Sla systems thinking ce presentation 2004

Systems Thinking for Librarians

A State-of-the-Art Continuing
Education Seminar: for the
Special Libraries Association
June 6, 2004, Nashville TN.

Zipperer/Corliss/Tompson
SLA / June 6th / 2004


n  Sponsored by the SLA Engineering,
Biomedical & Life Sciences Divisions
and Aerospace section of SLA-SNG
n  Moderated by: Cynthia Bennington,
SLA/ Eng
n  Support from EBSCO


n  Lorri Zipperer, Zipperer Project Management
lorri@zpm1.com
n  Rebecca Corliss, Schiff Hardin, LLP
rcorliss@schiffhardin.com
n  Sara Tompson, Packer Engineering, Inc.
sarat57@msn.com



Our actions create our
reality. "
"

Peter Senge
5th Discipline, 1990

Systems Thinking Class Objectives
n  Explore core concepts.
n  Identify effects on information center interactions within
an organization.
n  Identify affects on librarian s interactions with all
levels of the organization, immediate reports and
exterior clients.
n  Construct how acceptance changes an individual s
decision-making.
n  Determine how the tools affect librarian s strategic
planning thought processes.


References and Tools
n  Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook:
Strategies and tools for building a learning
organization. 1994.

n  Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline: The art and
practice of the learning organization. 1990.

n  Select Bibliography

n  Glossary



Logistics
n  Three section program 8am- noon
¨  Both lecture and group / team exercises
n  Break 10:00 to 10:30 am
n  Wrap up by noon



Will you please …
n  Introduce yourself
n  Share one key reason for attending
the class


PART ONE

1.1 What is Systems Thinking
1.2 Am I A Systems Thinker?
1.3 Questions & Recap


What is Systems Thinking?
n  Interconnectedness
¨  A set of elements that interact to shape behavior
n  Learning Organization
n  Key movers
¨  Forrester (1961)
¨  Center for Organizational Learning / MIT (1989)
¨  Argyris (Teaching Smart People How to Learn, 1991)
¨  Senge (5th Discipline 1990)

Class Section 1.1 Zipperer/Corliss/Tompson

Systems Thinking: Proven Value
n  Complex problems that involve helping many
actors see the connectedness of the big
picture and not just their part of it.

n  Recurring problems or those that have been
made worse by past attempts to fix them

n  Issues where action affects (or is affected by) the
environment surrounding the issue.

n  Problems whose solutions are not obvious


Systems Thinking: Basic Concepts
n  Everything is connected to everything else
n  You can never do just one thing
n  Different people in the same structure will produce
similar results
n  From either/or to both/and
n  There is no away to throw things to
n  The easiest way out is the fastest way back in
n  Profound changes can take place in ways we cannot foretell
n  The map is not the territory
n  An answer is a question s way of asking a new question


Five Phases of Systems Thinking
1.  Structure the problem
2.  Understand causal loops and feedback
3.  Model the dynamic relationships
4.  Use scenarios to plan and model affects of
actions taken
5.  Implement and share learnings with the
organization


How Does Systems Thinking Pertain to the
Library Profession?
¨ Allows information work to be effective and
innovative, not isolated
¨ Situates the Information Center as
proactive not reactive



Facilitates achievement of
SLA Competencies
n  Will highlight a few today
n  http://www.sla.org/content/learn/comp2003/index.cfm


Professional Competencies:
n  Aligning the information organization with key
stakeholders
n  Assesses and communicates the value of the
information organization
n  Builds a dynamic collection of information resources
based on deep understanding of clients


Professional Competencies, con t

n  Develops and maintains a portfolio of
effective and aligned information services.
n  Conducts market research to identify
concepts for new or enhanced information
solutions for these groups.


Personal SLA Competencies

The special librarian:
n  Sees the big picture
n  Creates partnerships and alliances
n  Employs a team approach; recognizes
the balance of collaborating, leading
and following


Barriers to Systems Thinking
n  Resources (financial and people)
n  Cultural and value-based
n  Leadership
n  Knowledge (ie identification of the problem)
n  Process-oriented
n  Time constraints
n  Strategic operation and planning
n  IT


Systems Thinking for Librarians:
Exploring Impact
Stories of Engagement
n  Lorri
n  Rebecca
n  Sara


Are You a Systems Thinker?
A Systems Thinker Perceives …
¨  The whole whose elements continually affect
each other over time and operate toward a
common purpose.
¨  The Big Picture
¨  The interrelatedness of forces/nothing exists
in a vacuum
n  Info Center example
¨  Theinterdependencies means no single
right answer Fieldbk, pg 90


Systems Thinking Assessment

n  Complete in five minutes
n  Talley each column
n  Discuss results

There are no incorrect responses
so be honest with yourself



Readiness Assessment - Continuum

F O S R N

Goal - Top 2


Questions & Recap
n  Basic concepts of systems thinking
n  Why this class?
n  Where are we on the journey to
systemsness ?


