You see things and you say, Why?
But I dream things that never were; and I say, Why Not?

- George Bernard Shaw

Are you a mid-level manager, a supervisor, the CEO of a young, growing organization, an owner of a small business or a board member of a non-profit organization? 

Guess what?  When it comes to planning you all share one identical challenge.  This is likely not news to you, except maybe you feel all alone in your conundrum, which is “where do I get the time and resources to do a good job of planning and then to follow through with a diligent implementation of my plans?” 

This is one of the greatest challenges of all organizations.  We are constantly challenged to ask “WHY should we change or even consider changing?”, right?  The quote above might seem comically absurd, in the sense that many of us rarely feel we have the luxury of dreaming things that never were, much less the courage to say “WHY NOT?”

In past articles I have explored some of the unintended consequences of not thinking systemically, or we can say, holistically, about issues and problems.

Tip #2 - Everything is connected to everything else.  Never let a discussion about solving a problem go down a path that does not look into the interconnectedness of all the elements that can be affected. Inside and outside the organization.  More importantly, ensure the impact on the customer is addressed first. Everything affects the customer. 

Managing virtual teams is becoming more and more common, especially with today's technology which allows teams to meet via the internet and web conferencing. Nevertheless, it presents its own set of challenges that are different from teams who meet face-to-face. Here are three tips to keep in mind when managing virtual teams.

Building trust.
It's important to have the first meeting face-to-face so team members can bond. Following that, meetings can be held virtually. Also ensure that all team members are responsive to others on the team, responding promptly to emails and phone calls. Accountability and follow-through are important as well in building trust among the team.

Systems Thinking is an advanced method of critical thinking, which focuses on interdependence, relationships, and connectedness in addressing work and life issues.

This holistic, integrated, and more purposeful outcome-oriented approach can be described in five interrelated concepts:

1. The Seven Levels of Living Systems that are in natural hierarchical relationships with each other (systems within systems).

2. Standard and Predictable System/Organizational Dynamics based on 12 characteristics of open/living systems.

The discipline of Systems Thinking seems to be taking on an ever higher level of acceptance and understanding. More and more respected management experts openly discuss Systems Thinking as a very important and valuable discipline for successfully leading organizations to sustained success. Upon reflection, three words from the previous sentence should stand out: experts, discipline and sustained. Every organization that I have studied that has exhibited a culture of Systems Thinking can be characterized by those three words.  In every case, their success is no accident. In other words, success and, moreover, sustained high performance, has only been achieved with deliberate effort. Significantly, rigorously disciplined Systems Thinking over the long-term invariably is a key element.

In the spirit of offering some tips on how to leverage Systems Thinking, it is paramount to say that there are no short cuts. There is no fast-track, no lean version and no Systems Thinking “Light” to offer the reader the comfort of an “easy or bite-size way” to create a culture of Systems Thinking.  That said, there are some simple ways to continually test the organizational culture and to reinforce the practice of Systems Thinking.

Tip #1 – Offer training to everyone.  If you read Jim Collins’ Good to Great, you’ll find him saying “get the right people on the bus first, then work hard getting each one in the right seat”.  What I think he means is that it’s more important to hire people with the great skills and solid values, after that you should be able to place them in the positions where they can be productive, create value for the organization and grow. I don’t believe you can force people to learn, but if they take the opportunity to learn and apply Systems Thinking in their work, everyone will benefit. If they don’t, you may have a clue regarding the value that employee has for the organization and you have a decision to make.

Tip #2 – Everything is connected to everything else.  Never let a discussion about solving a problem go down a path that does not look into the interconnectedness of all the elements that can be affected. Inside and outside the organization.  More importantly, ensure the impact on the customer is addressed first. Everything affects the customer.