know. That’s easier said than done. The amount of work that needs to be done will take you months, years in some cases. I’ve written plenty on the topic of self-discipline . Check it out.
  • The following articles helped me create this piece of information: Connecting Systems Thinking and Action by Ed Cunliff; Iceberg Model Untools by Adam Amran; A Systems Thinking Model: The Iceberg by Ecochallenge.

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Systems thinking vs design thinking, what’s the difference.

Definition of systems thinking versus design thinking. Systems thinking is holistic, analytical, abstract, conceptual, and relationship-oriented. Design thinking is deeply human, creative, tangible, experimental, and action-oriented.

JUMP TO SECTION

  • Introduction
  • What is Systems Thinking?
  • What is Design Thinking?
  • The Differences Between Systems Thinking vs. Design Thinking
  • Advantages and Drawbacks of Systems Thinking
  • Advantages and Drawbacks of Design Thinking
  • Human-Centered Systems Thinking: Integrating Systems Thinking and Design Thinking 
  • Frameworks, Tools, and Methodologies for Human-Centered Systems Thinking

1. Introduction

Systems thinking and design thinking are both approaches to problem solving and innovation. Systems thinking starts with understanding entire systems rather than individualized elements to spot opportunities for change, whereas design thinking is focused on understanding people’s real needs to create human-centered products, services, and processes. It’s important to learn the nuances of each when incorporating them into your practice.

2. What is Systems Thinking?

Systems, like healthcare and cities, are big, multifaceted, dynamic things built for a purpose. They span several services and products working together simultaneously. Some systems benefit society, but some can lead to harm too. Donella Meadows, author of Thinking in Systems , describes systems as made up of structures (institutions), relationships (stakeholders and power dynamics), and paradigms (culture and mindsets).

So what is systems thinking ? In his book The Fifth Discipline , Peter Senge gives a systems thinking definition as “A discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns of change rather than static ‘snapshots.’ And systems thinking is a sensibility—for the subtle interconnectedness that gives living systems their unique character."

Systems thinking has been around for a long time. If you search the history of the field, you will find your way to pioneering systems theorists like Jay W. Forrester, Russell Ackoff, Donella Meadows, Peter Senge, and more. They codified much of our modern thinking on systems theory, dynamics, and modeling. But were they the first systems thinkers? Certainly not. There are roots in Native American cultures and worldviews, early feminism, and many other examples.

The concept of wholeness is integral to a systems thinking approach. A system is more than the sum of its parts—it's defined by the interaction of its parts. To understand how a system works, you have to study not the individual elements but the linkages between them. When you start thinking in systems, you can then spot opportunities for change. By bringing more awareness to the process of designing systems, we can all be more intentional about creating equitable ones and dismantling harmful ones. 

“A system is more than the sum of its parts—it's defined by the interaction of its parts.”

3. What is Design Thinking?

Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation—anchored in understanding customer’s needs, prototyping, and generating creative ideas—to transform the way you develop products, services, processes, and organizations.

When using design thinking principles, you bring together what is desirable from a human point of view with what is technologically feasible and economically viable.

  • Desirability: What makes sense to people and for people?
  • Feasibility: What is technically possible within the foreseeable future?
  • Viability: What is likely to become part of a sustainable business model?

systems thinking approach to problem solving

We teach the phases of design thinking as linear steps, but in practice the process is not always linear. Some of these steps may happen several times, and you may even jump back and forth between them. The phases of the design thinking process include:

systems thinking approach to problem solving

Frame a Question —Identify a driving question that inspires others to search for creative solutions.

Gather Inspiration —Inspire new thinking by discovering what people really need.

Generate Ideas —Push past obvious solutions to get to breakthrough ideas.

Make Ideas Tangible —Build rough prototypes to learn how to make ideas better.

Test to Learn —Refine ideas by gathering feedback and experimenting forward.

Share the Story —Craft a human story to inspire others toward action.

