What Even Is a System?
How a coaching a system can be a way to recreate harmony and connection
When I think about systems, I’m drawn to our planet as the perfect and most accessible example. It is composed of many parts, all interwoven, all interdependent. The core of our planet is surprisingly small, accounting for only 1% of Earth’s volume, yet it plays a crucial role in the outer core's liquid motions and the dynamo that generates Earth's magnetic field. Without it, life on earth would be impossible. (Cripes, that feels really clever to have written that… I googled it!) Where I become fascinated by systems is when component parts start to view themselves as separate entities or not accountable to the system as a whole. Take humans, for example. Some of us see the earth as serving us rather than us serving our part of the planetary system within which we exist. Consequently, we see the system starting to fail. Conversely, when we see every part of a system playing its role, seeing itself as crucial to the system as a whole, for example, a plant, the system thrives.
What’s the point you are making Lucy? I hear you cry.
Well, if we apply this idea to our organisations and the component parts of which they are comprised, we can see the importance of finding harmony and connection between all the parts to enable the system to prosper! A world I know well is the world of education. Mainly schools. If we see the school system as desperately trying to serve young people, what starts to happen when parts of that system start to focus on things other than the young people, arguably data and Ofsted judgements, is that the schools start to fail. Sadly, we are witnessing this right now. The harmony and connection get lost because the system is not being properly fortified to serve the purpose for which it is designed.
So what? I am now busy exploring how coaching a system can be a way to recreate harmony and connection.
To coach the parts of the system as an entity – an entity navigating its way towards an outcome whilst wading through the mud of human and societal complexities. These complexities can include relationships, budgets, politics, artificial intelligence, mergers, pandemics, the climate crisis, and so on. It seems we are all in a rush. We all have so much to do. I believe in the human spirit. I believe in our tenacity to reforge, recreate and reconnect. When we are caught in the vacuum of stress and panic – similar to how we may feel about the future of our awesome planet, we can forget to press pause and notice the part we can play in refortifying our systems. Put simply, what do we need to do and be together to enable this system to work?
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To have a chat about my services and how I help, please email me at lucy@lucytimmons.com or fill in the contact form here.