Learning Systems Thinking

Chapter 10. Modeling, Together

Remember, always, that everything you know, and everything everyone knows, is only a model. Get your model out there where it can be viewed. Invite others to challenge your assumptions and add their own.

Donella Meadows, Thinking in Systems: A Primer

In Chapter 3, you used the Iceberg Model to shift your perspective. In Chapter 6, modeling was part of your learning plan. In Chapter 7, modeling was a tool for improving your systemic reasoning. In Chapter 8, modeling was one way of getting feedback. In Chapter 9, you used modeling to think about patterns in systems.

In an organization, “systems thinking” isn’t happening without modeling. When people model together, they make relevant concepts—and the relationships between them—visible. Structuring collaborative exercises that encourage systems thinking is systems leadership.

Systems thinking work is rarely done by one person. You can’t possibly understand circumstances from multiple perspectives without…multiple perspectives. Remember, in systems, you are crafting conceptual integrity—synthesizing knowledge and experience. Modeling bridges gaps in people’s points of view by framing circumstances in ways they can look at together.

This chapter isn’t, and can’t be, a comprehensive description of all the models you might make. No template, tool, approach, or framework fits all circumstances. While ...