We use the term “Habits of Mind” to mean having a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with problems to which we do not immediately know the answers. When humans experience dichotomies, are confused by dilemmas, or come face to face with uncertainties, our most effective actions require drawing forth certain patterns of intellectual behavior. When we draw upon these intellectual resources, the results that we produce are more powerful, of higher quality, and of greater significance than if we fail to employ those patterns of intellectual behaviors.

Employing Habits of Mind requires a composite of many skills, attitudes, cues, past experiences, and proclivities. It means that we value one pattern of thinking over another, and therefore it implies choice making about which pattern should be employed at which time. It includes sensitivity to the contextual cues in a situation signaling that it is an appropriate time and circumstance to employ this pattern. It requires a level of skillfulness to employ and carry through the behaviors effectively over time. Finally, it leads individuals to reflect on, evaluate, modify, and carry forth to future applications their learnings.

Research in effective thinking and intelligent behavior indicates that there are some identifiable characteristics of effective thinkers. Scientists, artists, and mathematicians are not the only ones who demonstrate these behaviors. These characteristics have been identified in successful mechanics, teachers, entrepreneurs, salespeople, and parents — people in all walks of life.

Habits of Mind

Following are descriptions and an elaboration of 16 attributes of what human beings do when they behave intelligently (see “16 Habits of Mind”). These Habits of Mind are what intelligent people do when they are confronted with complex problems. These behaviors are seldom performed in isolation. Rather, clusters of such behaviors are drawn forth and employed in various situations. When listening intently, for example, one employs flexibility, metacognition, precise language, and perhaps questioning.

Please do not think that there are only 16 ways in which humans display their intelligence. It should be understood that this list is not meant to be complete. You, your colleagues, or your students will want to continue the search for additional Habits of Mind by adding to and elaborating on this list and the descriptions (for an example of an additional list, see “13 Habits of a Systems Thinker,” compiled by the Waters Foundation).

1. Persisting

“Persistence is the twin sister of excellence. One is a matter of quality; the other, a matter of time.”

— Marabel Morgan

Efficacious people stick to a task until it is completed. They don’t give up easily They are able to analyze a problem to develop a system, structure, or strategy to attack it. They employ a range and have a repertoire of alternative strategies for problem solving. They collect evidence to indicate their problem-solving strategy is working, and if one strategy doesn’t work, they know how to back up and try another. They recognize when a theory or idea must be rejected and another employed. They have systematic methods of analyzing a problem that include knowing how to begin, what steps must be performed, and what data need to be generated or collected. Because they are able to sustain a problem-solving process over time, they are comfortable with ambiguous situations.

• Managing Impulsivity“. . . . [G]oal-directed self-imposed delay of gratification is perhaps the essence of emotional self-regulation: the ability to deny impulse in the service of a goal, whether it be building a business, solving an algebraic equation, or pursuing the Stanley cup.”

  —Daniel Goleman

  Effective problem solvers have a sense of deliberativeness: They think before they act. They intentionally form a vision of a product, plan of action, goal, or destination before they begin. They strive to clarify and understand directions, develop a strategy for approaching a problem, and withhold immediate value judgments about an idea before fully understanding it. Reflective individuals consider alternatives and consequences of several possible directions prior to taking action. They decrease their need for trial and error by gathering information, taking time to reflect on an answer before giving it, making sure they understand directions, and listening to alternative points of view.

• Listening to Others — With Understanding and Empathy“Listening is the beginning of understanding. … Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening. Let the wise listen and add to their learning and let the discerning get guidance.”

  —Proverbs 1:5

  According to Stephen Covey, highly effective people spend an inordinate amount of time and energy listening. Some psychologists believe that the ability to listen to another person, empathize with them, and understand their point of view is one of the highest forms of intelligent behavior. Being able to paraphrase another person’s ideas, detecting indicators of their feelings or emotional states in their oral and body language, accurately expressing another person’s concepts, emotions, and problems — all are indications of listening behavior (Piaget called it “overcoming egocentrism”).

