Thinking in Systems

Day 1 — Module 1: From Events to Systems

Event → Pattern → Structure → Mental Model, with practical organisational examples.

Module 2: People Systems

Recruitment, role design, capability, performance, incentives, recognition, learning, workload, succession, leadership and wellbeing — how one people mechanism changes another.

Module 3: Social Systems

Relationships, trust, informal networks, power, influence, politics, status, norms, identity, belonging, psychological safety and information flow. Distinguish formal organisation from how work actually happens.

Module 4: Organisational Systems

Strategy, structure, governance, decision rights, process, policy, technology, measures, incentives, culture, capability, leadership, customer needs and commercial conditions.

Module 5: Feedback Loops

Reinforcing and balancing loops — e.g. workload → burnout → attrition → workload and trust → delegation → capability → trust.

Day 2 — Module 6: Interdependence Between People, Social & Organisational Systems

Examine one challenge through the three lenses simultaneously; e.g. low initiative via people systems, social safety and decision rights.

Module 7: Delays & Unintended Consequences

Ask "What happens next?" and "What happens after that?" when changing governance, automation, teams, sourcing, incentives or decision rights.

Module 8: Mental Models

Surface assumptions such as "people need close supervision", "failure is unacceptable", "more governance reduces risk" and "more people will solve delivery pressure".