Reflections on the Systems Innovation Network Conference .. learning to embrace complexity.

This time last week I was at the thought-provoking Systems Innovation Network Conference. Outside of facilitating a workshop with my Justice Futures co-director Gemma Buckland (separate article on that workshop to follow!), I networked and listened to global systems innovators from sectors such as health, housing, finance, sustainability and climate change.

I've reflected on some key themes and concepts that helped me on my journey of embracing complexity:

The problem with 'problems and solutions'

I often use the language of problems and solutions – as we all want solutions, right?! However, several workshops highlighted that this language could lead to linear rather than systems thinking, as ‘there is no solution to wicked problems, but we can help the system to be healthier’ explained Joss Colchester . Instead, we can think about ‘challenges and possibilities’ and move from a ‘solutions mindset to a learning mindset.'

The journey of ‘seeing’ systems ?

Several talks gave examples of the spectrum of systems awareness and the journeys people take to 'see systems'. For example, moving from ‘systems unaware’ [well-intentioned, ‘quality improvement’ mindset] to ‘system awareness’, to being ‘system informed’, and then ‘system embedded’. One attendee described it as going from ‘systems blindness to systems sight’.

Mapping systems can help this process. I liked Tom Inns analogy of the London underground map, that when considering systems we could think about ‘What’s in zone 5? Where are the crossovers where the lines intersect? What loops around like the circle line?’

‘Complexity literacy’

Zeynep Falay von Flittner from Finland reflected that ‘schools don’t teach complexity literacy’, so there is a need to learn to love ‘himmeli’ (the mess). As a designer, she advised exercising our ‘complexity muscle’ through creative approaches, as working with complexity can feel uncomfortable and overwhelming at times.

She emphasised the ‘power of visual shapes to shift what we can and can't see. It shapes what’s in the centre and what's in the periphery’. [Quote from Kate Raworth]

One workshop suggested that there needed to be a core group of ‘complexity holders’ in any system who are comfortable with the messy reality and can help translate that complexity to other actors. ?

Incremental improvements v. incremental transformations

The Berkana Two Loops model shows us that transformational paradigm shifts don’t suddenly happen, there’s always a period of transition between the dominant system and the emergent system. Kate Wolfenden got us thinking about the difference between incremental transformations and incremental improvements.

Incremental improvements tinker with one part of the system, but incremental transformations happen under the surface at a system level .. seeding new ideas, connecting, nourishing and amplifying them. Then, like mushrooms, they suddenly pop up to show radical change occurred that was not immediately visible, as Josiane Smith reminded us!

For this to happen, Zeynep Falay von Flittner explained, we need entrepreneurs and new actors in the system to act as catalysts to 'accelerate, push and provoke.'

Moving mindsets

Another key theme was the importance of moving mindsets. Mindsets (or mental models) are one of the leverage points Donella Meadows shows us can achieve higher transformative impact.

John Mortimer shared an inspiring case study illustrating why changing the mindsets of managers was critical to changing the culture of a housing allocations office. Helping them reframe their purpose from ‘giving people houses’ to ‘helping people with their housing issues’ radically transformed how they worked and improved outcomes. Another example was from Tom Inns and Jen Jeng around reframing the purpose of the health system from a mindset of ‘making people better’ to ‘empowering and educating people about their health.’

Key to both of these examples was starting with deep listening to understand individuals' experiences and mapping their journeys through the system from their perspective:

Hope and imagination

Zeynep Falay von Flittner reflected that we are in the middle of a crisis not only of climate and society, but of hope and imagination. She emphasised the importance of creativity and ‘embodiment’ to the process of imagining new futures, whether using Lego, post-its, poetry or painting, ‘we need softer tools’ to be able to imagine that engages both the left and right brain.

She also advocated for more grounding exercises and breathwork as ‘when we are in fight or flight it blinds us to the possibilities of the future’ as we get defensive and only see risks.

Josiane Smith introduced us to an article by Rebecca Solnit called ‘Hope is an embrace of the unknown ’ which distinguishes between hope as optimism or naivety, and hope that ‘locates itself in the premises that we don’t know what will happen and that in the spaciousness of uncertainty is room to act.’

During her ‘fishbowl’ on hope as a tool for systems change, she highlighted that ‘Imagination doesn’t exist without hope. The only way to get transformation is by imagination supported by hope.’ She encouraged us to consider transformations that have happened in ourselves or in society as ways to build trust in the possibilities of systemic change and to ‘be the change we are imagining’, as it takes action to move from imagination to reality.

On that note, I left the conference feeling very inspired to take action .. I will keep learning, keep embracing complexity and keep coming to events where I meet people outside of my criminal justice system 'bubble'! I look forward to using all I'm learning in my work at Justice Futures - launching later this year - to help people see differently, think differently and do differently when tackling the many urgent and complex issues in our justice systems.