304 Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind
•Rooms might already be booked, so the location of the session
might need to be changed, which might lead to possible adjustments in
necessary equipment.
•Those who were presenting might not be able to join because of
previous commitments, thus requiring a restructuring of the format of the
session.
This example involves only a 24-hour date change of a 90-minute
meeting. It is notprogram restructuring, rearranging teaming formula-
tions, or a major school reform movement that would need to take place
over a number of months or years.
Systems-savvy leaders who think interdependently also take into con-
sideration the feelings around the content of the meeting. They don’t
immediately assume the meeting has no emotional overtones to it. They
don’t presume that there is nothing heated to discuss or that any type of
change isn’t a “big deal.”
The systems-savvy leader thinks about how many times this type of
thing happens to the assistant who needs to do the quickstep to manage
the change; how many times the worker at the meeting location needs to
hurry through a room set up in one place and rush over to assist with the
new arrangement; how many times this can happen without damaging
positive relationships with those who help behind the scenes.
A systems-savvy leader extrapolates from this small, short-term exam-
ple to the needed and much bigger changes ahead. Systems-savvy leaders
ask the questions, “What is the ripple effect of my action? What will be
affected?”
Systems-savvy leaders who are interdependent thinkers also ask ques-
tions such as these:
•Am I aware of my assumptions and values, and do I know when
they are getting in the way of moving forward with my colleagues?
•Am I able to stand outside myself and see how I might be having
an impact on others or be seen by others?
•If I am hearing another perspective, do I listen to it and react appro-
priately, changing behavior if necessary?