Author Archives: Helen Wilding

Elevator pitch

Posted on by
5

Update added 13 November

I am sure I am not the only ‘systems practitioner’-in-training who finds it difficult to introduce systems practice into their workplace.  I think it is different if you are an ‘external’ consultant or facilitator because clients expect you to bring something that they don’t know yourself.  But when you are an employee, colleagues (especially people who are more senior than yourself) don’t really expect you to innovate on how to do or think about things, just what you do.

So I try to do it by subterfuge.  A little bit here, a little bit there.  But the other day, I missed an opportunity because I was not prepared. Continue reading →

A practice performance

Posted on by
Reply

(TU812 SAQ 1.1)

Practice is a performance, each performance relies on a combination of four elements unique to the context:

Firstly, there is the practitioner – the individual with their mix of knowledge, experience and skills.

Secondly, the situation that the practitioner is working in.

Thirdly, the framework of ideas or theories held by the practitioner

and

Fourthly, the method used by the practitioner as they go about doing what they do.

The nature of change

Posted on by
Reply

I use the word “change” a lot but never really stopped to think about my understanding of the concept.  Just had a few minutes fun looking up “change” on http://www.visualthesaurus.com/ (the trial version).  It has loads of connections so it is obviously quite a rich word.

So what are the foundations of my understanding of “change” and how has that changed (!) as I have got more into systems practice. Continue reading →

On becoming a practitioner

Posted on by
Reply

I have been reading and finding out about systems stuff for ages.  Going way back – maybe I’ll cover that one day.  Now I am part way through a postgraduate diploma in Systems Practice with the Open University.  This blog is adapted from a post I did to the student forum early in the first module….

In the beginning, we did lots of reading (interspersed with the odd ‘practice’ activity that you can get away with doing half-heartedly). The reading was interesting and I learned a lot about what systems thinking is; how it applies to strategy making; the lives and works of key historic thinkers; the importance of tools and so on.

Then the first assignment came along and told us to do systems thinking for real – or at least practice it. Continue reading →