Target Audience:  Staff who have taken on new management responsibilities in the last 2-3 years.  ** You will be working on a project that requires the co-operation of both direct reports and colleagues from other parts of the university. **

Application:  To apply, please complete this form, providing an overview (max. 100 words) of a complex issue you are currently grappling with. You will use this issue to apply learnings from the programme across the two days.  Deadline to apply via form is Monday, 2 November 2026.

INTRODUCTION

How we manage situations depends on what we think the problem is. Complexity science and systems thinking ideas and tools can help us develop a fresh vantage point. A project, programme, or process-whether at the initiation stage or already under way and feeling stuck-can benefit from a systemic lens and an action plan based on sound systems tools.

Programme Aims:

This programme supports the development of systems thinking skills through their application to a practical challenge, enabling learning in action. It is designed to help you:

• Reframe a challenge as a complex situation in context
• Explore your personal role and contribution within the situation
• Identify what is stuck and where opportunities for learning lie
• Develop practices for creating sufficient safety to bring others on board
• Design an action plan for managing the situation strategically using systems tools

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the two-day programme, you will:

• Be able to distinguish between complicated, complex, and chaotic situations, and design appropriate interventions for complex situations
• Be able to describe a challenging situation and its complex interdependencies; establish an appropriate boundary around its scope; and engage colleagues with different perspectives
• Have a basic understanding of systemic approaches to working beyond silos and within given constraints
• Have a good understanding of their own personal style and commitment to action learning
• Be better prepared to convene a different kind of conversation around a challenge with key stakeholders