When our consultants introduce systems thinking one of the favorite videos we share is How Wolves Change Rivers. Take a minute and notice the elements of Yellowstone Park’s ecosystem. Trees, forests, birds, deer, beaver, otters, ducks, coyotes, rabbits, hawks, ravens, bald eagles, berries, and bears are all elements of the system. Notice the interactions of the elements and how they are interconnected. The reintroduction of wolves was a disruption of the system that was unfolding in the park. This disruption actually brought more life that included a greater number of species. The unintended outcome of the disruption in the system was the way in which the wolves changed the rivers.
Our challenge as human service providers is to begin identifying the elements of a system that are interconnected. The following are a list of questions that can help guide you in finding the elements of the system that are surrounding you and your organization.
- Who are the key organizations that provide the same, similar or complementary services to our organization’s services?
- How do we interact with these organizations?
- Who are key individual stakeholders within those organizations that we interact with?
- Who are key individual stakeholders outside of our organization that have an interest in what we are doing and how well we are doing?
- What is their relationship to our organization and how do they interact with us?
- Who do we serve and how do we relate to them?
- What are government policies or philanthropic trends that are affecting those we serve and our organization’s response?
- What are the social, political, or economic trends that are impacting the people we serve, our organization, and stakeholders?
These are just a few key questions that will help you begin to identify the elements of the system that will help you “map” the system. Begin thinking about the interrelationships and the ways these elements influence each other. As you begin to list all the differing elements of the system, you uncover the complexity that makes it difficult to solve complex human service problems.
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