Engineers think in systems. They understand how one thing works by looking at all its parts, and the relationships between those parts. To Talia Fox, CEO of KUSI Global Inc., however, the value of systems thinking extends beyond traditional engineering. As an executive coach and career consultant, she uses systems thinking to help people re-engineer their thought patterns.
“It’s easy to think [about systems] with an airplane because if there are screws missing or a broken wing, that airplane is going to crash,” says Fox, who has acted as a consultant to some of the world’s top leaders in government, industry, and education. “We have to think about our thoughts in this way, as well.”
This is particularly important for people of color working in STEM, she points out, as many scientists and engineers find themselves burdened by adversity, discrimination, and feelings of insecurity.
“There’s an issue with diversity in STEM,” she says, “but there’s also an unspoken issue of people asking themselves, ‘Can I do this? Am I good enough? Will I make the cut?’ Those thoughts don’t serve you well.”
Instead of dwelling on insecurity, Fox encourages professionals to engage in meta-cognition, the practice of thinking about one’s own thoughts. She advises people to ask themselves where their negative thoughts come from and how they relate to past experiences. The goal of this exercise, she explains, is to understand each thought so that it can be overcome and rebuilt as a positive one.
“You have to take an inventory of your mind,” she says. “The goal is to spend more of your time thinking in the direction where you want to go…your life, success, and goals are going to move in the direction of the things you think about most.”
Borrowing from systems theory, she also encourages professionals to think about every problem as a series of interrelated parts. If someone is turned down for a job after an interview, for example, she advises them to look at each part of the interview—and themselves—as a potential problem.
“You have who you are as a person, your outfit, how you present yourself, your [technical] skills, people skills…” she says, prompting interviewees to reflect on each component of the interview. “Ask yourself how each of these parts impacted the outcome.”
More importantly, she implores professionals to go through this exercise even when they’re successful. That way, they’ll know what they’re doing right, and what they should continue to do in the future.
“If you get the job, you want to examine which parts of [your] experience impacted you getting the job,” she says.
Fox emphasizes that professionals should also think about every problem from other peoples’ perspectives, too. After all, every person in each situation has their own motives, goals, and ways of thinking. “You may think that you’re qualified for a position,” she says, “but are you qualified from a manager’s perspective? From a diversity recruiter’s perspective? From the perspective of a CEO or director?”
Each of these perspectives, she points out, is a unique part of the problem at hand. Examining every perspective can help professionals to understand why situations didn’t work out in their favor, and to prepare for similar situations in the future. Fox reminds us that thinking about these questions is a productive way to work through problems. And unlike self-doubt, it can lead to positive results.
“If you spend your time thinking about these problems, you won’t have time to focus on insecurity,” she says. “You’re strategizing. You’re investing in thoughts that put you in a position to maximize opportunity, and you’re hyping yourself up to get excited and ready for those opportunities.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been tasked with…
Brown and Caldwell, a leading environmental engineering and construction firm,…
Humboldt State University, one of four campuses within the California…
