Ioanna Nixon, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at University of Glasgow and Consultant Clinical Oncologist at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“I recently attended a workshop on systems thinking with some exceptionally bright people from healthcare and academia.
We discussed complexity, adaptive systems, human factors, safety science, organisational learning and system resilience.
As I listened, I found myself wondering:
How would I explain this to a six-year-old?
So I created this, which at first glance looks like a children’s poster. But it is really a reminder for adults.
- For clinicians trying to understand why things go wrong.
- For leaders trying to improve organisations.
- For educators trying to teach complexity.
- For anyone who has ever asked:
“Who is to blame”? instead of “What happened in the system that made this outcome possible”?
The concepts are the same ones we discuss in boardrooms, universities and healthcare organisations:
- Everything is connected
- Small changes can have unexpected consequences
- Failures are rarely caused by one person
- Strong systems learn and adapt
- The goal is understanding, not blame
If a six-year-old can understand the foundations of systems thinking, perhaps adults can use them too, and there is hope!”
Other articles featuring Ioanna Nixon on OncoDaily.