A Systems Thinker Deals with a Layoff, Part 2: Relationships
By Chris Abbey
Meg Wheatley writes in Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time, "Through relationships, information is created and transformed, the organization's identity expands to include more stakeholders, and the enterprise becomes wiser. The more access people have to one another, the more possibilities there are. Without connections, nothing happens."
Over the last couple of years, I have spent a lot of time focusing on the twin ideas of community building and social networking. This last quote captures what I see happening on the internet today and within my own job search. Much of the building of relationships is taking place through social networking 
technologies like Ning, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Face-to-face relationships are still important, but in addition, your ability to nurture your own personal networks is fast becoming a determining factor in the number of options available for your future.
The number of connections is somewhat important--more is better than fewer. But the total number is not the whole equation, because there is a multiplying factor in the quality of the connections. Being linked to a thousand people who think you are a jerk is going to factor negatively against you--you'd be better off connected to just one who truly loves you.
As part of my process in moving forward after receiving a layoff notice, I formed a social group within my organization called "IT People with Warn Notices." This group has been slowly growing. People are initially reluctant to participate for three reasons. First, it takes them time to move through the seven steps of grief. Second, they feel a stigma for having received a warn notice. And, third, many people underestimate the power of networking and sharing information. They fail to increase their networking just when they need it the most.
I'm trying to battle these negative perceptions by modeling a different warn notice persona, one who chooses not to hide but rather to share my new reality and call on my network for support. To help myself through this career transition, I began writing a daily blog about my journey. I share the blog with "my system," including the "IT People with Warn Notices" group, family, friends, co-workers, and the rest of the people who make up my connections to the world.
"Since our very survival depends upon our becoming better systems thinkers, we need to learn to see the systems we're participating in. If not, we'll never resolve these questions: How can we act intelligently when things are fuzzy? . . . What kinds of actions make sense when we're confronted with increasing uncertainty?" explains Meg. Taking stock of my personal and professional connections has been a truly humbling and empowering exercise. I've come to understand the richness and diversity of knowledge embedded in my network. I've felt buoyed by people's goodness and desire for my well being. I recommend doing a "stock-taking exercise" on your own, even without the prompting of a world-shaking event such as receiving a warn notice.
After taking stock, I made sure that all of my connections knew of my situation; that the system had knowledge about the condition of one of its nodes--this created what Meg calls "a disturbance." From this disturbance has come action. Numerous emails arrive every day with job ideas, further connections to make, offers of help, and kind words of encouragement and empathy. Through this taking stock, I have found "acceptance and hope," the seventh step of the grieving process, and I have become grateful for all that I have.
My future is still uncertain. I may find another position with my current employer or may be starting on a new path. In either case, I am slowly finding my way, using my knowledge of systems thinking and living systems as a personal guide for moving forward.
Chris Abbey is responsible for bringing about the education, engagement, and empowerment of employees in a global information technology organization, enabling them to continuously improve their products and services. His work involves coaching, mentoring, and training in various hard and soft skills, such as High Performance Work Teams, Lean, Systems Thinking, Theory of Constraints, and trust building. One of his current passions is in the use and building of communities of practice as a way to greatly increase sharing and collaboration in complex organizations.