System approach: Leading in a complex world of changes
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BUSINESS is becoming ever more complex at a greater speed, yet not many leaders feel that their organisations are adjusting or preparing fast enough to handle the next level of change and complexity.
There is no guarantee that what got us here today will get us there in the future, particularly with today’s hyper-connectivity revolution that dramatically shifts the way we live and operate a business.
Many business leaders today find themselves overwhelmed, as the familiar approaches that once worked have suddenly gone wrong and best practices are no longer effective in this ambiguous and uncertain world.
The question is: When change is the new normal, what can we do differently to keep up with constant change?
The concept of systemic practice has been introduced in academic studies for quite some time, with case studies of improving many complex situations in both government and the public sector.
However, only a handful of us in the business world are being introduced to and applying this concept to help address complex situations.
In fact, systemic practice is an approach to help us understand and find ways to address the complex issues where our expertise or existing knowledge can’t give us the solution.
Here, complex issues are defined as those whose prediction is difficult because of the large number of interacting variables and stakeholders.
So how does the systemic approach influence the change in how we manage business today?
First, as we are living in a world where no one has the definite answer for anything, systemic practices have the same underlying belief.
Only collective wisdom can provide an enriching picture and better |understanding of the situation by combining viewpoints of people seeing the same issues from different perspectives.
They can be implemented when we need to explore new business ideas, develop breakthrough business plans or create new products and service innovations.
When making effective decisions is also becoming a matter of life or death in this evolving business landscape, a systemic approach can provide a model of sense-making that helps organisations effectively deal with change.
Leading in this complex world requires leaders to play different roles and acquire different skills. That includes excelling at systemic approaches.
To do so, they need to have an open mindset along with the ability to listen to, engage and appreciate the differences that allow us to see the bigger picture while noticing the connectivity of things as well as the influences from the external environment.
In practice, a new organisational culture is compulsory to promote diversity and build the capability of continuous listening and seeking to understand the issues and situations from diverse viewpoints.
When the world keeps shifting at a faster pace, systemic practice and systemic thinking capability will be an inevitable requirement for any leader wanting to stay relevant or even ahead of the game.
Nipatra Tangpojthavepol is a senior consultant at APM Group, a Thai organisation- and people-development |consultancy. She can be contacted |at [email protected] or |www.facebook.com/apmgroupthai.