  Peter Senge and his colleagues suggest that to listen fully means to pay close attention to what is being said beneath the words. Generative listening is the art of developing deeper silences in yourself, so you can slow your mind’s hearing to your ears’ natural speed and hear beneath the words to their meaning. This is a complex skill requiring the ability to monitor one’s own thoughts while, at the same time, attending to the partner’s words. Honing this behavior does not mean that we can’t disagree with someone. A good listener tries to understand what the other person is saying. In the end, he may disagree sharply, but because he disagrees, he wants to know exactly what it is he is disagreeing with.

• Thinking Flexibly“If you never change your mind, why have one?”

  — Edward deBono

  An amazing discovery about the human brain is its plasticity — its ability to “rewire,” change, and even repair itself to become smarter. Flexible people are the ones with the most control. They have the capacity to change their minds as they receive additional data. They engage in multiple and simultaneous outcomes and activities, draw upon a repertoire of problem-solving strategies, and know when it is appropriate to be broad and global in their thinking and when a situation requires detailed precision. They create and seek novel approaches and have a well-developed sense of humor. They envision a range of consequences.

  13 HABITS OF A SYSTEMS THINKER

  The Water Foundation has identified 13 Habits of a Systems Thinker. For detailed definitions of each, click here.

  • Seeks to understand the “big picture”
  • Observes how elements within systems change over time, generating patterns and trends
  • Recognizes that a system’s structure generates its behavior: focuses on structure, not on blame
  • Identifies the circular nature of complex cause and effect relationships, i.e. interdependencies
  • Changes perspectives
  • Surfaces and tests assumptions
  • Considers an issue fully and resists the urge to come to a quick conclusion
  • Considers how mental models (i.e., attitudes and beliefs derived from experience) affect current reality and the future
  • Uses understanding of system structures to identify possible leverage actions
  • Considers both short- and long-term consequences of actions
  • Finds where unintended consequences emerge
  • Recognizes the impact of time delays when exploring cause and effect relationships
  • Checks results and changes actions if needed:, “successive approximation”

  Flexible people can approach a problem from a new angle using a novel approach (deBono refers to this as lateral thinking). They consider alternative points of view or deal with several sources of information simultaneously. Thus, flexibility of mind is essential for working with social diversity, enabling an individual to recognize the wholeness and distinctness of other people’s ways of experiencing and making meaning.

  Flexible thinkers are able to take a “macro-centric” perspective. This is similar to looking down from a balcony at ourselves and our interactions with others. This bird’s-eye view is useful for discerning themes and patterns from assortments of information. It is intuitive, holistic, and conceptual. Since we often need to solve problems with incomplete information, we need the capacity to perceive general patterns and jump across gaps of incomplete knowledge or when some of the pieces are missing.

  Yet another perceptual orientation is “micro-centric” — examining the individual and sometimes minute parts that make up the whole. Without this “worm’s-eye view,” science, technology, and any complex enterprise could not function. These activities require attention to detail, precision, and orderly progressions.

  Flexible thinkers display confidence in their intuition. They tolerate confusion and ambiguity up to a point, and are willing to let go of a problem, trusting their subconscious to continue creative and productive work on it. Flexibility is the cradle of humor, creativity, and repertoire.

• Thinking About Our Thinking (Metacognition)“When the mind is thinking it is talking to itself.”

  — Plato

  Occurring in the neocortex, metacognition is our ability to know what we know and what we don’t know. It is our ability to plan a strategy for producing what information is needed, to be conscious of our own steps and strategies during the act of problem solving, and to reflect on and evaluate the productiveness of our own thinking. Probably the major components of metacognition are developing a plan of action, maintaining that plan in mind over a period of time, then reflecting back on and evaluating the plan upon its completion. Planning a strategy before embarking on a course of action assists us in keeping track of the steps in the sequence for the duration of the activity. It facilitates making temporal and comparative judgments, assessing the readiness for more or different activities, and monitoring our interpretations, perceptions, decisions, and behaviors.

