1. Systems Approach: Adaptive Action, Accountability, and Social Justice
MESI Spring Conference
March 9, 2016
Royce Holladay, M.Ed., HSDP
Greetings, and welcom. I am Royce Holladay, Human systems Dynamics Professional –former educator, consultant, coach, artist—across a number of areas of interest and applications—social justice is always a part of what I explore, learn, and work to reinforce. I am pleased to be here today to talk with you all and to offer you three tools for exploring the impact of social justice work in your own issues.
in the interest of full disclosure: I am not an evaluator. I don’t pretend to have the skill or knowledge you all have in evaluating and measuring systems. What I do have is a deep understanding of the dynamics of human systems and a practitioner’s perspective for assessing and understanding the impact of my work to shift patterns in a system. What I am offering today are not tools for evaluation. They are tools for understanding your systems and for making sense of the changes you see in your systems. It would be great if any of you could take these tools and adapt/explaing/use them in ways that contribute to the field of evaluation in meaningful and useful ways.
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2. What’s up today?
See, understand, and take action in the complexity that shapes social justice issues
Engage with dynamics that shape patterns of social justice
Practice three assessment processes to understand the impact of your own most intractable challenges
Today, we will talk about how we can see, understand, and take action to assess and shift the complexity that shapes social justice issues.
We will engage with the dynamics that shape the patterns of your own social justice challenges. And we will play with three assessment processes to understand the impact of you own
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3. You will leave with:
Clearer understanding of how patterns of social justice emerge
Three options for assessing your system to shape patterns of social justice
An action plan to use in your own challenging complex systems
It’s my goal that you will leve here with a clearer understanding of how patterns of social justice emerge and three ways to assess your system as you shape those patterns. Finally, I want you to go with a plan to use in your own most challenging social justice issue.
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4. Reflection
Take 3 minutes to reflect on your own challenging issues. Consider:
What is the challenge you want to explore?
What makes it so challenging?
Where are the tensions in the system?
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5. Speak and Listen Get into groups of 3
Each person will share his/her own challenge for 3 minutes
After 3 minutes, next person will talk about his/her challenge
After everyone has shared, engage with each other for 3 minutes to identify what is the same and different across your issues
Remember:
When one is talking, no one interrupts or comments
Focus on the three questions from the reflection
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6. Why is it so hard to reconcile social justice and accountability?
Reconciline social justice and accountability has long been a challenge—Grantors, agencies, non-profits want to assess the impacts of their work, and often they want concrete numbers and measures. And as you know, often those measures don’t really reflect the changes and impacts in human systems terms. Who was changed and how much? What was the overall impact on relationships? What really changed in how people work together? What is the coherence within the community, organization or institution? Social justice as an outcome basically defies traditional accountability measures.
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7. Social justice is a pattern . . .
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8. that emerges (or not) from human interactions . . .
“Social justice” does not exist because we will it or because we name it. It exists as a pattern or interaction in the system because of the ways humans interact. When we treat each other with compassion… When we set up systems to assist those who cannot assist themselves… When we allow access . . .When we consider privilege of humanity rather than of race or gender or power or position
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9. in a complex adaptive system.
System-wide patterns
emerge
To influence future interactions
Agents interact
Think about a time when you have come into an existing team or group. They knew the rules and you didin’t. Think of a time when you helped a new member of a system enteryour group….What did you share with them that was not written down.
Now think about patterns of injustice.
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10. Patterns are shaped by . . . Known and unknown forces
High levels of diversity
Non-linear causality
These are the conditions that shape complexity…Describe them...When a system can deal with these conditions around them, the system has what we call Adaptive Capacity
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11. Adaptive Capacity as an indicator . . .
System resilience and ability to respond
Sustainable – over time
Robust – in a single incident
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12. Accountability: Measuring Social Justice?
Emergent
Shaped by multiple, known, and unknown forces
Changeable over time
Open to subjective truth
So that’s why it’s so difficult to measure social justice…All these characteristics that enable a system to respond to changes and diversity are difficult to measure in traditiona, quantitative terms. But a system that deals with the diversity it faces, that response in productive and resilient ways to multiple forces, that can change over time and can honor subjective truth...that system has adaptive capacity and is one to be reckoned with.
