Tag: reflection

TB871: Reflections on TMA02 and looking forward to Block 5 (SSM)

Posted on August 8, 2024August 8, 2024 by Doug Belshaw

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.

After almost two weeks off, I’m back in the library continuing with my studies. Given the lack of downtime — only one week between modules — I’m wondering whether I’m going to be able to sustain this for three years to gain the full MSc.

I gained 85% for my first tutor-marked assignment (TMA01) whereas I received 75% for my most recent one (TMA02). As I said in an email to my tutor, the word count was so restrictive that I found it really difficult to get into much depth with my answers. The third question, for example, which called for an evaluation of particular tools for the purposes of making strategy, was limited to 300 words! Given that students are now penalised for going even 1% over the word count, I found this very frustrating.

I didn’t disagree with any feedback from my tutor, but some of what she suggested and said was missing was actually included in a previous version of the document. I’m all for concise answers, but the word limits seem somewhat arbitrary.

Moving on, I’m entering the Block 5 Tools Stream which covers Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). This is something I covered as part of TB872, so here are some posts I wrote about SSM as part of that module:

TB872: Snappy Systems

TB872: Rich picture for my systemic inquiry (S2)

TB872: Understanding systemic inquiry in activity model terms

TB872: Situations of concern, systems of interest, and PQR statements

Although I never liked it as a teacher when students were really focused on what was in the test rather than on the curriculum, I’m going to have to be a bit strategic when it comes to TMA03 and my End of Module Assessment (EMA). It looks like TMA03 has exactly the same question structure as TMA02, so I’ve asked for model answers for the latter from my tutor to help structure my answers for the former.

Given that the questions ask about sequential parts of the module, I might actually try a different strategy and answer them as I finish each block, rather than wait to answer them all together. We’ll see.

Character is a thing you do every day

Posted on August 3, 2024August 3, 2024 by Doug Belshaw

Tim Dowling writing in The Guardian about the passing of his 102 year-old father (my emphasis):

I can’t tell you all the things I learned from my father, over my life and his, but I can tell you a few: that you can always make people happy with a story told against yourself; that self-esteem is great, but possibly overrated; that character is not your reputation, but a thing you do every day; that your only real enemy is fear, unless it’s a fear of heights, which is really just a specific form of common sense. And that as you age, a little caution is no bad thing.

I’m hoping my own dad, who turns 75 this year, will be around for a long time yet. But the reason for sharing the quotation is Dowling’s channelling of Aristotle, who can be translated as saying something like:

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.

One of the things I’m really appreciating on this holiday is the chance to reflect on my life. While my daily habits are productive and healthy for me personally, and helpful for my family, they’re very much focused on the short-term. I need to think bigger. Life is short.

TB872: Revisiting my learning contract

Posted on January 5, 2024May 1, 2024 by Doug Belshaw

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.

At the end of November, I was asked to come up with a learning contract. You can see my post about it here, and the table I produced can be found below. I’ll call this one Version 1 (v1).

As part of the learning process, we’re asked to go back and revisit this based on what we’ve learned since doing this. So below is my updated version (v2), with new additions to the ‘Notes’ section in bold, a new colour to differentiate it, and ~~strikethrough~~ formatting on words I’ve removed.

I’ll admit to being quite confused by the difference between S1 and S2. I still am to some degree, although I’ve got more of a grip on it than before. As you can see, my S1 in v1 applies to a client situation, which is actually an S2. In v2 of my learning contract, I correct that.

The words in bold that I’ve added show my additional learning over the past month or so. In particular, what I’ve learned from Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of Ray Ison’s Systems Practice: How to Act about systems thinking as a social dynamic and as a process. I’ve also realised through some of the readings just how important it is to take a holistic view of a particular situation of interest. This is crucial for those in leadership positions, but it’s also important for everyone in an organisation to have some kind of understanding of the whole.

One of the things that’s fascinating is to see how my own understanding of “what I do when I do what I do” has developed over the weeks since I started this module. As my (second) rich picture shows, I’ve been reflecting on tendencies that I have to fight against in terms of perfectionism and control.

What I’ve noticed is how I have come to learn about STiP at pretty much an ideal time in my life. As I was explaining to someone recently, if I had studied systems thinking earlier, I wouldn’t have been ready; I need the lived experience for it to be worthwhile. Coupled with the academic study I’ve done and the approach I took to my doctoral thesis, what I’m doing here feels like a logical extension.

I’m particularly interested in leverage points, and have come to realise that it’s only really possible to identify them once you’ve spoke to plenty of people within a particular situation of concern, and (visually) mapped it out. I’m really looking forward to doing more of this, both for the course, and in terms of my work with clients.

Towards the end of Chapter 3, in a footnote, Ray Ison discusses Max Weber’s concept of an ‘ideal type’:

An ideal type is formed from characteristics and elements of the given phenomena, but it is not meant to correspond to all of the characteristics of any one particular case. It is not meant to refer to perfect things, moral ideals nor to statistical averages but rather to stress certain elements common to most cases of the given phenomena.
Ison, R. (2017) Systems practice: how to act. London: Springer. p.56. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-7351-9.

In that regard, an ideal type is not a Platonic form, but rather something which is more akin to the Pragmatic idea that something is ‘good in the way of belief’. That is to say that it’s an approach to situations which lead to good outcomes, rather than being a template for all outcomes. At least, that’s the way I’m thinking about this at the moment, before moving on to the next section of the book.