If you want to learn more about using a design thinking approach, you can explore design thinking examples, case studies, and activities in our free Design Thinking Resources . 

4. The Differences Between Systems Thinking vs. Design Thinking

You might be wondering: when should I use design thinking and when should I use systems thinking? Each approach has its own distinct characteristics and benefits. Here is a comparison of systems thinking and design thinking:

systems thinking approach to problem solving

5. Advantages and Drawbacks of Systems Thinking

Systems thinking enables us to overcome stalled decision-making that often occurs when we’re overwhelmed by the scale of a problem and it’s hard to know where to get started. It helps us see the interconnectedness of things, spot patterns, and identify the right areas to focus our efforts. This approach is a good fit for challenges where there's a lot of stakeholders, competing incentives, or no obvious solution.

Other benefits of systems thinking include:

  •  Deepening understanding of a problem by getting different perspectives from people within the system.
  • Expanding the range of choices by framing the problem in new and different ways.
  • Making more informed choices by understanding how things are interrelated and how choices may impact other parts of the system.
  • Anticipating the impact of trade-offs to reduce the risk of unintended consequences.
  • Building buy-in and support for solutions by making sure everyone's viewpoint is included.

The goal of systems thinking is ultimately to come up with solutions that are more holistic and take into account the needs of all stakeholders while also understanding the dynamics of the system. A common drawback or limitation of systems thinking is getting stuck in the ideation and thinking phase without getting tangible. When practicing systems thinking without including the prototyping mindsets of design thinking, it can be more difficult to implement the solutions that you come up with. Additionally, when you use a solely systems thinking approach, you may overlook the individual human needs and behaviors that you uncover with design thinking.

6. Advantages and Drawbacks of Design Thinking

Design thinking is valuable because it puts people at the center of problem solving. It encourages us to ask questions and find out what our customers and clients need, rather than assuming we already know all the answers. Brainstorming ideas , prototyping, and iterating allow us to learn faster and improve products and services before they go out into the real world.

Over time, the methods and mindsets of design thinking lead to something even more important—creative confidence. The subtle techniques of design thinking unlock mindset shifts that lead people (many for the first time in their lives) to see themselves as creative. Creative confidence gives people the ability to fearlessly (or with less fear) tackle complex problems in the world.

Here are some additional benefits of design thinking, and how it can help your team or organization:

  • Understanding the unmet needs of the people you’re creating for.
  • Reducing the risk associated with launching new ideas, products, and services.
  • Generating solutions that are revolutionary, not just incremental.
  • Learning and iterating faster.
  • Collaborating better and tapping into the creative potential of individuals and teams. 

When it comes to drawbacks or limitations of design thinking, some teams may find it difficult to incorporate design thinking because it involves a lot of ambiguity. It’s not a linear path, and sometimes requires looping back to different parts of the process. Additionally, it takes time and practice to practice design thinking at a high level.

Some may also find it difficult to change social norms or behavior on their team. If an organization is used to doing things in a certain way, it might be resistant to a new, more creative way of working. It can be challenging when a team isn’t aligned on applying a design thinking mindset, since it’s such a collaborative approach.

7. Human-Centered Systems Thinking: Integrating Systems Thinking and Design Thinking

Human-centered systems thinking brings together the analytical, holistic tools of systems thinking with the creative human-centered process of design thinking. It’s a mindset and methodology for tackling complex systemic challenges in a human way: staying grounded in the needs of multiple stakeholders while also seeing larger dynamics at play so you can diagnose the real problem, design more effective solutions, and drive real behavior change and positive impact within systems.

Combining systems thinking and design thinking enables you to:

  • Zoom in and out, and toggle back and forth between a systems lens and a human lens.
  • Gain a deeper, more holistic and human understanding of the system and its stakeholders.
  • Develop empathy for both the people and the system itself.
  • Understand what drives human behavior and system behavior.
  • Redesign the system to produce better outcomes by designing and implementing interventions that drive positive change within the system.