  Metacognition means becoming increasingly aware of one’s actions and the effect of those actions on others and on the environment, forming internal questions as one searches for information and meaning, developing mental maps or plans of action, mentally rehearsing prior to performance, monitoring those plans as they are employed. It involves being conscious of the need for midcourse correction if the plan is not meeting expectations, reflecting on the plan upon completion of the implementation for the purpose of self-evaluation, and editing mental pictures for improved performance.

• Striving for Accuracy and Precision“A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is committing another mistake.”

  — Confucius

  Embodied in the stamina, grace, and elegance of a ballerina or a shoemaker is the desire for craftsmanship, mastery, flawlessness, and economy of energy to produce exceptional results. People who value these qualities take time to check over their products. They review the rules by which they are to abide; they review the models and visions they are to follow; and they review the criteria they are to employ and confirm that their finished product matches the criteria exactly.

  To be craftsman-like means knowing that one can continually perfect one’s craft by working to attain the highest possible standards and pursue ongoing learning in order to bring a laser-like focus of energies to task accomplishment. For some people, craftsmanship requires continuous reworking. Mario Cuomo, a great speechwriter and politician, once said that his speeches were never done — it was only a deadline that made him stop working on them!

• Questioning and Posing Problems“The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advances.”

  — Albert Einstein

  One of the distinguishing characteristics between humans and other forms of life is our inclination and ability to find problems to solve. Effective problem solvers know how to ask questions to fill in the gaps between what they know and what they don’t know. Effective questioners are inclined to ask a range of questions. For example, they request data to support others’ conclusions and assumptions through questions such as, “What evidence do you have?”

  They pose questions about alternative points of view:, “From whose viewpoint are we seeing, reading, or hearing?”

  They inquire into causal connections and relationships:, “How are these people/events/situations related to each other?”

  They pose hypothetical problems: “What do you think would happen if …?”

  Inquirers recognize discrepancies and phenomena in their environment and probe into their causes:, “Why do cats purr?”, “Why does the hair on my head grow so fast, while the hair on my arms and legs grows so slowly?”, “What are some alternative solutions to international conflicts other than wars?”

• Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations“I’ve never made a mistake. I’ve only learned from experience.”

  — Thomas A. Edison

  Intelligent human beings learn from experience. When confronted with a new and perplexing problem, they will often draw forth experience from their past. They can be heard to say, “This reminds me of . . .” or “This is just like the time when I . . .” They call on their store of knowledge and experience as sources of data to support, theories to explain, or processes to solve each new challenge. Furthermore, they are able to abstract meaning from one experience, carry it forth, and apply it in a new and novel situation.

• Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision“I do not so easily think in words . . . after being hard at work having arrived at results that are perfectly clear . . . I have to translate my thoughts in a language that does not run evenly with them.”

  — Francis Galton

  Language refinement plays a critical role in enhancing a person’s cognitive maps and their ability to think critically, which is the knowledge base for efficacious action. Enriching the complexity and specificity of language simultaneously produces effective thinking. Language and thinking are closely entwined. Like two sides of a coin, they are inseparable. Fuzzy language is a reflection of fuzzy thinking. Intelligent people strive to communicate accurately in both written and oral form, taking care to use precise language, defining terms, correct names, and universal labels and analogies. They strive to avoid overgeneralizations, deletions, and distortions. Instead, they support their statements with explanations, comparisons, quantification, and evidence.

• Gathering Data Through All Senses“Observe perpetually.”

  — Henry James

  The brain is the ultimate reductionist. It reduces the world to its elementary parts: photons of light, molecules of smell, sound waves, vibrations of touch — which send electrochemical signals to individual brain cells that store information about lines, movements, colors, smells, and other sensory inputs. Intelligent people know that all information gets into the brain through the sensory pathways: gustatory, olfactory, tactile, kinesthetic, auditory, visual, Most linguistic, cultural, and physical learning is derived from the environment by observing or taking in through the senses. To know a wine it must be drunk; to know a role it must be acted; to know a game it must be played; to know a dance it must be moved; to know a goal it must be envisioned. Those whose sensory pathways are open, alert, and acute absorb more information from the environment than those whose pathways are withered, immune, and oblivious to sensory stimuli.

