System Change

General characterization

Prerequisites

n/a 

Bibliography

Head, B. W., & Alford, J. (2015). Wicked problems: Implications for public policy and management. Administration & society, 47(6), 711-739. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0095399713481601 

Watch the TedTalk of Indy Johar "Social innovation in the real world - from silos to systems": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHnwq2F6204

Visit the website www.openideo.com and explore how design thinking is being applied to solve social problems 

Bourne, L., & Walker, D. H. (2005). Visualising and mapping stakeholder influence. Management decision. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740510597680 

Conklin, J. (2009). Building shared understanding of wicked problems. Rotman Magazine, 16-20. Ney, S., & Verweij, M. (2015).

The upside of messiness: Clumsy solutions for wicked problems. Rotman Management, Winter, 32-38.

Voegtlin, C. (2011). Development of a scale measuring discursive responsible leadership. In Responsible Leadership (pp. 57-73). Springer, Dordrecht.

Eva, N., Robin, M., Sendjaya, S., van Dierendonck, D., & Liden, R. C. (2019). Servant leadership: A systematic review and call for future research. The leadership quarterly , 30(1), 111-132 Pearce, C. L. (2004).

The future of leadership: Combining vertical and shared leadership to transform knowledge work. Academy of Management Perspectives, 18(1), 47-57.

Teaching method

Given the nature of complex systems and wicked problems, any attempt towards collaborative problem-solving ¿should be based on a model of planning as an argumentative process in the course of which an image of the problem and of the solution emerges gradually among the participants, as a product of incessant judgment, subjected to critical argument¿ (Rittel and Webber, 1973). In simple lay terms, you need to create a truly collaborative environment where, through dialogue, solutions can emerge as you make sense of the problem and solution with other stakeholders. This is design thinking at its best. A method we will use extensively. You will apply methods from system change and design thinking to a current wicked global problem (the SDGs will be used as a starting point) in a close-to-real context through a comprehensive simulation that develops throughout the whole program. In this simulation, teams play the role of stakeholders relevant to the problem. You will need to feel, think and act like the stakeholder you represent. You need to study it with care and commitment. 

Evaluation method

This course is designed as a leadership development program. As such, you need to own the learning process. The assessment includes the following components:

Presentation of your stakeholder team (30%): This refers to the fieldwork you need to do between the first and the third class in your stakeholder team. You should study the stakeholder your team represents (interviews, reports, news, etc.) and record a 5-minute presentation for the rest of the class about it, including the scope of its work, size, strategic guidelines, key people, organizational structure, and any financials that you can get access to. Presentations need to be uploaded in advance of the third class and you need to watch each one of them.

Final mixed team presentation (30%): This includes the presentation on the solution devised in your mixed teams. You should also include a summary of your key learnings from the entire problem-solving process. As much as possible the presentation should ground findings on concrete examples to stimulate class discussion. Attention should be paid to the strengths of the team (as a whole and individually), challenges in working together and with other stakeholders, the dissonance between stakeholder role and personal views, difficulties and successes in dealing with other stakeholders, tipping points, and moments of insight, and the process of understanding and addressing the problem itself. You should record your presentation (max 10 minutes) and submit it before the final presentation class. You need to watch the presentations in advance and prepare at least one question per group. Q&A and discussion will be done in class.

Individual reflection (40% of total): A final individual reflection on key personal learnings from classes (max 1000 words). The focus should be put on reflective and critical thinking concerning personal values, beliefs, skills, behaviors, leadership style, and future goals rather than just referring to concepts and theories. The reflection should be grounded in concrete examples and moments of the class.

Subject matter

Systems are interdependent parts or agents interacting collectively forming a whole. Systems exist at multiple levels within and between organizations. With globalization and fragmentation, societal systems have become extremely complex. Many, if not most, of our social and environmental challenges are complex systemic problems as they involve stakeholders often with different and opposing views and intricate relationships between them that are hard to understand and predict. In fact, such challenges can be labeled as wicked. Wicked problems are those that resist resolution. The type of problems that seem to come back with a vengeance every time you think you have it sorted. They are ¿messes¿ of interconnected problems for which there is no clear and definitive solution. As suggested by Rittel and Webber (1973), in a wicked problem ¿one cannot understand the problem without knowing about its context; one cannot meaningfully search for information without the orientation of a solution concept; one cannot first understand, then solve¿. Many, if not all, of the Sustainable Development Goals are wicked. Wicked problems require multi-stakeholder cooperation often on a global scale with various corporations, public institutions, policymakers, NGOs, and the public at large. This calls for a special type of leadership. One that understands system dynamics, complexity, paradoxes, design thinking, opportunity-based problem solving, creativity and dialogue. Systems change is about finding cooperative ways to tackle wicked problems from within the system, progressively nudging it towards practical and unpredictable solutions. 

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: