Nonprofit Performance 360 Magazine Vol 5 No 1

Systems Thinking

Thinking Systems in the Virtual World ROBERTA GILBERT

Few people take it into consideration, but it is a fact of nature that emotions are very infectious. People tend to take on the emotions of others, especially when the others are leaders. The stronger the emotion, the more and faster it spreads. For the purposes of thinking systems, we’ll call strong emotions anxiety. Spreading anxiety in cyberspace can lead to damage This fact of human behavior holds, even for speaking and writing. A speaker’s emotions will tend to influence the entire audience, no matter how large the audience may be. It is also a fact for the writer. Our emotional state tends to come through and influence others in our writing, as well as in our in- person pronouncements - even online. Real damage can be done online to relationships. I have known many leaders who have lost or almost lost their jobs as a result of email transmissions gone viral. Your friends will always keep you apprised of the rumor mill going on around you. One leader was told about a campaign against him. Emails from an officer in the organization alleged that the number of users was going down and, as a result, profit was decreasing. Also, the emails charged, the endowment was being depleted.The leader, a systems thinker, headed directly toward the anxiety. He called in the officer and told him that he was aware of the email campaign. He stated that there would be an audit of the organization’s finances in a few days and the facts would be made available to all concerned.The audit vindicated the leader. The officer was fired and the ado was over.

There are many questions arising in this new world of cyberspace, and we don’t have answers to most of them yet. Until we have more answers, I am on the side of keeping up in person with important relationships, as much as possible. Some research done with children indicates that the more hours they spend with their cell phones, the smaller some important areas of the brain are. That’s alarming. One expert in this research, when asked at what age kids should be given cell phones, gave this answer: most experts in the field think not until at least age 18. Research is finding that some kids, and some adults also, become addicted to their phones, and suffer withdrawal symptoms when not allowed constant access. Questions to self We all need to stay out of any imbroglio online and perhaps avoid over-focusing on our phones, pads and other devices. How do we do it? Here are five questions we might ask ourselves before going to email or social media: 1. Am I calm enough to write online now? Or might I simply spread destructive anxiety around my organization/family? 2. Have I thought about this issue enough to be sure what I believe about it? 3. Am I saying what I want to say in the calmest and clearest way I can? Have I read over it and given it at least one objective edit before sending? 4. Am I using Facebook as a substitute for more in-person, face to face contact with someone? continued on page 38

Systems thinkers call this behavior triangling. When we spread rumors and anxiety, we add to the anxiety of the organization, making the situation worse. When that happens, the mission of the group doesn’t get accomplished. Energy is sidetracked into the issue, disrupting relationships and causing personnel to take sides, all for what may have little or no basis in fact. The social brain Research indicates that our brain developed as our social systems developed.That is, as we had a need to navigate social systems with a growing level of complexity, our brain size increased, thus the term social brain. Sociality is the most complex of human activities, and may be the least understood part of human existence. Murray Bowen’s work ( Family Therapy in Clinical Practice ) is helping remedy that situation. But still, there is much to be learned. Into the social relationship picture, we now have the social media: email, Facebook, Twitter, texting. Some people say that Facebook helps them keep up with what everyone in their family is up to. Others wonder if it is rather a substitute for social exchange in person, the kind that takes so much of the brain to perform. Is it hiding from people rather that making that phone call, doing the live Skype interchange rather than making the visit?

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