A Primer on Systems-Led Thinking with Daniela Papi-Thornton

#150 A Primer on Systems-Led Thinking with Daniela Papi-Thornton

A conversation with Daniela Papi-Thornton, lecturer at Yale School of Management, TEDx speaker, and author of Learning Service– who has been a leading voice in systems-led thinking approach in the social impact space.

There isn’t a linear path, systems. How might we not lose the impetus to act, but being able to understand the complexity.

She mentions the following resources in the conversation:

Show Notes

• Pamela Hartigan, Director of Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, 2009-2016
• Karl Popper “Cloud Problems and Clock Problems”
• Systems-thinking
  • Systems-Thinking education by Waters Foundation, including Habits of a Systems Thinkers
  • Terms to describe the systems-approach: systems leader, system-led thinking, systems work, systems-led leadership
  • Terms to describe elements of a system: interconnections, relationships,  influences, emergence, feedback loops, levers of change, gaps
  • We can never actually understand a system, we can understand it more every day.
  • Systems Practice course on Acumen+, online course by Rob Ricigliano
  • Systems work approach by Francois Binichi
  • “Dawn of Systems Leadership”, “Collective Impact” articles in SSIR
  • Daniela’s definition for systems-led leadership: someone taking action with the intention of improving the impact of another node within the system. Can be done from a social entrepreneur, a systems lens, “regular” business or role.
  • USAID 5R’s Framework: 5 R’s (where a system is at the center–resources go in, results come out,  roles within the system, relationships connecting roles, and rules that bound the system)
  • Odin Mühlenbein, Ashoka Partner and Systems Change Leader at Ashoka Globalizer Program
  • Map the System Contest
  • example of corporations that utilize systems-led thinking: Care.com

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