Systems Thinking, Systems Leading

Any scan of literature on major projects will reveal a common theme. Major projects need to deliver systems which in turn deliver the benefits expected of the investment in them. Generally, the more significant the project, the more complex the system will be and the more connected it will be with other systems – or the system of systems as explained in the Infrastructure and Projects Authority Routemap module on Systems Integration.

“As projects become more complex, their success or failure is increasingly determined by the interactions between new and pre-existing natural, built and digital systems, and the critical role of people in making these interactions work. As such, project outputs should not be viewed in isolation but as part of a system of systems”. 

The challenge of understanding such system of systems is well documented in the NAO’s report on lessons from Crossrail which, in part, led to the report “A System Approach to Infrastructure Delivery” commissioned by the Institution of Civil Engineers. There’s now a recognition that understanding systems is a core skill for anyone delivering projects in the public sector with the recent “systems thinking for civil servants” guidance being pubished by the Government Office for Science.

There are numerous tools and techniques which can be used to map and model systems to enable solutions to be defined and projects established to implement them. But the real challenge for delivering systems is not a technical one of modelling but one of leadership in the context of complex relationships and non-linear development. So how does the major projects leader embrace systems thinking? What competencies do they need to develop and/or deliver a new system within systems?