Applying Systems Thinking Today

The concept of Systems Thinking was created over fifty years ago by Austrian Ludwig Von Bertalanffy.

Systems Thinking is an old/new orientation to life. 

It is “the natural way the world works” and thus, is a simple and holistic view of living systems.

It is a high level way of thinking that is based on the premise that if you change your thinking you will change your behavior and therefore, change your results.

Because the world is more complex, faster and with more "moving parts" than before, using Systems Thinking now is more important than ever. 

Systems Thinking is a simple and holistic view of how living systems work (individuals, teams and organizations).

A system is a set of parts that work together for the overall objective of the whole.

Systems Thinking is a way to see the entire entity and its fit with its environment first, and the parts of the entity as secondary. By using the Systems Thinking, it is possible to anticipate many unintended consequences.

The Strategic Thinking Approach allows you to be creative, to see both the big picture and the details (without getting stuck in the details) and also assess the potential impacts on other teams and projects.

I use Systems Thinking for strategic planning, business planning, preparing for new assignments or new team members, ensuring change is managed, improving communication, finding life balance and becoming a more effective leader.

Want to be a more strategic leader? Learn The Systems Thinking Approach.

Call me Valerie.MacLeod@HainesCentre.com