viable system model

Who are you? Tales from ‘Crossing the Bridge’ and the ‘Creating the Conditions©’ series of systems thinking approaches.

/ Pauline Roberts / 1 Comment

It’s a strange phenomenon – the erosion of the individual and their unique thinking and style. I stand back and watch it with sadness in the arena of systems thinking. There are two ways I see this happening:

The first happens when a really enthusiastic and forward thinking systems thinker does not have faith or confidence in their own style and approach. I watch them as they grow at first. They have original thoughts. They are excited and committed to their own learning. They move forwards leaps and bounds beyond anything that’s currently out there. But then, it happens! Because they are starting to get ahead of the game, they stand alone. I watch as they migrate towards the crowd, seeking connection, ratification or a platform for their voice. They are sucked in by those who understand the game – the need for recognition and/ or even prestige. They wait like praying animals for the unsuspecting practitioner walk their way. They nurture them into their fold, secretly feeding off them at the same time. What I see outwardly is the once vibrant, enthusiastic and insightful practitioner melting into the shadows. Their narrative becomes nothing more than the rhetoric of the group. Their originality melts into a big, soppy puddle. They lose themselves. Their social media posts become less inspiring, their original thinking is eroded and they are lost to a space of the average, the mediocre, the ordinary. A brilliant practitioner lost to the crowd. I can name at least three instances over the last couple of years where someone I know could have been and would have been brilliant if they had followed their own course. They are now gobbled up by the gang, following those who they perceive will give them prestige by association, their original thinking now nothing but a distant memory.

The second is related to those who wish to have prestige in the arena of systems thinking or think that because of their job/ position they should have original and inspiring thinking. The trouble is that you cannot force originality or creativity. It tends to be something deep inside of us waiting to be unlocked. These people (I will say people because more often than not, they are not practitioners, have no experience or qualification but like to try and take a short cut to recognition) feed off others’ thinking, re-hash it, then use their gang to spread the word. What is sad is that in following everyone else, they never really ‘Create the Conditions©’ for their own creativity to emerge. It is just a reworked version of someone else. Of course, all of our practice builds on those who come before us, but pure regurgitation suggests a lack of authenticity. I often wonder why they don’t trust themselves enough to embrace that which might enable them to be receptive to their own learning. Is the race to ‘win’ too intoxicating?

My suggestion to newer practitioners in the field is to trust yourself. Step into your own creativity. Feel it, live it and let it blossom. Do not melt into the background just to fit in. No-one is going to tell you when your thinking is way beyond what they could conceive, so don’t expect pats on the back if you are doing well. You might sit in a lonely place because no-one understands you but I say ‘go with it’. Trust your journey and don’t let those who could not walk your journey stand in your way.

‘Creating the Conditions©’ for your creativity to emerge.

Crossing the Bridge

/ Pauline Roberts / Leave a comment

Upcoming book: Crossing the Bridge

In my upcoming book, ‘Crossing the Bridge’ I talk about my learning journey into systems thinking and the development of my Creating the Conditions for Change© approach. I also talk about some common things that systems thinking practitioners come up against in the workplace.

It is not written in a technical or academic way, but in a way that I think will appeal to those who are interested in a practitioner’s journey. I cover what it has been like to venture into the world of work as a systems thinking practitioner – how systems thinking was received or wasn’t as the case might have been. I discuss the often talked about, but rarely written down, aspects of the journey.

It is a book of four distinct parts:

  1. The first part is about the formative years of my systems practice and how I started to embed systems thinking concepts and habits into my practice. It is written in the style of a memoir of my experiences.
  2. The second part is about my ever-evolving approach, Creating the Conditions for Change© and the wider approach of which it is a part.
  3. Part three is specifically about the practitioner’s journey. This is where I discuss some of the common things that systems thinking practitioners have to contend with. They are the things that people ask me about the most. The things people find difficult to deal with and the things that can put some people off practicing. Hopefully, by sharing stories about these things, it will encourage others to keep going with their own journey.
  4. The final part is about the things I am contemplating now that I am on the next stage of my systems thinking and practice journey. What appeals to me as I am moving forward into a new place in my learning?

The book aims to give insights into the real on the ground experiences of a systems thinking practitioner. It is also aimed at encouraging others not only to continue with their own journey, but to find ways to share it. Some of the greatest value that systems thinking practitioners can bring to a situation is often not talked about. Some of it is exposed in the book as I celebrate my learning journey and the wisdom of those I have engaged with along the way.

Crossing the Bridge – coming soon on Amazon. Exact launch date to be confirmed.

Where did Stafford Beer go?

/ Pauline Roberts / Leave a comment

Yes, I know he is dead. But where did he go? Over the years from him practicing, where did ‘he’ go? Let me explain…

I am a qualified Systems Practitioner. I have a wealth of experiential and academic learning in the field of systems thinking. Something I use a lot is Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model. I know it technically. I use it in my work and have done for many years. I learnt it as part of my BSc and then my MSc. Never, during my formative years, did I pick up from those more experienced than me, the extent of deep spirituality and love which formed part of Stafford Beer himself. What I did pick up was an elitist atmosphere of those who ‘knew’ the model and those who were deemed ‘enthusiastic amateurs’ by others. They knew what the model was, but did not know how to use it. It was all about the model. Nothing but the model.

But, with every model comes a person. With every approach comes a person. There is one thing that I have learnt in my years as a Systems Practitioner is that people love to take an approach and erase the person behind it. However, it is the person and their values, their ethics, their thoughts, their deep feelings and ethos in life that makes an approach. Not a model drawn on a piece of paper.

A number of years ago I realised just how versatile the Viable System Model was when I used it for continuing development of myself, as part of an OU PDP course. I then turned my use of the Viable System Model into my systems thinking approach, Creating the Conditions for Change©. This approach is very ethically driven. It aims to bring humanity back into our working lives. It respects individuals and all of the values and gifts they bring with them to the party. It focusses on the people in the situation and it came directly from my learning from using the Viable System Model. One of the words that comes up most often when I engage with groups using the Creating the Conditions for Change© approach is the word ‘love’. Over and over again. This is to do with how I practice and encourage others to ‘be’ in a situation.

So, when sitting in a Metaphorum webinar this month hearing Vanilla Beer talk about the spiritual side of Stafford Beer, I believed that we had somewhat lost the man behind the approach as the years had gone by. Over the last year, I have had a couple of people approach me who know my work and have said that they knew Stafford Beer and they believed he would have liked where I was going with this work. I cannot say whether I agree with them or not as I never knew him myself. However, I do think we have lost the spiritual side of the Viable System Model somewhat and I believe my work is reinvigorating that side of things.

In the Metaphorum conference, Vanilla Beer said, ‘You cannot point to the VSM and say ‘love’.’ On the contrary, I think you absolutely can.