Take It Up A Level

Take It Up A Level.

Lost in the weeds? Juggling balls? Spinning plates? Surrounded by noise?

Pick your metaphor — we've all lived it. In our ways of thinking and working. Our being and doing.

But these aren't the problem. They're symptoms.

There will always be hiccups, changes and unknowns at the best of times, let alone in complex systems. But if we focus on these issues, or at this level, we may miss this bigger opportunities for improvement and change.

In a recent conversation someone said, "take it up a level".

It was a helpful prompt. An invitation to shift perspective.

- From symptom to problem
- From micro to macro
- Toward out-of-the-box thinking
- Whole-system considerations

A more expansive view, taking it up a level helps us understand why challenges are present and frame them in the broader system. We can then explore what system change(s) might shift the processes and ways of working to enable better flow, less struggle and reduced waste.

So, just a mid-week question to consider.

Where might you be able to take your thinking up a level?