Systems Sensing for Transformations Organizations: Lessons from the Transformations Conference 2023

Abstract

What lessons can be drawn from our systems sensing practice at the Transformations Conference for application in transformations organizations? We conduct a practitioner reflection on practice to present key insights from facilitating two systems sensing workshops (one in-person, one online) at the Transformations Conference 2023. Systems sensing “can be understood as a visceral aptitude that draws on innate human capacities for being in relation with, listening deeply to, and momentarily embodying the elements of a system” (Ritter and Zamierowski 2021, 105). Our interest in systems sensing is rooted in the mounting urgency of eco-social crises and the corresponding need for novel forms of inner and outer transformation. Our workshops led participants through various systems sensing practices, most importantly a systemic constellation, to explore an inner and collective transformative learning edge. This paper aims to harness key lessons from these workshops for applying systems sensing practices in transformations organizations. The lessons we discuss cover aspects such as: how systems sensing practices can gather and share data to help emerging inquiry processes see and sense themselves; how their practice can provide novel perspectives on experiences; how they can foster spaces for recalibration; and how they can help us become present to invisible or unacknowledged systemic dynamics. Closing these practitioner reflections, we discuss recommendations for applying systems sensing methods in transformations organizations and beyond. We hope to spark joint explorations of the role of systems sensing in the restoration of ways of existence that allow all life on Earth to thrive.