Learning Systems Thinking

Chapter 5. Replace Reacting with Responding

The difference between Action and Re-action is originality and timing.

Aniekee Tochukwu Ezekiel

Systems thinking is the ability to shift from reacting to events to responsive patterns of behavior to generating (improved) systemic structures. This book is organized to reflect this migration of skills. For most of us, getting past reacting to events is challenging.

As you practice self-awareness (Chapter 4), you’ll notice that you are constantly reacting. Something happens in the software. Someone says something in a meeting. Someone does something that impacts you. As a result of that stimuli, you have experiences: thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, attitudes, impulses, or a combination of all those things.

Some of your reactions are benign, like gritting your teeth during a meeting. Some are explosive, like screaming at a driver who cuts you off. Most of your reactions exist somewhere in between, a constant shifting of your mental and emotional state, depending on inputs.

You might not realize how often your thinking is controlled by your reactions.

Figure 5-1 is a slightly different version of the Iceberg Model, where the top levels show visible events and trends. The iceberg process is happening all around us, but also inside of us. We react to situations in ways that are informed by our mental models and reinforcing structures. ...