Water of Systems Change (Part 2): The Deep Current | Ep #94

To truly transform a system, you must dive below the surface. This episode explores the "Implicit" conditions of change: Power Dynamics and Mental Models. Zoran explains why your "organizational operating system" determines your success and how to identify the unspoken beliefs that hold your team back.

 🎙️ Built for Pressure is a short-form podcast for high performers, leaders, and decision-makers who thrive under pressure. Hosted and produced by Zoran Stojković.

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Transcript

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Welcome to the Built for Pressure podcast, episode 94. I'm Zoran Stoikovic. In the last episode, we looked at the surface structures, the policies and budgets that everyone sees. Today, we dive into the implicit depths. This is where the real power lives. If you've ever wondered why a perfectly logical policy change failed to take hold, the answer lies in the middle and bottom of the FSG triangle. These are the semi-explicit and implicit conditions. These are the hidden waters that determine the direction of the entire system. The middle layer is relational. It consists of relationships, connections, and power dynamics. In any organization, the org chart is a myth. The real work happens through the unseen network. Who trusts whom? Who is protecting their territory? Power dynamics are the gravity of systems change. If you try to implement a new practice that threatens the perceived power of a key stakeholder, that person will, subconsciously or consciously, sabotage the change. To bridge this, you have to move from authority to influence. You have to map the conditions. Are your silos communicating? Is information being hoarded as power? Or is it being shared as a resource? When you shift the quality of connections, you change the system's viscosity. You make it easier for ideas to move through the pressure. But at the very bottom of the triangle, the most transformative and most difficult to reach are mental models. These are the deep-seated beliefs, assumptions, and narratives that dictate how everyone in the system perceives reality. As Peter Sench famously noted, systems thinking is a discipline of seeing holes. If the people in your system believe that failure is a death sentence, no amount of risk-taking policy at the surface will make them brave. Your mental models are the operating system beneath the surface. If your OS is outdated, the new software is going to crash every single time. So how do we apply this? Well, first, you have to name the narrative. You have to be willing to look at the team and ask, what is the unspoken belief that is holding this problem in place? Second, you have to redistribute the power. You must bring the marginalized voices, the ones closest to the friction, to the center of the conversation. Third, you have to practice stillness. You cannot see these deep currents if you're constantly thrashing at the surface. Systems change isn't a project with a start and end date. It's a continuous process of shifting the water so that the desired outcome becomes a path of least resistance. It is moving from fixing to stewarding. Today's reflection, what is the unspoken belief in your organization that is currently preventing progress? And are you brave enough to name it? Now, the mission of this show is to help leaders stay capable when the stakes are high. If I've helped you do that today, consider leaving a review. It's the most effective way to help our community grow. I'll see you in the next episode.