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Senge (1990) writes, “Vision without systems thinking ends up painting lovely pictures of the future with no deep understanding of the forces that must be mastered to move from here to there” (p. 90). At this point, you can probably tell I gravitate toward the metaphysical facets of leadership. I would be lying if I said Organizational Theory & Behavior was an easy course for me. I was challenged more by this course and way of thinking than any class I’ve ever taken, including Physics and Calculus. This course taught me that leaders cannot be effective without an understanding of systems thinking. Servant leaders build credibility and community through their capacity for systems thinking. They encourage creativity, innovation, risk-taking, and a willingness to abandon inefficient systems. Servant leaders must understand systems so they can make informed decisions that serve their organizations. For all these reasons, systems thinking is an integral aspect of the BCFP Capstone Seminar as seen through the Organizational Workshop showcased on Day 3.

The Organizational Workshop addresses systems thinking through a Business simulation that incorporates a variety of organizational dynamics. Unconscious bias, structure, and power are system dynamics that are evident in most organizations, and the Boeing Company is no exception. The Organizational Workshop begins with understanding the critical partnerships that exist in organizations and why leaders must maintain and understand these partnerships in order to be effective. The BCFPs will develop an understanding of empathy through engaging in an empathetic listening exercise. From there, each participant will be assigned one of four roles within the organization:

• Top– Tops are responsible for leading the organization to success.
• Bottom – Bottoms are responsible for designing and building products for customers.
• Middle– Middles are responsible for managing a bottom group and ensuring that top-down direction is implemented.
• Customer– Customers hold the bulk of the money in the simulation.

Through the workshop the participants will:

• Understand the “Worlds” of Tops, Middles, Bottoms, Customers, and Suppliers – which will increase participants’ ability to empathize and to engage others in a way that leads to mutual commitment and partnership.
• Understand the patterns that keep us stuck in ineffective relationships and our part in creating them.
• Learn how to make effective “Power Shifts” in relationships to optimize the effectiveness of our roles, to get things done and to build lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships with others.
• Understand the predictable patterns that arise between “middle” groups in a system and tools to become more effective as a team.

The ultimate goal for the Organizational Workshop will be to increase participants’ awareness of the natural systemic forces and reactions that consistently knock levels us out of partnership with the people most important to our success, the success of our teams and the overall success of our organizations.  Participants will be asked to examine similarities between their current experience within the simulation and their real work experience within their organization. They will be challenged to use what they learned in Day 1 & 2 of the seminar (mindfulness, values, strengths, and emotional intelligence), to move the organization forward, regardless of their role. The success of the team will be measured through the ability to generate revenue, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. Participants will come together to discuss the relationship dynamics and pit falls currently experienced within the organization. They will create individual projects or initiatives that they believe will have a positive impact on their organizational culture.

Senge (1990) writes:

Building relationships characterized by openness may be one of the most high-leverage actions to build an organization…When small groups of people become committed and open they create microcosm of a learning organization. This microcosm not only teaches them the skills they need but becomes a model for others” (p. 285).

It’s my hope that the Organizational Workshop component of the BCFP Capstone Seminar will help the program participants understand that encouraging openness across functions increases innovative problem solving and productivity. Through understanding systems thinking and building on their values, strengths, and emotional intelligence, that they recognize that one can be a Servant leader regardless of level within an organization.

Food for Thought:

1. Where, in your organization, have you seen the benefits of Systems Thinking?
2. Can you think of a system that is broken? How would you apply a systems thinking lens to tackle the problem?
3. To what degree do you agree, or disagree, that building relationships characterized by openness may be one of the most high-leverage actions to build an organization? Why or why not?