  Furthermore, we are learning more about the impact of arts and music on improved mental functioning. Forming mental images is important in mathematics and engineering; listening to classical music seems to improve spatial reasoning. Social scientists solve problems through scenarios and roleplaying; scientists build models; engineers use cad-cam; mechanics learn through hands-on experimentation; artists experiment with colors and textures; musicians learn by producing combinations of instrumental and vocal music.

• Creating, Imagining, and Innovating“The future is not some place we are going to but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.”

  — John Schaar

  All humans have the capacity to generate novel, original, clever, or ingenious products, solutions, and techniques—if that capacity is developed. Creative individuals try to conceive problem solutions differently, examining alternative possibilities from many angles. They tend to project themselves into different roles using analogies, starting with a vision and working backward, imagining they are the objects being considered. Creative people take risks and frequently push the boundaries of their perceived limits. They are intrinsically rather than extrinsically motivated, working on the task because of the aesthetic challenge rather than the material rewards. Creative people are open to criticism. They hold up their products for others to judge and seek feedback in an ever-increasing effort to refine their technique.

• Responding with Wonderment and Awe“The most beautiful experience in the world is the experience of the mysterious.”

  — Albert Einstein.

  Efficacious people have not only an “I can” attitude, but also an “I enjoy” feeling. They enjoy figuring things out by themselves and continue to learn throughout their lifetimes. They find beauty in a sunset, intrigue in the geometry of a spider web, and exhilaration at the iridescence of a hummingbird’s wings. They see the congruity and intricacies in the derivation of a mathematical formula, recognize the orderliness and adroitness of a chemical change, and commune with the serenity of a distant constellation.

• Taking Responsible Risks“There has been a calculated risk in every stage of American development — the pioneers who were not afraid of the wilderness, businessmen who were not afraid of failure, dreamers who were not afraid of action.”

  — Brooks Atkinson

  Flexible people seem to have an almost uncontrollable urge to go beyond established limits. They are uneasy about comfort; they “live on the edge of their competence.” They seem compelled to place themselves in situations where they do not know what the outcome will be. They accept confusion, uncertainty, and the higher risks of failure as part of the normal process, and they learn to view setbacks as interesting, challenging, and growth producing.

  However, they are not behaving impulsively. Their risks are educated. They draw on past knowledge, are thoughtful about consequences, and have a well-trained sense of what is appropriate. They know that not all risks are worth taking! It is only through repeated experiences that risk taking becomes educated. It often is a cross between intuition, drawing on past knowledge, and a sense of meeting new challenges.

• Finding Humor“Where do bees wait? At the buzz stop.”

  — Andrew, age six

  Another unique attribute of humans is our sense of humor. Laughter transcends all cultures and eras. Its positive effects on psychological functions include a drop in the pulse rate, the secretion of endorphins, and increased oxygen in the blood. It has been found to liberate creativity and provoke such higher-level thinking skills as anticipation, the identification of novel relationships, visual imagery, and analogy. People who engage in the mystery of humor have the ability to perceive situations from an original and often interesting vantage point. Having a whimsical frame of mind, they thrive on finding incongruity and perceiving absurdities, ironies, and satire; finding discontinuities; and being able to laugh at situations and themselves.

• Thinking Interdependently“Take care of each other. Share your energies with the group. No one must feel alone, cut off, for that is when you do not make it.”

  — Willie Unsoeld

  Humans are social beings. We congregate in groups, find it therapeutic to be listened to, draw energy from one another, and seek reciprocity. In groups, we contribute our time and energy to tasks that we would quickly tire of when working alone. In fact, we have learned that one of the cruelest forms of punishment that can be inflicted on an individual is solitary confinement.