Today, human-centered systems thinking is needed more than ever. We have a greater awareness of the interconnected nature of our world. The challenges we face—as individuals, teams, organizations, communities, and as a society—are myriad and multifaceted. Their scale and complexity can be overwhelming. Where do we begin? How do we start to make sense of things?

So many of our complex systems today are human systems like organizations, which are made up of relationships between people. A human-centered approach to systems thinking starts with people and diagnoses the underlying causes of problems before taking action to solve them, and stays grounded in the needs of many stakeholders while also seeing the larger dynamics at play. When you approach problem solving in this way—deeply human and holistic—you will get to solutions that are more effective, connected, integrated, and ethical.

8. Frameworks, Tools, and Methodologies for Human-Centered Systems Thinking

Human-centered systems thinking isn’t just a theoretical concept—there are practical frameworks and tools that you use to bring it to life. Here are a couple of our favorites:

The Iceberg Model

systems thinking approach to problem solving

In a complex system, solving problems requires considering the whole picture and surfacing the root of the problem. The iceberg model is a framework for uncovering the many layers of a system, including behaviors, structures, and mindsets. It helps you:

  • Look for patterns over time, starting with what you see
  • Uncover deeper structural influences
  • Surface underlying mindsets

The Systems Map

systems thinking approach to problem solving

A systems map is a tool commonly used by systems designers to lay out all the relationships and interactions between stakeholders in a given system, such as a local high school (shown in the image above). Mapping systems can help you spot opportunities for growth and change.

To create a systems map, follow these steps:

  • Write down every stakeholder in your system on a blank piece of paper. Push yourself to think past the obvious.
  • Draw arrows between the different parts of your system to identify how they’re connected.
  • Reflect on what specific areas you want to examine more closely. What questions come up for you? What gaps do you see?

If you want to dive deeper into systems thinking and learn more tools and frameworks, check out our 5-week online course Human-Centered Systems Thinking.

Expand your design thinking skills and confidence with our Foundations in Design Thinking certificate.

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A Systems Thinking Approach to Climate Action and Solutions

Giving compass' take:.

  • Here are five steps for systems thinking on climate action and building solutions in India that involve centering local knowledge.
  • What are the benefits of a systemic approach to address climate change?
  • Read about taking action on climate change for the long term. 

What is Giving Compass?

We connect donors to learning resources and ways to support community-led solutions. Learn more about us .

It’s clear that to tackle a problem that is as complex as climate change and has several developmental implications, everyone involved—governments, businesses, and civil society—should think about the bigger picture, connect the dots between different aspects, and adopt a systems thinking approach.

Here are some suggestions that offer a good starting point to transitioning from siloed approaches and adopting a more systemic approach to India’s climate thinking:

  • Incorporate local intuition and knowledge into systems tools  Researchers often employ certain frameworks and tools to incorporate a systems thinking lens in their practice. These include causal loop diagrams, feedback loops, systems mapping, systems dynamics modelling, and participatory group modelling. Introducing these tools to communities and grassroots nonprofits could be a crucial first step. These stakeholders often deal with whole systems all the time and their proximity to the ground enables them to have a deep understanding of the various interconnected parts.
  • Build an ecosystem that fosters collaboration Providing access to tools like systems mapping isn’t just about building awareness about systems thinking. We need to go one step further to formalise insights from communities and several different entities. To do this, continuous dialogue between all these diverse stakeholders is key.
  • Think beyond economic modelling A key tool used by governments and think tanks in addressing climate-related challenges is the use of emissions economy models. These models simulate economic systems, taking inputs such as GDP growth rates, technology costs, population, and urbanisation trends, to project outputs relating to emissions, energy mix and use, and incomes. The goal of such models is to help policymakers visualise potential future outcomes based on mixes of various policies and targets.
  • Expand what we consider as ‘outcomes’ The recommendations stemming from a systems thinking approach can be fairly wide-ranging. They may not be clear-cut tech solutions or structural, hard engineering ones. Instead, they could be different types of ‘softer’ developmental actions that involve reducing the underlying vulnerabilities, and the effects of which can only be seen over longer timeframes.

