Using systems thinking to turn crises into learning opportunities

Crises - as difficult as they may be for many companies and the self-employed - are always an opportunity to learn and reflect critically. Systems thinking helps to examine the functionality of previous assumptions and thought premises in such moments - and above all later during the crisis management process. Torsten Groth, systemic consultant, author and lecturer, has put forward some important theses on this topic. It is worth reading his article in wirtschaft + weiterbildung 06_2021.

In our latest blog post, we would like to pick up on some of his statements and highlight the benefits of professionally conducted surveys for companies - and not just in times of crisis.

Systems thinking is more relevant than ever before

Systems thinking is a learning and problem-solving approach in which the behavior of a system is first described and then possibilities for improvement are explored. Open systems thinking promotes creativity and is used successfully in learning organizations.

With the help of a professionally conducted employee survey by ValueQuest, an open feedback culture is created in the organization. Companies can identify the strengths and weaknesses in the system and work out relevant levers for improvement.

Working with unpredictability

Corona has shown that we live in a networked, complex world. A world full of interactions that create impenetrability. With all decisions, it is always to be expected that something unpredictable could happen in the future.

Torsten Groth emphasizes that dealing with uncertainty (referred to as "uncertainty absorption") will become increasingly important in this context and that we should move away from ideas and tools of predictability. For organizations and teams, the ability to consciously navigate uncertainty (and not illusionary pseudo-certainty) will become increasingly important.

Long-term entrepreneurial thinking

Management and consulting approaches that value long-term survival more highly than purely economic success criteria should be further developed. In this context, Torsten Groth also speaks of the "intelligence" of family businesses. This refers to the focus of many family businesses on longevity (the so-called grandchild ability). We can often learn from these successful family businesses how to overcome crises.

A professionally conducted employee satisfaction survey significantly improves the working atmosphere, employee satisfaction and commitment. Employees feel valued, which has a positive impact on the long-term success of a company.

Leadership remains "post-heroic"

In his article, Torsten Groth refers to the book "Führung bleibt postheroisch" by Dirk Baecker. In it, he explains the difference between a heroic - unambiguous - and a post-heroic - with distributed structures - understanding of leadership.

Even if individuals are currently being heroized and processes of ascribing authority can be functional in times of crisis, it is clear that successful intervention strategies are "strategies of networking and coordinating distributed knowledge". If leadership becomes more evident in networks, what skills will be important for managers in the future?

Decision-making will also become increasingly demanding. Which moderative skills will become more important in this context? Which (intuitive, qualitative, quantitative) data will flow into decisions? Interdisciplinary teams will be even more challenged to integrate ambiguities and ambivalences and translate them into decisions.

Leadership feedback allows managers and specialists to recognize their own strengths and development potential and increases the quality of leadership and the effectiveness of their work. It promotes a shared understanding of leadership principles within the company and fosters an open, dialog-oriented feedback culture. You can read more about this at https://valuequest.ch/360-grad-fuehrungsfeedback/.

Systems thinking is a conscious approach to learning processes

Societies, organizations, teams and individuals are currently busy adapting to the crisis situation. The pace of learning has increased so much during the corona pandemic that there has hardly been any time to reflect on the forms of adaptation. After more than a year in crisis and adaptation mode, it is now time to switch to a mode in which we consciously learn how to learn. In the future, companies will have to find a good balance between short-term crisis management and long-term crisis resistance

Employee surveys, management feedback and customer surveys are important tools for a learning organization. Visit www.valuequest.ch for more information about our services. Or call us directly on 044 786 32 52.

Don't want to miss any more of our posts? Then follow us on Linkedin.