PART TWO:
2.1 Setting the Stage
2.2 Why Use Stories?
2.3 Problem Identification & Digging Deeper
2.4 Diagramming System Influences
2.5 Questions & Recap


A Typical Morning Conversation …


Does this Sound Familiar ?

n  Pflom and Meyer, established yet old-
fashioned firm
n  New librarian shut out
n  Info gathering inefficient and unreliable
n  Solutions require a new way of thinking ….


Value of Stories
n  Illustratesa theory
n  Allows listeners to empathize more
broadly
n  Resonates with listeners
¨ SLA storytelling models


Value of Stories
If you have chosen the right story and you tell that
story in a certain way, then not only do listeners
understand the story ... but they also begin to
imagine a story in their own life ... They begin to
draw on their own experiences, their own
knowledge, their own understanding, and they start
to imagine possibilities for themselves.

Making Change Happen: Steve Denning Tells
the Story of Storytelling Information Outlook
Vol. 5, January 2001


Identifying the Problem

n  Problem Structure Modeling
n  Digging Deeper / The Five Whys


Problem Structure Modeling
The problem is:
n  Important
n  Chronic
n  Limited in scope


Exploring the Problem:
The Five Whys
n  Why X 5 to get at:
¨  Who, What, When, Where, Why
n  What are you trying to accomplish
n  Determine the root cause
n  Identify possible solutions
n  Limitations of the 5 Whys

FieldBk
pages 108 - 112

The Five Whys
Objective
Why?

Object Subject
Why? Why?

Root
Cause

Place Time
Why? Why?

www.burton.co.uk/cit/images/cit02.gif

Exercise: Pflom s Problem

And the problem is….
n  Review the story
n  Identify key processes or issues that
resonate as problematic and support the
ineffective relationship
n  Post for further discussion to crystallize
thoughts


Pflom Problem: con t

n  Individually assess the why s that may
have contributed to the situation
n  Collect them for discussion to drill down to
the root cause


A Picture is Worth a
Thousand Words …
As a systems thinking tool,
diagrams:
n  Illustrate cause and effect
relationships
n  Facilitate communication
n  Create the a-ha
experience


Ways of Seeing Things
Diagramming System Behavior
n  Feedback
n  Causal Diagrams
¨  Several sample techniques
¨  Key terms
¨  Illustrating a Story

n  Archetypes
¨  Templates of Behavior


Importance of Feedback

The practice of systems thinking
starts with understanding a
simple concept called feedback
that shows how actions can
reinforce or counteract each
other. Peter Senge


Computer Diagramming
n  Tool for observing patterns in large, complex situations
n  Epidemiological in nature
n  Software available
n  Beyond the scope of this class

www.imm.ecel.uwa.edu.au/ cmms/project_mngt.htm


Behavior Patterns

1. Fixes that Fail 2. Limits to Growth 3. Shifting the Burden

Time


The Role of Delay:
n  Acknowledge delay as a factor in
decision making
n  Respect delay as an element to
understand success or failure
n  Regard delay as a force in determining
value of change


The Role of Delay: Serving ACME

n  Key project
n  High
demand
n  24/7 service
n  Guaranteed
4 hour turn
around


The Role of Delay: ACME
requests

Adherence

recorded hours/bills
submitted

ACME
Time leaves!


Visualizing the System:
Target or
Reinforcing and Balancing Loops Goal

Actual +
performance Gap Actual +
+ performance Gap

Reinforcing Loop Balancing Loop

Optional Corrective
Optional Growing + Element Action
Element Action
+
+


Core Loops: a Few Examples
1. Fixes that Fail

2. Limits to Growth
B 3. Shifting
Growth Limiting the Burden
process process

Growth Process = Reinforces behavior
R
Limiting Process = Balances activity


Visualizing the System: Steps
in a Process
n  Perform the exercise with a group
representing multiple disciplines
n  Keep it manageable
n  Start with a central element/service

Adapted from: Kim D. Guidelines for Drawing Causal Loop
Diagrams. Pegagus Communications, 1995


Steps in a Process, con t
n  Identify key variables
n  Don t think of loops as stone tablets
n  Avoid focus on details
n  Air assumptions

Adapted from: Kim D. Guidelines for Drawing Causal Loop
Diagrams. Pegagus Communications, 1995


Pflom Story: Balancing Loop (-)
+ Cost
Recovery Key Element or
Corrective
Action

Client Activity

Research
Quality

Leverage
Expertise
Client Bills
Limiting
constraints
+
Librarian
isolation
Growing
Class Section 2.4 Action + Zipperer/Corliss/Tompson

Pflom Story: Reinforcing Loop (+)
+
Info gathering

• Staff use services more
• Info expertise applied more
• More team involvement

+
Revenue
Info Staff +
+ integration
Staff
satisfaction
Client Bills
+
Client
• More support for Info
projects
satisfaction
• More info resources
• Business case for info + Zipperer/Corliss/Tompson
staff improved SLA / June 6th / 2004

Archetypes: Seeing Patterns
n  Accidental Adversaries
n  Fixes that Fail
n  Limits to Growth
n  Shifting the Burden
n  Tragedy of the Commons


Archetypes: Why Bother?

n  Test mental models
n  Provide consistent representations of
hypotheses that contribute to complexity
n  Explore hypotheses to illustrate
organizational behavior in a variety of venues.