Read the full article about climate solutions by Shreya Adhikari at India Development Review. Read the full article

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COMMENTS

  1. What 'systems thinking' actually means

    Systems thinking unpacks the value chain within an organisation and externally. It complements design thinking: together they're a dynamic duo. For starters, this philosophy needs to enter our everyday thinking. Yes, it is crucial for innovation, but an easy first step is to use systems thinking casually throughout your life.

  2. Taking a systems thinking approach to problem solving

    A systems thinking approach to problem solving recognizes the problem as part of a wider system and addresses the whole system in any solution rather than just the problem area. A popular way of applying a systems thinking lens is to examine the issue from multiple perspectives, zooming out from single and visible elements to the bigger and ...

  3. Systems Thinking: Definition and Pro Tips to Apply It at Work

    You might solve a problem with a systems-thinking approach and schedule an all-hands meeting afterward. Use this time to explain how you solved the issue with your systems-thinking steps. People will understand how you came to your solution and feel encouraged to replicate the process. Assign a book or article that explains systems thinking

  4. Systems Thinking in the Workplace: A Complete Guide

    Systems thinking is a holistic approach to problem-solving. It's a way of looking at how systems work, what that system's perspective is, and how to better improve system behaviors. ... Once you've mapped out the systems to help solve your problem, you can do some systems modeling to help understand how they're connected. Which leads us ...

  5. Understanding Systems Thinking: A Path to Insightful Problem-Solving

    The Benefits of Systems Thinking. Systems thinking offers several compelling reasons to adopt its principles in problem-solving endeavours. By broadening our thinking and enabling us to articulate problems in novel ways, it expands the range of choices available for resolving complex issues. Furthermore, systems thinking emphasises the ...

  6. Assessing systems thinking: A tool to measure complex reasoning through

    These three dimensions—problem, perspective, and time—and their interactions provide a framework for understanding the elements of a systems thinking approach to problem-solving that is sensitive to the complex and ambiguous nature of wicked problems. Our framework positions systems thinking as a metacognitive strategy for flexibly and ...

  7. Systems Thinking: What, Why, When, Where, and How?

    Systems thinking expands the range of choices available for solving a problem by broadening our thinking and helping us articulate problems in new and different ways. At the same time, the principles of systems thinking make us aware that there are no perfect solutions; the choices we make will have an impact on other parts of the system.

  8. What is systems thinking?

    1. Interconnections: Projects and people are connected. A systems thinking approach identifies those connections. This shifts the problem from a linear solution to a circular solution. 2. Emergence: The opposite of working "in silos," emergence is where a larger idea or outcome is born from smaller parts.

  9. What is systems thinking?

    Systems thinking is an approach to problem solving which takes into account the overall system as well as its individual parts. According to Peter Senge, it's "a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns rather than static snapshots. It is a set of general principles spanning fields as diverse as ...

  10. Systems thinking

    Systems thinking is an approach to problem-solving that views problems as part of a wider dynamic system. It recognizes and prioritizes the understanding of linkages, relationships, interactions and interdependencies among the components of a system that give rise to the system's observed behaviour. Systems thinking is a philosophical frame ...

  11. Systems thinking: taking a systemic approach

    Systems thinking is a mental framework that helps us to become better problem solvers. Systems thinkers find ways to shift or recombine the parts in the system that offer an improved outcome. The Prevention Centre delivers internationally significant knowledge about the application of a systems-based approach to the prevention of chronic disease.

  12. Systems Thinking: How to Solve Problems So They Stay Solved

    Systems thinking is problem-solving approach that examines the relationships between functions in an organization. Systems thinking is powerful because it enables you to predict the consequences of a potential change. This problem-solving method can also help you eliminate silos, see different viewpoints, and remain focused on the big picture. ...