  Cooperative humans realize that all of us together are more powerful, intellectually and/or physically, than any one individual. Probably the foremost disposition in the post-industrial society is the heightened ability to think in concert with others and to find ourselves increasingly more interdependent and sensitive to the needs of others. Problem solving has become so complex that no one person can go it alone. No one has access to all the data needed to make critical decisions; no one person can consider as many alternatives as several people can.

• Learning Continuously“Insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

  — Albert Einstein

  Intelligent people are in a continuous learning mode. Their confidence, in combination with their inquisitiveness, allows them to constantly search for new and better ways. People with this Habit of Mind are always striving for improvement, growing, and learning. They seize problems, situations, tensions, conflicts, and circumstances as valuable opportunities to learn.

  A great mystery about humans is that we confront learning opportunities with fear rather than mystery and wonder. We seem to feel better when we know rather than when we learn. We defend our biases, beliefs, and storehouses of knowledge rather than inviting the unknown, the creative, and the inspirational. Being certain and closed gives us comfort, while being doubtful and open gives us fear. The highest form of thinking we will ever learn is the humility of knowing that we don’t know.

In Summary

Drawn from research on human effectiveness, descriptions of remarkable performers, and analyses of the characteristics of efficacious people, we have presented descriptions of 16 Habits of Mind. This list is not meant to be complete but rather to serve as a starting point for further elaboration and description.

These Habits of Mind may serve as mental disciplines. When confronted with problematic situations, students, parents, and teachers might habitually employ one or more of these Habits of Mind by asking themselves, “What is the most intelligent thing I can do right now?”

• How can I learn from this? What are my resources? How can I draw on my past successes with problems like this? What do I already know about the problem? What resources do I have available or need to generate?
• How can I approach this problem flexibly? How might I look at the situation in another way? How can I draw upon my repertoire of problem-solving strategies? How can I look at this problem from a fresh perspective?
• How can I illuminate this problem to make it clearer, more precise? Do I need to check out my data sources? How might I break this problem down into its component parts and develop a strategy for understanding and accomplishing each step?
• What do I know or not know? What questions do I need to ask? What strategies are in my mind now? What am I aware of in terms of my own beliefs, values, and goals with this problem? What feelings or emotions am I aware of which might be blocking or enhancing my progress?
• The interdependent thinker might turn to others for help. She might ask, How does this problem affect others? How can we solve it together? What can I learn from others that would help me become a better problem solver?

These Habits of Mind transcend all subject matters commonly taught in school. They are characteristic of peak performers, whether in homes, schools, athletic fields, organizations, the military, governments, churches, or corporations. They are what make marriages successful, learning continual, workplaces productive, and democracies enduring.

The goal of education therefore should be to support others and ourselves in liberating, developing, and habituating these Habits of Mind more fully. Taken together, they are a force directing us toward increasingly authentic, congruent, ethical behavior. They are the tools of disciplined choice making. They are the primary vehicles in the lifelong journey toward integration. They are the “right stuff” that makes human beings efficacious.

This article is adapted with permission from Arthur Costa and Bena Kallick, “Describing 16 Habits of Mind.” Click here to access the original article. The authors have a new book coming out, Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind: 16 Essential Characteristics for Success (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2009).

Arthur L. Costa, Ed. D., is an Emeritus Professor of Education at California State University, Sacramento and co-director of the Institute for Intelligent Behavior in El Dorado Hills, California. He has served as a classroom teacher, a curriculum consultant, and an assistant superintendent for instruction and as the director of educational programs for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Bena Kallick, Ph. D., is a private consultant providing services to school districts, state departments of education, professional organizations, and public sector agencies throughout the United States and abroad. Her areas of focus include group dynamics, creative and critical thinking, and alternative assessment strategies in the classroom.

