Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making with Group Mapping

Happy Friday!

Have you ever seen a manager make a significant decision that you knew was wrong? And was that manager kind of lanky? With a tendency to use humor to distract you from noticing his mistakes? If so, my bad.

Last week, I drew your attention to the wide world of causal loop diagrams. In fact, there are many approaches to mapping systems. With high-stakes decisions, maps like these can be very helpful. But the real value is not in the map itself. It’s in the process of generating the map in a group setting.

When I make my own map, it depicts how I view the world (aka “how everyone else should see things”). But when the right group commits to mapping a system together, they are forced to identify, discuss, and reconcile a host of different viewpoints, priorities, and biases.

This is valuable work that leads to:

1. a better understanding of the problem

2. more ownership (and less blaming) for the factors that contribute to a problem

3. a more creative and durable solution

4. more alignment around that solution

5. a greater ability to navigate future issues

All of this sounds simple when covered whimsically in a one-minute email, but most of us have experienced times when the only outcomes were:

1. escalating tensions

2. more deeply entrenched opinions

3. never-ending discussions that went nowhere

Mapping complex problems or mission-critical decisions doesn’t have to take forever, and it doesn’t have to get ugly. Group map building can help foster a culture that leads to more learning and better decisions — where healthy conflict and different viewpoints can be identified, discussed, understood, and valued.

Have a great weekend!

Drew

PS: To really see how causal loop diagrams help identify problems, check out these System Archetypes that map common issues like “Drifting Goals,” “Escalating Conflict,” “Fixes That Fail,” and more.