  13. Systems Thinking: A Deep Dive Into The Framework To Successfully Solve

    Systems thinking is an approach to problem-solving that emphasizes the importance of looking at problems holistically. It helps us understand the whole picture and not just the parts. ... Systems Thinking is an approach to problem-solving based on understanding systems instead of focusing only on individual elements. The idea behind this ...

  14. The Six Systems Thinking Steps to Solve Complex Problems

    A quick overview of common problem solving techniques indicates that most of these methods focus on the problem rather than the whole eco-system where the problem exists. Along with the challenges of global economy, problems turn out to be more complicated and sometimes awakening problems. Climate change, traffic problems, and organizational problems that have developed

  15. PDF Introduction to Systems Thinking Principles and Analytical Tools

    A systems approach is to . . . 1. Identify a system - After all, not all things are systems. Some systems are simple and predictable, while others are complex and dynamic. Most human social systems are the latter. 2. Explain the behavior or properties of the whole system - This focus on the whole is the process of synthesis.

  16. How to Use Systems Thinking to Solve Tough Problems and Get ...

    Systems thinking is an approach to problem solving that attempts to balance holistic and reductionist thinking. It helps you ask better questions, identify the relevant problem, collaborate across disciplines and departments, and find nontraditional solutions. Learn from a systems thinking user who shares her experience with using systems thinking to solve challenges in cities and government.

  17. Systems Thinking and How It Can Help Build a Sustainable World ...

    Systems thinking is the ideal problem-solving framework for sustainability. The two go hand-in-hand. A sustainable community is one whose actions don't diminish the social opportunities and ecosystem health for future generations while being resilient against social and ecological shocks or changes. This requires looking far into the future ...

  18. A Definition of Systems Thinking: A Systems Approach

    Systems thinking is, literally, a system of thinking about systems. As discussed later in this paper, this highlights the problems with the definitions available in the literature. These definitions tend to analyze systems thinking through a reductionist approach â€" generally considered a non-systems-thinking approach.

  19. Systems Thinking: A better way of problem-solving (7min read)

    But, once understood, the concept of 'systems thinking' can become an effective approach for problem solving and decision-making. "94% of problems in business are systems driven and only 6% are ...

  20. How The Iceberg Model of Systems Thinking Can Help You Solve Problems?

    In short, it's a proactive approach to problem-solving. Thankfully, you don't need to understand a whole lot about systems thinking to get this concept and apply it to your life. The shared illustrations and steps below will help you become a master problem identifier and start to see the complete picture, not simply part of an idea or problem.

  21. The Power of Systems Thinking: A Holistic Approach to Problem Solving

    Systems Thinking offers a powerful approach to problem-solving and decision-making in our complex, interconnected world. By understanding the relationships and interactions within a system, we can ...

  22. Systems Thinking vs Design Thinking, What's the Difference?

    1. Introduction. Systems thinking and design thinking are both approaches to problem solving and innovation. Systems thinking starts with understanding entire systems rather than individualized elements to spot opportunities for change, whereas design thinking is focused on understanding people's real needs to create human-centered products ...

  23. Embracing Systems Thinking: A Holistic Approach to Problem Solving

    Introduction. Systems thinking is an approach to understanding, analyzing, and solving complex problems by examining the relationships, interactions, and dynamics between components within a ...

  24. A Systems Thinking Approach to Climate Action and Solutions

    Here are some suggestions that offer a good starting point to transitioning from siloed approaches and adopting a more systemic approach to India's climate thinking: Incorporate local intuition and knowledge into systems tools Researchers often employ certain frameworks and tools to incorporate a systems thinking lens in their practice. These ...

  25. How to Solve Problems as a Systems Engineer When Strategic Thinking Fails

    The first step to solving any problem is to understand it. This means defining the problem statement, the scope, the goals, the constraints, and the stakeholders. You also need to gather relevant ...