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Meet the KaosPilots: a team-based international business education with the aim of being the best school for the world. Each year, this Danish-based program welcomes in a team of students from around the globe. Together these students embark upon a three year journey that takes them though the disciplines of project design, process design, and business design. The teams consist of individuals between the ages of 21 and 31 with diverse nationalities, professional backgrounds, and ambitions for the future.

Why KaosPilots? Why Now?

In this time of rapid change, we need individuals, organizations, and communities that are able to embrace complexity, dance in the moment, and navigate in times of chaos. We need leaders who are not only able to make tough decisions but who are also visionary, supportive, collaborative, and creative.

In his book The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge highlights the importance for organizations of having a focus on personal mastery, or learning and personal growth. He writes, “Organizations learn only through individuals who learn.” This understanding lies at the heart of the KaosPilots. Their aim is “…that each individual student acquires the skills, knowledge, and understanding of themselves and the world around them, enabling them to realize their values, visions, and goals in an organizationally, socially, and economically viable way.”

KAOSPILOT VALUES

The KaosPilots was founded in 1991 in Denmark’s second-largest city, Aarhus. The school rose out of a local youth group called the Front Runners, which took a positive approach to creating cultural projects that responded to relevant social issues. With their creative and innovative solutions, the Front Runners proved to be pioneers of social entrepreneurship in the local area.

After years of creating these cultural projects, some of the Front Runners, including project leader and director Uffe Elbaek, began developing an idea. They would create a school that would provide students with knowledge, experiences, and skills in the field of social entrepreneurship (see “KaosPilot Values”). The rest, as they say, is history. The KaosPilots was born.

Over the years, the KaosPilots has received support from companies such as Apple, Lego, and Carlsberg. Currently, the program is financed by the Danish government, the in-house consulting company, KaosWorks, and student tuition fees. Most applicants discover the school through word of mouth. KaosPilots are out in the world working on projects, engaging with others, and often talking about their education. They don’t hesitate to share why they are enrolled in the school, what they love about it, what they’d like to change, and how they are part of changing it. In addition, articles in the international media, including magazines such as Fast Company, Ode Magazine, and BusinessWeek, tell the KaosPilots story to those who are farther away, leading potential students to the website, where they are able to find more information, contact current students, or download an application (www.kaospilot.dk).

Based on their written applications, approximately 70 individuals are invited to attend a unique application workshop that takes place in Aarhus over the course of two days at the end of April. During this workshop, the potential KaosPilots-to-be complete various assignments while working in small groups with other applicants. Using the information gathered from this experience as well as from the applications, members of the staff and student body then select a diverse team of about 35 aspiring KaosPilots to begin the program in the fall.

Each year, a single team is welcomed to the KaosPilots. The program lasts three years, which means that at any one time, around 100 students are enrolled at the school. Since 1991, 15 teams have matriculated. Fifteen staff members fill the roles of school leadership, administration, technical support, team leaders, and consultants for KaosWorks. Others who influence the KaosPilots are the board of directors and the school’s vast network of lecturers, graduated KaosPilots, clients, partners, members of sister schools and programs, and friends.

The Education: A Closer Look

The layout for the three years, in short:

1st Year –The Tool Box First year is focused on methods, theory, and practical project work related to three core areas—Project Design (project development and management), Business Design (business development and management), and Process Design (process management and leadership).

2nd Year – Process Management and International Project Management Second year is focused on Process Design and Process Management (including the design and facilitation of processes for external customers). In the spring, the team goes on a three-month “Outpost,” implementing projects for external clients in another country.

3rd Year – Project and Business Design Third year is focused on Business Design (entrepreneurship and building the business plan), an individual world practicum, in which the student further explores his/her area of focus in an organizational setting, and an individual project leading to the final exam.

“You can always count on the KaosPilots to take you exactly where you need to go . . .” —Alan Webber

Students generally work five days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The curriculum is a mix of lectures, projects, and individual, group, and team assignments. All members of the team go through a similar course of study, as they are a single learning unit throughout their three years at the KaosPilots. Students also engage in cross-team and organizational projects and events throughout the year.

