In May of 2022, the system-change specialist Adam Kahane was invited to Ottawa to be awarded the Order of Canada for his distinguished career in group facilitation and systems transformation. Kahane describes the scene at Rideau Hall as busy; the backlog of recipients that had developed during the pandemic milled around, waiting to receive their awards. Out of the crowd, a man emerged, introduced himself to Kahane as a veterinary epidemiologist and thanked him for his latest book. “It made me realize,” the man said, “that people are the problem, not animals.”
The vet was not Kahane’s first unlikely fan. The director of Reos Partners, a global consultancy on systems change and conflict resolution, has also found quite a following among divorce lawyers. It doesn’t surprise him. “Really, all my work follows the same theme,” he says on a call from Cape Town, his home away from his native Montreal. “How can people who don’t like each other work together to change systems?”
It’s no wonder, in these polarized times, that people are interested in what Kahane has to say. He’s a sought-after speaker and consultant and the author of six books. His journey into the field of multi-stakeholder collaboration began in South Africa in 1991, when he was invited to facilitate a series of workshops on the future of the post-apartheid state.
A physicist by training, Kahane was working for Royal Dutch Shell at the time, in the area of “scenario planning” – anticipating the impact that social, political and economic developments might have on the company – and the new South African state was interested in using Shell’s scenario method to chart its possible future.
Transforming a complex system requires learning through doing, not just thinking and then doing.
– Adam Kahane, expert on system change
What intrigued Kahane about the discussions, which took place at the Mont Fleur conference centre in the lush hills outside of Cape Town, was how the diverse voices around the table, which represented every position on South Africa’s political spectrum, worked to find common ground and goals; left-leaning academics, traditional white conservatives and radical proponents of armed struggle had to find a way to talk and listen to each other.
The process was fruitful, and it taught Kahane that scenario planning was not just about adapting to, but also shaping, the future. Describing this revelation as a “hinge” in his life, Kahane went on to study applied behavioural science and ultimately, in 2007, to co-found Reos Partners.
An adapted excerpt of his latest book, Everyday Habits for Transforming Systems: The Catalytic Power of Radical Engagement, follows.
- Naomi Buck
The art and practice of system change
A few years ago, after thirty-five years’ work working alongside leading changemakers around the world, I started to ask a fundamental question: How can each of us contribute to transforming the systems we are part of?
The answer I eventually arrived at is crystallized in the notion of “radical engagement.”
To engage radically in pursuit of systemic change, some common mindsets must first be set aside. Transformation can’t be achieved distractedly, superficially or impatiently. It isn’t possible at arm’s length, nor with arms crossed. We can’t just assert ourselves, saying take it or leave it.
Rather, seeking transformational change means bringing hope, curiosity and authenticity to the situation. We have to lean forward, reach out and dig deep. It takes focus and persistence, and above all, reciprocity.
Here are seven everyday habits to become more effective change-agents in the systems of which we are part
Habit 1: Act responsibly.
A system produces familiar results because the people who are part of it continue to play their familiar roles. Radical engagement starts with acknowledging where we are: accepting and taking responsibility for our roles – not just doing what is expected of us or whatever we like. We start contributing to real solutions by becoming aware of how we are part of the problem, and acting accordingly.
Habit 2: Relate in three dimensions.
Transforming a system requires attending to the way it functions in three complementary ways: the whole, the individual parts, and the relationships between the parts. Radical engagement entails relating with other people in three corresponding dimensions – as actors playing roles in the system, as parties with our own interests, and as entangled kin – not just in the one or two ways we’re most comfortable with. We do this by connecting with others, and ourselves, as fully rounded, three-dimensional beings.
Habit 3: Look for what’s unseen.
A system cannot be fully grasped from any single perspective or position. Radical engagement involves seeing more of what’s happening by looking from multiple perspectives – not just from those we’re accustomed to and comfortable with. We sense more by stretching to seek out and learn with people located at other positions in the system.
Habit 4: Work with cracks.
Systems are structured to keep producing their usual behaviours and results, and therefore often seem solid and unchangeable – but they are not. They are built, and they collapse. They crack and are cracked, which opens up new possibilities that some people find frightening and others find hopeful. Radical engagement involves looking for these cracks and then moving toward and working with them, not ignoring or shying away from them. We do this by seeking out and working with openings alongside others who are doing the same.
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Habit 5: Experiment a way forward.
Transforming a complex system requires learning through doing, not just thinking and then doing. Radical engagement involves experimenting: trying things out that we’re not sure will work, paying careful attention to the results, and adjusting accordingly – not just doing what is familiar or safe. We discover what is possible through working with our hands and feeling our way forward.
Habit 6: Collaborate with unlike others.
To transform a system, multiple people with varying capacities and in different positions must find ways to take action together. Radical engagement means working closely with unlike and unlikely others, making our differences productive – not just with people we enjoy, and not forcing or feigning amiability or agreement. We do this by stepping up our engagement with each other and going beyond talking to also acting together.
Habit 7: Persevere and rest.
A system is organized and structured, often over many years, in a way that produces and reproduces its characteristic set of behaviours. It CAN be reorganized and restructured to produce different behaviours, but rarely easily or quickly. System transformation is therefore a long and winding journey, not a short or straightforward project. Radical engagement involves adjusting our pace and course as we go, rather than sprinting for a short while or just pushing on until we burn out. We combine persevering and resting to ensure that we remain effective and healthy on the journey.
Adam Kahane is a director of Reos Partners, an international social impact organization that helps people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues.
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