Systems Thinking in Organisation Development: Understand Your Company’s Culture and Behaviours

Explore How Systems Thinking Helps Leaders Uncover the Hidden Dynamics Shaping Company Culture and Team Behaviours.

Want to understand a large system? Look at its smallest functioning unit- its microcosm.

You don’t always need access to the whole picture. Sometimes, a part reveals the pattern.

Consider the microcosm of Civic sense→ Cleanliness in Public Spaces

How do people maintain public spaces? Do they litter, have garbage cans? This is a microcosm of the nation’s public morality.

Or in a relationship, Relationship Health→ Conflict

The way a couple or friends fight, blame vs. curiosity, shutdown vs. repair, shows the resilience and depth of their relationship.

Now zooming out to organisations,

If you’re leading change as a Business head, CHRO, L&D Lead or CEO, you don’t have to take on the whole elephant at once.

You can start by observing the microcosm.

Here are a few to begin with:

Company Culture→ Behaviour

Your organisation’s culture lies in the everyday actions, silent approvals, casual jokes, and unspoken expectations. It’s not what we say we believe; it’s what we actually do.

Behaviour is the microcosm of culture.

Want to assess performance?

Performance → Opportunities

Look at who gets the stage, who’s encouraged, and how often people get to show what they can do.

Opportunity is the shadow system behind performance.

To check how decisions are made, watch your meetings.

Decision-making → Meetings

Are they structured or chaotic? Does the capability to make decisions only lie with a few?

The way decisions show up in meetings mirrors how they move through your system.

So the question is, which microcosm will you start observing or shifting to change the system you’re part of?