Stay humble. Stay a learner.

Donella Meadows said that systems thinking had taught her to trust her intuition more and her rationality less but still be prepared for surprises.  She reminds us that our mental models are incomplete; that the world is complex and how much we don't know.

Having just completed the first interview for my thesis this really rings true at the moment.  

Was I surprised?  Yes.  Is my mental model incomplete? Yes  Is the system more complex than I assumed?  Yes.

Which is ridiculous.  As an action researcher who is 'in the system' I had already identified (and written down) that there is a risk that I might let my worldview dominate; I might assume an understanding of the system and let these influence the analysis.  The intent is to manage this risk through reflexive practice - specifically by using Meadow's Systems Wisdoms.  I had expected the interviewees to have different views to me but had anticipated that these views would relate to an aspect of the system I was aware of.  What I hadn't honestly anticipated was that I would be surprised in the very first interview by a colleague expressing a view of an aspect of the system which I was unaware of and had never considered.

What did I learn and what will I do differently next time:

• my zoom only does automatic transcription if you record to the cloud so next time I won't save the recording to my desktop 😞
• In a semi-structured interview have one clear opening question then go with the flow - the additional questions I had as prompts really didn't help the flow of the conversation
• Have some specific points to check - it will make analysis easier if you specifically check these points
• Consider how to help the interviewee follow the flow of the interview - the chat function can provide a visual (written) prompt

It’s the social element

Last week I went into the office for a couple of days. It's the third time this year I've been in the office but unlike the previous visits this one wasn't for a pre-arranged event or workshop. This time I was going into the office to sit at a desk and work - just like I used to do what seems like a lifetime ago pre pandemic.

It really wasn't what it used to be like though. The main difference this time is that although Westminster has removed restrictions our team hasn't flocked back to the office and it felt like a ghost office. There are a number of contributory factors:

• Holiday season. Even though travel is still challenging it's school holidays, it's been a long year and many of my colleagues are taking time off work 
• I have many Italian colleagues and you just don't work in August .... 
• different rules in different places eg the Scottish government still have 'work from home if you can' in place 

These are all factual reasons but I wonder how much of the lack of presence in the office is due to the social system resisting a change and that what we have built over the last 16 months works and that we are now settled and comfortable in remote working. It certainly does feel unusual and worthy of remark when you meet colleagues in the flesh. Particularly when you've been working with them for a year and only even seen them on a computer screen in that time.

One person who was in the office, and is routinely in the office is a new team member who joined two weeks ago. With us she has never established the routine of remote working but started immediately into a hybrid model. She really enjoys being in the office and doesn't want to work completely remotely but does appreciate the ability to work from home a couple of days a week (mainly as it avoids the need to commute on the tube). In the office she particularly enjoys what she describes as the 'social element' of meeting people in person and chatting, getting to know people and building relationships on a personal level. These are spontaneous interactions - not planned or booked in advance for a specific purpose as happens on video. For her it is a really important element of working in the office and something she would be very reluctant to give up.

Donella Meadows talks about finding the appropriate point / lever to intervene in a system to effect change. I wonder how much our new team member will be a lever?