Living with the gap

Systemic principles in project management

Peter Siwon explains the systemic rules and principles for managing projects, also considering the human side of project success.

As a young project manager, I often wondered: Why do my supposedly experienced colleagues do things I would do completely differently? Are they still living in the Stone Age? I was sometimes very critical of the practices I encountered as an ambitious, eager newcomer. Oh, what I would have changed if they had only let me! Together with other hotheads, I practiced virtual palace revolutions, gossiping about colleagues and bosses. At the time, I wasn't aware that my behavior violated important systemic principles. But more on that later.

The disrespectful attitude towards older people or bosses has largely disappeared from a biological perspective, since I'm usually among the oldest now. However, I still get annoyed by managers who are a burden to their employees. This annoyance is often directed at myself because I keep making beginner mistakes, even though I know better and can't even hide behind a veneer of ignorance. If I were as hard on myself as I am on others, I'd scold myself: "Peter!! You've replaced ignorance with blatant disregard!! Which is worse?"„

I'm not quite that hard on myself. But I am hard enough to actively grapple with this dilemma time and again. Leadership skills are a constant work in progress, at least for me. In my efforts to rectify one or two shortcomings, I've been examining the human side of project success and have stumbled upon a goldmine of insights: systemic thinking.

What lies behind this term? When answering this question, I'll take the same approach as the old schoolteacher in the classic film "Die Feuerzangenbowle": Let's pretend we're completely clueless. What exactly is a systemic way of thinking? (If you don't know the scene, see Google: Feuerzangenbowle steam engine.)

Let's take a project as an example. A project is a system because it distinguishes itself from its environment through, among other things, a goal and the people who have been assigned to the project more or less voluntarily. An important aspect of systemic thinking is the assumption that project team members constantly influence each other's behavior. For example: There's a colleague who prefers to isolate themselves to ponder a solution undisturbed. Another, on the other hand, strives to solve their tasks through intensive contact with their fellow sufferers. Put these two types together; it might have the same effect as nitro and glycerin. Boom! Who's to blame?

Now I'll introduce another systemic perspective: Every system is embedded in an environment that influences that system, and vice versa. So, imagine further that this project is being carried out in a company that places great value on teamwork and communication.

The project manager is practically the epitome of this team culture. Whose side will he take when the aforementioned conflict threatens project harmony? Who feels justified? How will our withdrawn recluse react when the others try to persuade him to communicate more? He'll probably retreat even further into his shell or leave the project in frustration. Unfortunately, this is precisely the person who holds the key to the project's success. The project will fail without him. Who is to blame?

You see, focusing on blame doesn't really get us anywhere. Nevertheless, our minds often desperately try to simplify the world beyond recognition in their search for someone to blame. In doing so, we frequently make a mountain out of a molehill. This then casts such a huge shadow that we can no longer see the connections hidden within it.

Systemic thinking counteracts this distortion of truth. Now it gets a bit complicated: This approach assumes that we can't truly understand the interactions within projects and companies. They are simply too complex and multifaceted because people are inherently complex and multifaceted—especially when interacting with others. If you can't even understand your own children and spouse, you shouldn't imagine you can see through your colleagues in every situation. Honestly, how well do you understand yourself? So forget it! We can't truly understand projects! Now what?

A certain degree of humility is advisable. What we can actually do is give the project, or the people involved, a little nudge and observe what happens. In coaching jargon, this is called stimulating or disrupting the system. If it moves in the desired direction, the nudge seems to have worked. But be careful, this doesn't mean you can now go all out to get the system on track once and for all. Paracelsus's principle applies here – it's all about the dose.

This doesn't mean you've now found a foolproof recipe for project success. It simply means that, under the given circumstances, which we don't truly know, it's currently working, and that it might work again in similar situations. You can literally read the uncertainty in the previous sentence. However, if we observe and stimulate the project according to systemic principles, we increase the likelihood of providing positive impetus. This might not sound particularly helpful to those hoping for a magic bullet. Here, I can introduce another systemic principle: acceptance of what is. And what is given is: there are no guarantees. In projects, we never really know what will happen.

I hope you're now curious about how systemic rules can help you increase your chances of success. You'll be surprised how simple these rules and the principles behind them are. But even here, humility is in order. Just because rules and principles are easy to understand doesn't mean they're easy to live by. For that, we have to internalize them. This requires a lot of practice and patience, as well as the understanding that there are neither guarantees of success nor perfection.

The systemic approach is based on the persistent and patient endeavor to close gaps, knowing that this can never be achieved completely and permanently. If you courageously face this truth, you have already fulfilled an important prerequisite for good leadership.

Here are three examples of how we can apply important systemic principles to projects:

Acknowledgment of what is given

Face the facts. Ensure, among other things, that as many relevant aspects of the project as possible are transparent for you and the team. Everyone should know, for example, the goal, the path, and the people and roles involved, as well as relevant uncertainties, risks, conflicts, and shortcomings. Project management only works if we operate in reality. The art of project management lies not in bending reality to fit a wishful thinking, but in making the best of reality. Sounds simple. Anyone who's been stuck in the project grind for a while knows how difficult it is to consistently live by this principle. What makes things difficult is the fact that we can only ever approximate reality with our perception of a project. There will always be a gap.

Right to belonging

Every project team needs agreements, rules, and rituals that make team members' affiliation with the project visible. An important step is ensuring that each person knows their place (role, function) within the team and is integrated into communication in such a way that they have a fair chance to contribute to the team's success. Another important principle in this context is that we involve absent team members in our actions as if they were present (keyword: complaining behind someone's back). Here, too, it's true that we can only ever approach an ideal state in our human nature and will inevitably have our "lapses." Anyone who has a clean record in this regard, please speak up.

Beware of informal hierarchies

Besides the formal hierarchy outlined in the organizational chart, other informal hierarchies exist that should be considered to avoid or resolve conflicts. For example, it's important that project managers who are younger than their team members understand that they need to acknowledge this fact appropriately. This increases the likelihood that the older team members will, in turn, respect the younger team member's leadership position. Here, too, it's important to keep things in perspective. The younger team member can be provocative at times, and the older team member can be a bit of a know-it-all, as long as the rules of courtesy and fairness are maintained or restored.

I am personally impressed by the combination of wisdom and humility that this systemic approach offers. I believe this combination is key to successful leadership and employee satisfaction. I hope, in all humility (which, unfortunately, I don't always possess to the degree I'd like), that I've piqued your interest in systemic thinking. Learn to live with the gap by embracing it as a space for your never-ending personal growth and enrichment.

Successful project managers have learned to live with the gap.
(Image: foto art Elisabeth Wiesner)

If you would like to learn more about systemic rules and principles, please send me an email with the subject line "systemic" to denkanstoss@microconsult.de. I also welcome your suggestions and feedback on this topic.

Further information

Training & coaching
MicroConsult Training & Coaching on project management

MicroConsult training and coaching - overview

Food for thought:
Column by Peter Siwon about the human side of project work

Peter Siwon: Systemic project management