Crossing the Bridge

‘When I first set out on my journey to apply systems thinking in my work situations, many around me did not know where I was going with it or what I would do with it. Indeed, neither did I. They tirelessly walked alongside me anyway. Some of them have been with me for years, giving me guidance and encouragement in just the right amount, at the right time.’– Crossing the Bridge

It is quite difficult telling people that you are starting out on a journey but do not know where the destination is. It is even harder to tell yourself the same thing. It gets harder still when you want to encourage others to set out on the journey for themselves, especially when you know that elements of discovery can be both enjoyable and painful at the same time.

This is one of the invisible skills of a systems thinking practitioner; being able to step into the unknown and go into it with courage, determination and hope. Having faith in your ability to learn, adapt and learn again, over and over. It takes a strong sense of your own identity, along with understanding of your ethics and values to have the inner strength to proceed.

At first, you may not have that sense of how you want to practice and how you want to ‘be’ in the world. It has been my experience that it develops over time. When you do start to understand it, it can be overwhelming, to say the least.

Starting with ourselves is incredibly important. We are always a work in progress. Our self-development never ends. And yet, it is an often-overlooked element of our work. Not only do we overlook our own self-development, but we are prone to dismissing the self-development of others. In our work situations we expect managers to know everything. We expect colleagues to step into roles they might never have engaged with before. Our expectations can be unforgiving as we drift into criticalness and blame.

As practitioners, we become aware of the drift. We use tools and techniques to intentionally stop us in our own tracks, so that we can truly observe in the moment. We expose to ourselves that which has become invisible; the water we swim around in.

Observation is another of our invisible skills. We become able to see a technicolour vision in front of us, some of which is bright and inviting, some is dark and scary. But we still go there as true explorers, in a quest to develop our craft. A sense of identity, an acceptance of ongoing inner development, developing strong observation skills and bravery to step out into the unknown are some key starting points as we cross the bridge to becoming effective practitioners and makers of our own destiny.