Systems thinking is about systems and it is about thinking. By this I mean that it refers both to thinking about systems and to taking a systems view of the thinking process itself.
Let’s look at both sides briefly.
Systems
A system has parts. These parts relate to one another in ways that produce outcomes. Every system is in turn part of larger systems, so its boundaries are always relative to the perspective you take.
Systems are everywhere. They show up in nature, in organizations, in families, in bodies, in ideas and in habits. Understanding a system means paying attention to its individual parts, the relationships among them and the larger patterns those relationships create.
Systems behavior is often not linear, nor produces outcomes according to simple, binary logic.
When we think and reason about a real-world system, we generally do not work with raw reality itself, but rather build or update a mental model of that system and then reason with that.
Thinking
The systems we think about (both generally and specifically) influence how we approach the thinking. In Systems Thinking Made Simple – New Hope for Solving Wicked Problems, Derek Cabrera and Laura Cabrera provide this helpful reminder in chapter 2:
Although it may seem obvious, it warrants stating that in the term systems thinking, systems is the adjective describing the noun, thinking.
When we approach thinking about a situation, using the language and concepts of systems, we do so from the perspective of a systems thinker. This means looking for the wholes and parts, interactions and flow, relationships, perspectives.
This gives structure to our thinking and helps guide us as we evolve a systems-informed mental model of the situation.
Systems thinking is critically important. As befitting the often complex nature of systems, systems thinking is about the systems and the thinking, not just one without the other.