tance from those interacting systems! Remember, in systems, more of the same rarely
works.- Looking around the interacting systems, note where there will be support and where
there will be problems. You may find that much leadership development is discon-
nected from organizational strategy. For example, training often leads to frustration
when the trainee can see a better way of working, yet is unable to implement it!
Often, the compensation system works against development. If a leader, for instance,
wants to initiate the team concept and the current compensation is firmly tied to
individual performance, the team concept will struggle. - After bottlenecks are identified, the systems designer is faced with:
a. working to change the interacting systems to make them more supportive, or
b. suboptimizing the leadership development system so it will work better within
the larger system, or
c. both (a) and (b).
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YOUR APPLICATION
SECTION 2 TOOLS FORBIG-PICTURETHINKING 43
- Think of a system within your area of responsibility.
- Write the purpose and goals for the system as you would like it to be.
[☛2.6 Clarifying Purpose, 2.7 Goal Statements]
- Diagram first the internal system (the closed system, with its own internal processes); then the external system (the
open system, showing how the closed system fits with other organizational systems).
Don’t worry about drawing a perfect diagram initially; the diagram will always be imperfect. Be willing to go
through a number of drafts until you get one that is helpful to you and others.