Solve Your Wicked Problem with Systems Thinking
A practical lab to tackle a real organisational challenge while learning to see, think, and plan systemically
Organisations today are facing problems that are:
complex and interconnected;
politically, socially, and economically sensitive;
stuck between short-term pressure and long-term responsibility.
These are Wicked Problems.
Challenges that cannot be solved by a single function, a single expert, or a single decision.
These challenges require:
SYSTEM THINKING
DECISIONS, SOLUTIONS, ACTIONS
This Lab is designed to deliver both.
Learn systems thinking by applying it to solve a real problem faced by your organisation
In this Lab, your teams develop the capacity to think and act systemically by applying systems thinking directly to a wicked problem that already exists in your organisation.
You will not work on simulations or abstract cases.
You will work on your challenge, in your context, with your constraints.
The Lab offers your organization a structured space to work on your specific wicked problem, together, using systems thinking as a practical tool to see clearly, decide wisely, and act coherently.
What this journey does for your organisation
Through a structured, facilitated process, your people will look at a a real wicked problem within your organisation to:
learn to see problems as systems rather than isolated issues
understand patterns, dynamics, and leverage points
make deliberate choices about where to intervene, designing actions that are responsible, realistic, and sustainable
design a solution that is coherent across time horizons, identifying where change will actually make a difference
connect that solution to organisational strategy and governance
At the same time as it learns, the organization advances toward a shared, implementable response to the wicked problem.
Systems thinking becomes a means, not the end.
How the Lab unfolds
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Understanding what is really going on
Your team can step back and see the whole system shaping your challenge, moving from symptoms to a shared systemic understanding.
reframe the wicked problem as a system and create a shared, explicit understanding of the dynamics that shape current outcomes.
define the system boundaries
reframe the challenge beyond symptoms
map stakeholders, power, and influence
identifying patterns, feedback loops, and constraints
What you walk away with
A Systemic Analysis of your Wicked Problem
Clarifying what must be addressed and why: deeper causes, feedback loops, behaviours, structures and interdependencies. -
Deciding where and how to act
Once the system is visible, the question becomes: Where can we intervene so that our actions actually change the situation — not just temporarily, but sustainably?
Move from understanding to deliberate, accountable, well chosen actions that can create real impact, avoiding scattered initiatives and building shared ownership of the direction forward.
identify where and how to intervene in the system to create meaningful, responsible change over time
identify of leverage points
design interventions across short, medium, and long-term horizons
clarify assumptions, risks, and dependencies, aligning priorities and direction
What you walk away with
A Systemic Implementation Plan to address and solve your Wicked Problem
Detailing the actions, ownership, timelines, and measurable outcomes required to deliver the solution to your wicked problem.
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From action plan to strategic coherence
Good plans often fail not because they are wrong — but because they remain disconnected from strategy, governance, or decision-making structures. This final module reconnects the work to the bigger picture of the organization, ensuring coherence with strategy and governance.
Align the proposed solution with organizational strategy, clarifying governance implications and gaining leadership endorsement and continuity
Reconnect the bespoke solution to the organization’s broader strategy, governance, and decision-making structures.
Test Strategic alignment and coherence, clarifying governance and decision rights
Integrate into existing strategies, policies, mandates and budgets, identifying required trade-offs
What you walk away with
A Strategic Integration & Governance Alignment of the Outcome
Connecting the solution and the outcome of the plan to your organizational strategy, governance, and decision-making structures.
Tailored to your organisation.
All the Modules are offered both as online classes, in person or hybrid. Each Module can also be adopted on its own. Sessions, content and timing are planned to fit your organisation’s context and priorities.
For critical roles within the team, we also offer individual coaching or mentoring, as an add-on, to support decision-making, leadership, and role-specific transformation.
Each format includes facilitation, collaborative work, and the strategic synthesis documents.
What you walk away with
At the end of the Lab, your organisation receives three concrete, decision-ready documents relating in a clear, structured way, the solution your team has developed.
The Lab builds capability while delivering a clear solution and a concrete plan for implementation.
A Systemic Analysis of your Wicked Problem
Clarifying what must be addressed and why: deeper causes, feedback loops, behaviours, structures and interdependencies.
Reflect the collective intelligence of the group.
A Systemic Implementation Plan to solve your Wicked Problem
Detailing the actions, ownership, timelines, and measurable outcomes required to deliver the solution to your wicked problem.
Translate dialogue into usable strategic artifacts for continuity
A Strategic Integration & Governance Alignment of the Outcome
Connecting the solution and the outcome of the plan to your organisational strategy, governance, and decision-making structures.
Be grounded in the organisation’s specific context
These are not reports written about you.
They are Executive Summaries of what your people thought through - implementation artefacts, grounded in what has emerged and addressing your organisational reality, roles, context.
Why this is a cost and quality effective approach:
Mature system thinking capabilities improve decision cycles and qualitative foresight by 40–50% efficiency (MIT Sloan)
Higher systems thinking adoption significantly predicts competitive capabilities and product quality (Wiley, Systems Research and Behavioral Science)
Organizational systems thinking predicts lower GHG emissions (Deloitte)
Systems thinking as a learning-organization dimension correlates with innovation, process, and financial performance across reviews (International Journal of Managerial Studies and Research)
This course is designed for Teams within
Private-sector organisations (corporates, SMEs, scale-ups)
Public-sector bodies (ministries, municipalities, institutions)
NGOs and foundations
Educational institutions (schools, universities, research bodies)
Who this is for:
Typical participants:
Executive and senior leadership teams
Cross-functional teams working on transformation or reform
Strategy, sustainability, innovation, policy, or transformation units
Multi-stakeholder groups convened around a shared challenge
Suitable challenges include:
Strategic deadlocks or stalled transformations
Organisational or cultural change challenges
Sustainability, ESG, or impact-related tensions
Policy or governance failures
Technological or digital transitions with social consequences
This Lab is for organisations facing challenges that refuse to stay contained within one team, function, or initiative.
It speaks to those holding responsibility for coherence over time, who recognise that the issue is systemic, not a lack of insight or effort.
It resonates where initiatives fragment, execution stalls, and decisions struggle to hold under real-world complexity.
The Lab supports organisations seeking a shared way of seeing, deciding, and acting together, turning complexity into coordinated action and producing plans that are implementable, legitimate, and resilient across silos.
How this is different from training or consulting:
This is not a training about systems thinking.
And it is not a consulting exercise done for you.
It is a guided working process, where your people build a shared understanding of the challenge.
Not generic training → your real problem
Not traditional consulting → your people do the work
Not a strategy offsite → systemic depth and accountability
This course builds internal capability while delivering immediate value.
Ready to move from complexity to coherent action?
Explore whether this Lab is right for your organisation - get in touch for a customised plan and pricing.