Understanding Change

As we enter a new year, it is natural to look forward to the things that we want to start and that we want to change.  The first few weeks of January are busy times as people pursue lifestyle changes, start businesses and launch into their dreams. 

But change is hard and it often fails. Structures below the surface can affect the circumstances that we want to change without us even being aware of them. 

Systems thinking uses a model of an iceberg to illustrate deeper principles behind change. At the top of the iceberg are events - the things we can observe, the things we react to. Most of the time we focus on these. For me, an example of an event is not taking initiative, like when I don't get back to people who are counting on me to make a decision. 

But there is a lot more to an iceberg than the part that is above the water. Below events are patterns - what has happened in the past, the places we have been before. Something happening once is different than something happening over and over again. It would be easy for me to blame my lack of initiative on someone or something else, but the truth is that it is a pattern that occurs over and over again in different circumstances with different people. Ouch!

Below patterns are structures - the forces that shape and drive the patterns. Structures may not be readily apparent from the events and patterns that you observe. They may be related to experiences that happened a long time ago or even things that you have forgotten. Some of the structures behind my pattern of not taking initiative are from not wanting to miss out on a better alternative, or not knowing what to do and avoiding risk by choosing to do nothing - both based on a motive of looking out for myself. 

Finally, below structures are mental models - the patterns of thinking that allow structures, patterns and events to continue. An ancient teaching says 'as a man thinks in his heart, so is he'. By looking at the iceberg illustration you can see why this is. The deepest and most resistant part of people and organizations is the way we think. If we want to change deep things we need to expose and challenge the assumptions behind our thinking. This is extremely difficult to do yourself and you may need to involve somebody who is willing to be honest with you. I am not sure yet about the thinking behind my lack of initiative - it may come from a belief that l will always be wrong and the best course of action is to withdraw. Now there is some thinking that will hold me back in the pursuit of my dream. 

As you look forward to a new year and new opportunities, I encourage you to take some time for reflection. You may uncover some things that you didn't want to see, but these may be the key to the change that is needed to walk into your dream.