Systems Thinking & Systemic Community Storytelling

 

According to Peter Checkland the term systems thinking simply refers to consciously organized thinking using systems ideas (1).  But what are systems ideas and how do they relate to systems improvements, especially those improvements that correct persistent injustices and promote equity? 

Let’s start by defining a system.  According to Donella Meadows a system is an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something (2).   

Some people use causal loop diagrams or other mapping tools to visualize system elements and their connections for the purpose of understanding the parts and wholes of systems and to promote systems thinking.

Additional tools exist for systems thinking.  For example, Meadows used an iceberg model as one tool to describe levels of systems thinking with attention to locating leverage points in difficult to observe systemic conditions. Essentially, the deeper you go down into the iceberg, down to the depths that cannot be observed above the waterline, that is where you find the leverage points to make meaningful change in the systems that hold persistent problems in place.  Those depths include individual’s and group’s values, assumptions, and beliefs.  Folks who do systems analysis have a great belief in leverage points. These are places within a complex system (a corporation, an economy, a living body, a city, an ecosystem) where a small shift in one thing can produce big changes in everything (3).

john powell and co-authors use an image of a bird closed within a cage to clarify what is meant by systems thinking.  They instruct that to study a single bar of the cage that holds the bird will not provide an adequate explanation of why the bird does not fly away.  They write that systems thinking examines the order of structures that give or take opportunity from groups of people (4). 

There are even more ideas, concepts, and terms that fall under the umbrella of systems thinking: emergence, non-linearity, feedback loops, multiple perspectives.  

Gerald Midgley (5) explains that over time there have been different terms for and foci of systems thinking because since the mid 20th century there have been at least three waves of systems thinking. 

• Wave 1 focused on system models as representations of reality (biological, physical, and human reality), human beings as manipulable objects rather than active sense-making agents, and expertise located in subparts of the system.
• Wave 2 shifted the focus to human system models as tools for generating understanding and inter-subjective construction of meaning among diverse humans.  Humans are active meaning makers in Wave 2 thinking, and there is recognition that expertise is located throughout a human system, not just among leaders and managers.
• Wave 3 paid greater attention to power dynamics and boundaries (who’s participating/who’s not; what is the focus/what isn’t; what is seen as important or legitimate/what isn’t) and the potential for systemic practice to generate insights that liberate people from unjust circumstances  - this third wave became critical systems thinking. 

This brief review of systems thinking ideas leaves me wondering…..
  • Ideally, who does the work of systems thinking, especially critical systems thinking?
  • Where would it be done?
  • How often would it be done?
Perhaps storytelling can address these questions.  That is, perhaps storytelling can be a democratizing approach to engaging community groups in critical systems thinking – working with the capabilities and experiences of many and allowing for diverse, dynamic interpretations of stories.  

Recent work across the globe highlights the power of storytelling for creating connections and generating transformations.  

For example, The Centre for Public Impact and their partners have worked together to describe how storytelling serves to illuminate processes and outcomes in complex interventions and to facilitate systems change.  

The Cynefin Co. gathers stories from groups for sense-making using a distributed ethnographic approach  founded on the principles of self-interpretation, real-time feedback, and community data access and ownership.

Emma Kainz and I are developing a Framework for Systemic Community Storytelling that incorporates dimensions of systems thinking, complexity, and systems transformation.  We’re launching a design process to operationalize the the framework for communities engaged in equitable and transformative social, economic, health, and education initiatives.  Please let us know if you would like to participate.



  1. Checkland, P. (1999). Systems thinking. Rethinking Management Information Systems, 45-56.
  2. Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in Systems: A Primer.  White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing.
  3. https://donellameadows.org/archives/leverage-points-places-to-intervene-in-a-system/#:~:text=By%20Donella%20Meadows~,produce%20big%20changes%20in%20everything.
  4. https://belonging.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/TCE_Star_WP_Training%20material%20Final%20Flint.pdf
  5. Midgley, G. (2000).  Systemic Intervention: Philosophy, Methodology, Practice.  London, UK: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Press.





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