Individual or Team? chapter 2

1. When to Use Systems Mapping

  • Not for every problem: Systems mapping is specifically for complex, adaptive challenges.

  • Ask yourself: Is the issue well-understood? Is there a clear solution? If the answer is yes, you probably don't need systems mapping.

  • Complexity Check:

    • Simple/Complicated: Like a car. If it breaks, a manual or a mechanic can fix it. It follows linear logic.

    • Complex: Like the education system. There is no manual. It involves many people (students, teachers, parents) and shifting variables like culture and policy.

2. The Stacey Matrix: Sorting Challenges

This tool helps categorize the "vibe" of a problem based on certainty and agreement:

  • Simple: Clear answers; traditional management works.

  • Complicated: Multiple potential answers; requires experts and brainstorming.

  • Complex: High turbulence; no established patterns; lots of disagreement.

3. The Power of "Lived Experience"

  • Direct Impact: People who have actually lived through a social issue (the "experts by experience") have insights that data alone can't provide.

  • Case Study (Sheldon Kennedy): By sharing his experience with abuse in sports, he identified systemic gaps that lawyers and doctors missed, leading to the creation of the Luna Centre and streamlined trauma care.

  • Collaboration: Combine lived experience with professional expertise to find "leverage points" (smart places to make changes).

4. How to Pick Your Research Topic

  • Start with Passion: Choose something you actually care about so you don't burn out.

  • Scope it Down:

    • Bad Topic: "Global Poverty" (Too big to handle).

    • Good Topic: "Barriers to education for refugees in a specific local camp."

  • Access: Make sure you can actually get data or talk to people with lived experience.

  • Ethical Check: Be careful when working with vulnerable groups; always consider the ethics of your research.

5. Refining the Challenge: The "5 Whys"

  • The Solution Trap: Don't start with a solution (e.g., "We need more hand-washing stations"). Start with the problem ("Why is disease spreading in schools?").

  • The 5 Whys Technique:

    1. State the problem.

    2. Ask "Why does this exist?"

    3. Take that answer and ask "Why?" again.

    4. Repeat at least 55 times to peel back the layers and find the root causes.

  • Reframing: This process helps you move from surface-level symptoms to the deep systemic forces at play.