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13. What can you do? Rely on iterative evaluation
Consider self- and system-assessments that are based on
Inquiry about your environment
Pattern Logic about the dynamics around you
Simple Rules that shape your patterns
So what choices do you have as you consider the impacts of social justice programs?
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14. Inquiry
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15. Inquiry Turn judgment into curiosity
Turn disagreement into shared exploration
Turn defensiveness into self-reflection
Turn assumptions into questions
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16. Inquire into the patterns around you . . .
Similarities, differences, and connections that have meaning across space and time
Space and time
Tension in the system
Formal or informal
More than a word
Personal or global
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17. Pattern Spotters Generalizations Exceptions Contradictions Surprises
Puzzles
Reminders
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18. Hints . . . Use one, some, or all Look for the tension in the system
Look where you can act
Amplify the tension points
Damp the tension
Build where you can touch
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19. Pattern Spotters Reflection
Use the Pattern Spotters to consider your own challenge
Share in your triad
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20. Pattern Logic
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21. Pattern Logic is . . .
Use and study of disciplined reasoning based on the conditions for self-organizing (Eoyang)
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22. It’s important because . . .
Pattern Logic builds adaptive capacity to respond to unpredictable change in complex environments
See the patterns in the world around us
Understand the implications and meanings of those patterns
Respond with wise, informed action
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23. Conditions that shape emergent patterns . . .
Who are we?
What’s important?
How do we connect?
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24. Map the Conditions Who are we? What if your identity is Too strong?
Too weak?
Unfocused?
What’s important?
How do we connect?
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25. What if your differences are Too strong? Too many? Undifferentiated?
Who are we?
What if your differences are
Too strong?
Too many?
Undifferentiated?
What’s important?
How do we connect?
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26. What if your connections are Too strong? Too weak? Unfocused?
Who are we?
What if your connections are
Too strong?
Too weak?
Unfocused?
What’s important?
How do we connect?
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27. Map the conditions: Considering . . . Amplify . . . Damp . . .
Container
Differences
Exchanges
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28. Pattern Logic Reflection
What can you see in the conditions that shape your system?
Where are the conditions out of balance?
What might you do to bring them back into balance?
Share in your triad.
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29. Simple Rules
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30. Simple Rules (SR) Generate coherence across a complex system
Inform action and decisions
At all scales
Across roles, groups, individuals
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31. Simple Rules Shape patterns Looking retrospectively
Planning prospectively
Inform action
Address all three conditions
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32. Identify / Define Simple Rules (Retrospective)
Identify dominant patterns that shape system-wide tension
Consider rules that might shape those patterns:
Container (Identity)
Differences (Important)
Exchanges (Connections)
Name some SRs and check them out with the locals
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33. Identify / Define Simple Rules (Prospective)
Identify dominant patterns that could shape system-wide tensions you want
Consider rules that might shape those patterns:
Container (Identity)
Differences (Important)
Exchanges (Connections)
Name some SRs and check them out with the locals
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34. Cupertino Union School District
Teach and learn in every interaction
Search for the true and the useful
Engage in joyful practice
Build on assets of self and others
See, understand, and influence patterns in the whole, the part, and the greater whole
Act with courage
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35. Assess System Performance with Simple Rules
Create descriptors to inform the system
What would it look like around here, if. . .
Consider all scales – policy, practice, relationships, expectations
Engage at points of implementation
Develop rubrics to reflect change over time
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36. Simple Rules in Your System
How might this approach help you (and others) understand your challenge?
How might you invite others into the conversation?
Share in your triad.
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37. If you want peace, work for justice.
--Pope Paul VI
Conclusion
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38. Today we explored . . .
How patterns of social justice emerge in complex systems
Three options for assessing your system to shape patterns of social justice
Actions you can use in your own challenging complex systems
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39. For more info . . .
Adaptive Action: Leveraging Uncertainty in Your Organization Glenda Eoyang and Royce Holladay
Radical Rules for Schools: Adaptive Action in Complex Change Leslie Patterson, Royce Holladay, and Glenda Eoyang
Simple Rules: Radical Inquiry into Self Royce Holladay and Mallary Tytel
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40. Thanks For your time and attention For your participation today
For the work you do every day to promote social justice
Be in touch!
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