Archetypes Exercise
+
The problem
symptom

+ Archetype: Fixes that Fail

+

Unintended +
Class Section 2.4 consequence Zipperer/Corliss/Tompson

Fixes that Fail
+ Cost recovery
initiated The problem
symptom

Client
leaves
Quality
+ Archetype: Fixes that Fail

Expertise
leveraged
Client Bills
+
Isolation
Unintended +
Class Section 2.4 consequence Zipperer/Corliss/Tompson

Archetypes: Making Change
n  Visualize, study and implement
change projects
n  Identify positive reinforcing loops
n  Do s and Don ts
¨  Do: run small tests, learn from the experience,
explore effectiveness regularly
¨  Don t: stop at the identification process, see loop
as etched in stone


Questions & Recap
n  Problem definition and the five whys
n  Diagramming methods and dialogue
n  What to do next?


PART THREE
3.1 Intro and Personal Awareness
3.2 Ladders of Inference
3.3 Discussion and Dialogue
3.4 Wrap Up


Role of Personal Awareness in
Systems Thinking
n  Mental Models
n  Ladders of Inference
n  Discussion and Dialogue


Mental Models
n  Are deeply ingrained assumptions
n  Are tacit, not explicit
n  Can derail systems thinking
n  Need tools to expose them
¨  Left
hand column
¨  Ladders of inference


Ladders of Inference
n  A common mental pathway of
increasing abstraction, often leading to
misguided beliefs" Chris Argyris
n  AKA Leap(s) of Abstraction

Do NOT climb up
the wrong ladder!

Fieldbk, p. 243

Ladders of Inference, con t
Ladder rests on:
1) observable data and
2) one s past experience - both are solid.

Rungs move further
away from the concrete.


Steps Toward Understanding

1st Rung: Select data to focus on

2nd Rung: Add own meaning to data

3rd Rung: Make assumptions re data -
can be more than one
rung


Steps Toward Understanding
Next Rung: Draw conclusions - can
be more than one rung

Next Rung: Develop, add to beliefs
about world - worldview

Top Rung: Take actions based
on beliefs


Climbing the Ladder: an Exercise

n  Start from the bottom of the ladder
n  Build up – one assumption is usually based
upon another and the inaccurate belief
system grows.
n  Brainstorm the corrective behaviors
n  Share tales from the front cases.


Recap: Tool for Awareness
n  MUST
¨  filter data,
¨  decide what is important,
¨  develop belief system, and
¨  act upon it.

n  HOWEVER, one can develop inaccurate/harmful, etc.
belief systems and views.
n  AWARENESS and PERSONAL MASTERY can keep
you from climbing up the wrong ladder!



Discussion and Dialogue
n  Constructive interaction with colleagues
promoted continued learning
n  Librarians can apply reference interview skills
to other interactions
n  Modes of conversation have different
elements and support different goals


Goals of Conversing Styles
n  Advocacy
¨  Marketing leverage
¨  Arguing for one point of view
n  Discussion
¨  Team consensus builder
¨  Goal oriented or task-based focus
n  Dialogue
¨  Exploration and determining shared meaning
¨  Discovery and insight
¨  Collective inquiry and mindfulness


Setting the Stage for Dialogue
n  Seek to catalyze insight and
discover the process of
thought.
n  Encourage participants to
develop a shared intention.
n  Create a safe harbor
environment where participants
can say what they feel in a
constructive manner.


Setting the Stage for Dialogue

n  Listen not only to participate but with an
openness to change.
n  Be aware of your own thinking
n  Manage conflict effectively and constructively
n  Abandon the notion of the right answer

Fieldbk, 375


Dialogue at Pflom

n  Step into the librarian s shoes
n  Structure an opportunity for dialogue


Recap
n  Do you see a way you can apply systems
thinking and tools to your situation right now?
¨  Stories and Scenarios
¨  5 Whys
¨  Causal Loop Diagrams
¨  Archetypes


Wrap Up
n  Refer back to desired goals from morning
n  Please fill out evaluation form
n  Please leave cards if you are willing to give
us feedback down the road.
n  Presentation available at www.zpm1.com
n  THANK YOU!


Continue the Conversation

n  Lorri Zipperer
¨ lorri@zpm1.com

n  Rebecca Corliss
¨ rcorliss@schiffhardin.com

n  Sara Tompson
¨ sarat57@msn.com


Sla systems thinking ce presentation 2004

Recomendados

Recomendados

Más contenido relacionado

Similar a Sla systems thinking ce presentation 2004

Similar a Sla systems thinking ce presentation 2004 (20)

Más de Sara R. Tompson, M.S.

Más de Sara R. Tompson, M.S. (13)

Último

Último (20)

Sla systems thinking ce presentation 2004