In the fall of 2008, the school experimented with a new initiative called “White Week.” During this four day program of inspirational learning, the whole organization participated in lectures, workshops, and dialogue around the theme of community. Guest speakers included Robert Fortunato from For Strategy Consulting (US), Nick Nissely from The Banff Centre (Canada), and Anna Kirah from CPH Design (Denmark).

In the last few years, sister schools and programs have opened up in Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands. A couple of years ago, the school in Aarhus switched from conducting lectures in Scandinavian languages to English; this shift has allowed the student body to become more diverse. Currently, the KaosPilots hail from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Brazil, the Netherlands, Cuba, the United States, South Africa, Iraq, Costa Rica, and Morocco.

“Best School for the World”

The KaosPilots has always had a global focus. Since the school’s founding, teams have worked and studied around the world during their projects, Outposts, and internships. The experience is exciting and is seen as crucial as the borders of organizations and nations are becoming more and more permeable in this globalized world.

Over the years, the KaosPilots has developed and shifted in response to the changes taking place around the world. This adaptation includes a focus on three key areas: sustainability, social innovation, and cultural diversity. Together students and staff are exploring these subjects to discover their deeper meaning and the possibilities they hold for the future.

Last February, a team of KaosPilots spent a semester in Shanghai exploring the theme of social innovation. Their work included a joint project with Chinese graphic design and multimedia students and British photography students. The group created and displayed an exhibition of more than 30 art pieces aimed at highlighting social needs in China and the initiatives that are bringing people together to fill those needs.

Upon their return to Denmark, the KaosPilots students created a book about their discoveries in this field entitled, Social Innovation, ATravel Guide. With regards to this publication, Alan Webber, founding editor of Fast Company, wrote, “You can always count on the KaosPilots to take you exactly where you need to go—in this case on a journey to the future.”

Making, Not Looking for, Work

Founder Uffe Elbaek was once quoted as saying:, “KaosPilots are people who don’t look for work, but make their own.” This could be related to the school’s culture of seeking possibilities in challenging situations. If you want something done, instead of pointing fingers, KaosPilots tend to ask “How am I going to do it?” and “How can others support me?” With the space for individual initiatives, this element of responsibility creates a learning and working environment that is flexible, inspiring, and alive.

The students at the KaosPilots conduct their projects almost exclusively for external clients. This process of taking action based on their skills and theoretical understanding deepens the learning process. Success is the aim, but there is always the freedom for failure. This mindset allows students to take greater risks and therefore create stronger results than they might otherwise. Integrated in this learning experience is team and individual reflection, which supports the projects before, during, and after their execution.

One of the central concepts of the KaosPilots is that projects should produce a “Win-Win-Win” result: that there is a gain for the two parties involved as well as for the society of which they are a part. Whether students are developing an entrepreneurial education in Rwanda, working to “green” Dublin with rooftop gardens, or creating a youth dialogue project in Bosnia, the goal is to use the mechanisms of project, process, and business to create a positive impact in response to pressing needs in communities and nations.

Although unique in its approach, the KaosPilots is one of many alternative education programs on the rise around the world focusing on leadership, innovation, social entrepreneurship, and organizational change. So perhaps the question to ask ourselves is not, what does it mean to educate creative, young leaders, but instead, what does it mean for our future if we don’t?

November Sky Freyss-Cole is from Wellfleet, Massachusetts. She is a final-year student at the KaosPilots and carried out her World Internship at Pegasus Communications, Inc.

What You’ll Find on the KaosPilots Bookshelf:

Organizational Culture and Leadership by Edgar H. Schein
Building Strong Brands by David A. Aaker
Birth of the Chaordic Age by Dee Hock
Take It Personally by Anita Roddick
Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World by Margaret J. Wheatley
Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges by C. Otto Scharmer
The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life by Richard Florida

The post The Kaospilots: School of Societal Change, Business Creativity, and Personal Mastery appeared first on The Systems Thinker.

