Attractors
The Info-letter of the
Human Systems Dynamics Institute
Volume 7.1
  January 2010
 
Every month Attractors shares tips and tools from
human systems dynamics. 
In this month’s edition, Glenda Eoyang reflects on

Whole, Part, Greater Whole  

 
Over the years, we’ve learned many lessons about dealing effectively with human systems. This month’s lesson is—
Attend to the whole, the part, and the greater whole. [1]  
 
I am sure you have been watching the reports from Haiti with horror and sympathy as I have. Along with stories of destruction and death, there have been many images of courage and hope. One in particular struck me as a perfect example of whole, part, and greater whole.
 
One man’s brother was suffering from serious internal injuries. He needed oxygen, but the hospital had none. Patience, a strong personal network, and a telephone put him in touch with another hospital that had a canister of oxygen. They were willing to share. The brother was stabilized and sent off to a hospital ship, but the oxygen stayed behind for others who were in need. In the midst of his concern and fear for his own, our hero said he was pleased that others were using the oxygen, and that he’d be proud and happy to complete his commitment to return the container when it was empty.   
 
The whole. The part. The greater whole. One hospital. One courageous and resourceful fellow. A community of strangers. 
 
We usually think that a choice must be made to benefit the individual or the group. When we think of a whole as a simple summation of the parts, then either individuals are sacrificed for the good of the whole, or the individual is served at the expense of others. Complexity presents an alternative.
 
In complex adaptive systems, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Agents work together to generate system-wide patterns. Those patterns, in turn, interact to form larger patterns, which interact to form larger patterns over time. In these massively entangled, emergent systems, the actions of a single agent at a single level can shift the pattern of the whole with benefits—and sometimes consequences—for self, other, and the system at large. 
 
Our Haitian hero didn’t work to save the system, but his actions had benefits beyond his immediate purpose. He recognized this “unintended consequence” and took pleasure in it. 
 
Most of us don’t face such dramatic situations on a day-to-day basis, but we do have many opportunities to leverage our local actions for the good of the whole. We can make choices and take responsibility for considering how our interventions might have far-reaching consequences.
 
Effective work in a team benefits the individual members as well as the sponsoring organization.
 
Strong institutional ethics set the conditions for productive staff and contribute to a community of care and concern.
 
A strong family builds healthy, happy children and becomes connective tissue for a safe and pleasant neighborhood.
 
A political caucus expresses the needs of individuals while contributing to a lively and productive democratic process. (Well, at least one might imagine that it could.)
 
In all of these cases, effective work at one level of a complex system provides benefits at levels above and below. Productive patterns ripple across a system and replicate coherence and health in other parts. Knowing this natural dynamic can help organization development practitioners (and others) leverage their interventions for the betterment of wholes, parts, and greater wholes. Here are some tips for using this power of self-organizing, complex adaptive systems to supercharge your work:
· Think about and act with a sensitivity to context.
  • Know the networks and systems within which you work.
  • Try to anticipate “unintended consequences.”
  • See and celebrate outcomes that reach beyond the immediate goals.
  • Search for solutions that are likely to generate benefits for parts and greater wholes, as well as the whole on which you focus. 
  • Cultivate empathy and inquiry as ways to engage with all the entangled sub- and super-systems.
  • Listen to the consequences of actions, and learn the lessons they teach.
 As Haiti and its citizens regain a sense of order and stability over the coming months and years, they will be rebuilding patterns at many levels. Individuals will heal in mind and body. Families will come together to mourn and care for their members. Communities will welcome those who come in need and in support. A government will arise from the ashes. Any action in any of these domains will ripple through them all. Increasing strength and health in any will increase the strength of all. An HSD-inspired hope will be that those who provide assistance from inside and outside of the ravaged communities will act in full awareness of the whole, the part, and the greater whole. We must hold this hope aloft because we, you and I, are part of the greater whole of which the Haiti of today is a part. 
 
Glenda Eoyang
     
[1] This is one of HSD Institute's Simple Rules. To learn more, go to: