TB872: Rich picture for my systemic inquiry (S1)

Note: this is a post reflecting on one of the modules of my MSc in Systems Thinking in Practice. You can see all of the related posts in this category.

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I managed to double my workload for this activity, after not reading the instructions properly 🤦

See my previous post for a description of rich pictures. This one represents my past, present, and anticipated future systems thinking in practice (STiP).

The section to the top-left entitled ‘Past’ shows my tendency to think that everything had a ‘solution’ and that it was my job to find the right jigsaw piece. However, as the saying goes, when all you’ve got is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Other people (colleagues, etc.) are looking on while I try and show what I know and can do. I’m trying to fix things.

The middle section entitled ‘Present’ shows my current ability to reflect on my past as well as look to the future, hence the Janus-like figure. The thought bubble shows me and others looking at a situation through different lenses, which are reflected by the different ‘blob’ islands we’re standing on. Notice that we’re not talking to each other very much. I still like to think that my way is the best way, and see trying to understand a situation properly as a personal challenge.

The section to the bottom-right entitled ‘Future’ shows my anticipated new superpower to be talking to other people about their traditions of practice, frameworks, and methodologies. I’m within the dotted circle being part of the conversation, coming to a shared agreement about the approach to use with a given situation. But I’m also outside the situation, reflecting on what’s happening.

Finally, I’ve included ‘progress’ and ‘regression’ arrows because, as I’ve found with all kinds of things in my life, just because I make progress, doesn’t mean that I can’t regress back to a previous approach.