As a military member, you are joining one large system. In the complex and broad-spanning Department of Defense, you have an important role to play, because of the influence and stake you have in the team and organization’s success. One tool used to improve your teams, processes, and outcomes wherever you’re planted is a Systems Thinking Approach.
A system is any group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent parts that form a complex and unified whole that has a specific purpose.
Systems Thinking or a systemic perspective enables you to see how pieces of a whole are connected and fit into the larger context of day-to-day life, how they behave, and how to manage them.
The reading below is a great primer for learning and applying a systems thinking mentality, which will have a compounding effect on your career, your teams, and your life.
By applying this knowledge and mental model, you can tackle numerous complex challenges.
- How do I get promoted?
- How do I fix training issues in my unit?
- Why do we continue to put out “fires”?
- Why do our processes not work well?
By understanding the system, you begin to see the various inputs, functions, and outputs that occur. From here, one can begin to pull levers at various key nodes to produce your intended outcomes.
Nick Co 
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