Becoming a seasoned systems thinker starts with a strong commitment to developing your own awarenesses and skills.

Ask Different Questions. Systems thinking offers a framework for defining problems as well as solving them. To practice thinking from a more systemic perspective, start by paying attention to the questions you ask. Try to ask questions that get at underlying structural relationships or patterns of behavior exhibited over time; that focus your attention on potential delays, balancing or reinforcing processes, and unintended consequences; and that help you understand what time intervals you’re focusing on and how you and others are perceiving situations.

Learn to Experience Time Differently. When faced with complex problems, we are often strongly influenced by society’s messages about what constitutes enough time. Typically, we focus on shorter time intervals than we should.

To combat this, try making explicit the time horizon with which you are working. For example, are you interested in the behavior of oil prices as they move over a two-month period or a two-year period? What might be an appropriate time horizon for understanding the impact of nuclear-waste disposal?

Also, extend your sense of what constitutes “the present.” Try thinking in terms of a longer block of time as “now”—say, one year past and one year ahead. Ask yourself what was happening a year ago. What is happening now? What does the next year hold? By extending our sense of “now,” we can grasp interconnections that we may not have seen before.

Try slowing down so that you can align more effectively with the systems you are trying to understand. In his book The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge observes that “learning to see slow, gradual processes requires slowing down our frenetic pace and paying attention to the subtle as well as the dramatic.” Take a walk outside. Sit under a tree for 20 minutes. Shadows will move. A leaf may fall. See what you can observe by slowing down.

Notice the Systems Around You. Try looking for feedback loops in everyday situations. For example, has your company launched a new product whose sales really took off, only to plateau out eventually? This may indicate a reinforcing process that suddenly is affected by a balancing process. Are you feeling pulled like a yo-yo between two extremes? If so, there is likely a balancing loop at work.

Keep an eye out for signs of systemic processes in your personal life as well, such as the impact your actions have on your family system or natural cycles. Might a reinforcing loop be broken if you picked your socks up off the floor? What might happen if you—and others—turned off the water while brushing your teeth?

Draw a Loop-a-Day (or one a week). Every morning, sit down with your cup of coffee, the newspaper, a pad of paper, and a pen, and look for news stories that you can explore through causal loop diagrams. Search for stories that describe patterns of behavior over time. (For example, “The unemployment rate rose over the past 10 years, as did the number of families seeking welfare assistance.”) Sketch the systemic structure that you think is producing those patterns. This is a great way to practice recognizing systemic structures and mastering causal loop diagramming. The Economist magazine is a particularly rich source of systems-oriented stories.

Collaborative Learning

For many people, real insights come in the company of others. Likewise, the use of systems thinking concepts and tools is most powerful in a group or team

Find a Coach or Mentor. Establish an apprenticeship with a seasoned systems thinker. Shadow that person during part of a workday or a consulting engagement. Or, identify a systems thinking coach or mentor. Pick one example a week from your daily coffee-and-causal-loop exercise and fax or e-mail the article and your diagram to your mentor. Discuss the loops and consider alternative explanations, key questions, data you’d want to collect, and possible interventions.

Start a Book Group. Find a partner or group with whom you can connect on a regular basis to read an article or book related to systems thinking or organizational learning. Read a chapter or article a week and then discuss it (in person or by phone or e-mail). Or, convene a group to try exercises in experientially based books such as The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, Systems Thinking Basics, The Dance of Change, or The Systems Thinking Playbook.

Form Learning Communities. Gather with others who are interested in systems thinking, either in person or on-line. If you live near people interested in building their systems thinking skills, try meeting once a month. Have members bring stories from their business experiences, and select one to discuss as a group. Explore the roots of the problem through inquiry and causal loop diagramming.

This article is an update of some of the material in “Life-Long Systems Thinking Practice” by Linda Booth Sweeney, The Systems Thinker V7N8.

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