A System Leader's Fieldbook
Gaining traction on today’s ever-more complex challenges requires collective leadership. That means practicing new ways of operating at the levels of Self, Team, Organization, and System. This online Fieldbook provides tools and resources for system leaders to use in supporting people and groups as they develop the skills to accelerate progress on intractable problems together.
To make real and lasting change, we need to:
Recognize that we are part of the systems we seek to change: Self
Interact productively with—and learn from—others: Team
Collaborate across internal stakeholder groups: Organization
Work across boundaries to co-create the future: System
Building Organizational Capacity to Focus on the Whole
“We knew the U.S. had a rapidly growing gap between the supply and demand for trades labor…. Only by reflecting on decades of shifting variables did we figure out where the leverage points existed in the broader system. Once that was clear, we worked across a broad swatch of stakeholders to collectively design an initial program [to train 20,000 construction workers over the next decade] that would bend that trend.”
Creating the Conditions for Shared Leadership
“There are issues of deep importance in Todos Santos and in Baja California Sur; in fact, many of these issues are representative of challenges around the world. In order to address these challenges, we need to work and learn together across borders and cultures, and share our knowledge and experience.”
Developing Systems-wise People
“Change must start from within—with deep self-awareness. We start by identifying and discussing what each individual already has—their roots—and we work with them as they learn from a mentor and practice by doing.”
Engaging Stakeholders Around Complex Problems
“Tools for transformation and learning will have little impact if not embraced and practiced by the community. Outside helpers like NOS cannot restore the Ensenada; the only ones who can do that are the community members themselves….Many felt that the real aim of environmentalist NGOs was simply to force the fisherman to stop fishing. In turn, it took time for NOS [Noroeste Sustentable] to appreciate that there were strong restoration leaders within the community.”