practicing with knowing for systems leadership
the practice of knowing, the nature of complex systems, the boundaries we draw, and the equanimity to stay present as the system shifts
we've completed a series of sessions to build our learning community, and then ground our knowledge with conceptual frameworks. we're now stepping into a new learning series that guides the remainder of our program. this series works more closely with the systems practice framework [link]. the framework names six areas of systems practice (knowing, being, doing, relating, thinking and perceiving) and the capabilities that practice asks of us. we explore the practice area through concepts and methods, as well as mindfulness meditation. we also run peer coaching clinics where participants bring and explore the leadership challenges they are working through.
we begin with knowing.
we draw on two streams of knowledge: First Nations ways of knowing and academic systems thinking. while other practice areas are further defined by capabilities, the practice of 'knowing' reads more as tenets. it is the practice of truly integrating our understanding of the nature of systems and complexity, the frame of reference we return to for what a system is and how it behaves (the full set is in the image below). we practiced with 'knowing' through three activities.
first, we took complexity out of the abstract and into a living system. In the story of the wolves returning to Yellowstone park we watched as the ecosystem responded, rippling all the way down to the behaviour of the rivers themselves. it is a beautiful illustration of how structure and relationship drive the behaviour and outcomes of complex systems.
we then butted heads with the ever-present question of "what system are we talking about?" unfurling the frustration of trying to answer the question with many diverse stakeholders, each with their own perspective on what defines the systems at hand and knowing any boundary drawn has implications. the starting point is being aware of those implications and then working to hold the definition relationally and in context, solid enough to act on, pliable enough to keep reshaping as we learn more about the system over time and what we are trying to achieve.
last, we turned to the wisdom on how to operate within complexity. through mindfulness meditation, we practice coming into equanimity, staying present and steady even as the systems around us push back, change shape, and resist what we are working toward. it is a deliberate practice, and part of what sustains us in the long arc of this work.
what helps you stay present, and ride the waves, in a system that keeps changing shape?
