{"id":1034,"date":"2008-08-11T00:05:12","date_gmt":"2008-08-11T04:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/?p=1034"},"modified":"2008-08-03T20:47:30","modified_gmt":"2008-08-04T00:47:30","slug":"systems-misunderstandings-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/archives\/1034","title":{"rendered":"Systems Misunderstandings (Part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Few things escape the consequences of their own success. This axiom seems true even of Bowen Family Systems Theory. It seems that systems theory is now the \u201cin\u201d thing\u2014never have there been as many courses offered, or more \u201cexperts\u201d expounding on the matter. And a sure sign of its popularity is the rate of books being turned out that claim to have a \u201csystems approach to\u201d something or other. This is, overall, a good thing. The more the theory is propagated, the better, I say. But one consequence of the theory\u2019s lightning fast dissemination is the risk of misunderstandings\u2014like in a global game of that old parlor game, \u201ctelegraph.\u201d What goes in one ear at one end may come out as something completely different at the other\u2014the message lost in translation as it is passed from one person to another. <\/p>\n

I continue to hear many \u201cmisunderstandings\u201d related to Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST). And while I\u2019m no self-appointed guardian of the truth, I am enough of an advocate for critical thinking\u2014and admittedly have little patience for \u201cfuzzy thinking\u201d\u2014that I often find myself offering correctives when I hear a misapplication or misunderstanding of the theory. After all, both, I think, can have dire consequences. Below, then, is Part 1 of some \u201ccorrectives\u201d to some of the more common \u201csystems misunderstandings\u201d I run into. <\/p>\n

Systems theory is about leadership.<\/strong> The fact is that BFST is primarily about therapy. But the theory identifies principles about relationships and human relationship systems that are universally applicable to any context in which people form attachments or live and work together. This \u201capplied theory\u201d to the concerns of leadership is appropriate. But to believe that systems theory is a \u201cstyle of leadership\u201d is a fundamental misunderstanding. Too many seem to use BFST as another \u201ctechnique\u201d for leadership, or as a \u201cveneer\u201d applied over a pseudo self so as to \u201cact non-anxiously.\u201d <\/p>\n

Systems theory is about managing conflict.<\/strong> For those unfortunate enough to occupy a leadership position, this is the cold hard truth: conflict exists and it cannot be managed. To assume that systems theory provides a way to manage other people\u2019s behaviors, emotions, beliefs, or anxiety is a fundamental error. What system theory offers the leader is a way to manage him or herself amid the natural conflict that arises in relationship systems. <\/p>\n

Systems theory is about managing change.<\/strong> Sorry, it\u2019s not about this either. How do you \u201cmanage\u201d the nature of the cosmos? Change, in both forms of evolution and entropy, is the nature of the world we live in. The typical misunderstanding here is that systems is a tool to use in managing other people, relationships, organizations, resources, forces, and circumstances. Holding on to that misunderstanding will do a leader in every time. If systems theory is about anything, it is about managing self in the midst of the constant changes around us. <\/p>\n

In tomorrow\u2019s blog we will continue with Part 2 of \u201cSystems Misunderstandings.\u201d Share other misundertandings or misapplications of the theory that you have encountered. <\/p>\n

galindoconsultants.com<\/a><\/p>\n

The above abbreviated material is from a presentation at a Leadership In Ministry<\/a> workshop and a feature in the LIM newsletter. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Few things escape the consequences of their own success. This axiom seems true even of Bowen Family Systems Theory. It seems that systems theory is now the \u201cin\u201d thing\u2014never have there been as many courses offered, or more \u201cexperts\u201d expounding … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bowen-family-systems-theory"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}