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Patterns and Possibilities - Curious Conversations with Miss Handie

Patterns and Possibilities - Curious Conversations with Miss Handie

By HSD Patterns and Possibilities - Curious Conversations with Miss Handie

The Human Systems Dynamics (HSD) Patterns and Possibilities podcast focuses on individuals who use HSD to see, understand, and influence patterns that disrupt our daily lives. Every day they deal with complex issues that emerge in the messiness of today's world. Miss Handie interviews individuals who use HSD perspectives and models to help themselves and their clients respond more effectively to the complexity they face. Every two weeks, this podcast will provide insights and approaches to help you navigate the turbulence complexity in your life.
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HSD Invites YOU to be a Curious Fool - Episode 1

Patterns and Possibilities - Curious Conversations with Miss HandieJan 12, 2022

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An HSD Gathering of Curious Minds: What’s Next with Glenda Eoyang - Season 3/Bonus Episode 1

An HSD Gathering of Curious Minds: What’s Next with Glenda Eoyang - Season 3/Bonus Episode 1

It’s been awhile since we had a curious conversation, so we wanted to reunite with all of you for some important news from Glenda Eoyang, Founder and Executive Director of Human Systems Dynamics Institute.

The Human Systems Dynamics Institute is hosting a Gathering of Curious Minds in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Friday and Saturday, April 5-6. This is an in-person opportunity to meet people from everywhere, who lightly and deeply touch and use HSD to see, understand, and influence patterns personally and professionally.

Glenda reveals:

1. Why now is an opportune time for people everywhere to gather around the patterns that disrupt our daily lives;
2. What people everywhere should bring to the gathering table; and
3. What people everywhere can expect to gain and leave with after the HSD Gathering.

If you’re curious about HSD and want to create the patterns that help you and everyone around the globe to thrive, then register for the HSD Gathering and meet us in Minneapolis, Minnesota on April 5.
Mar 28, 202409:22
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Glenda Eoyang - Season 2/Episode 20

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Glenda Eoyang - Season 2/Episode 20

This episode completes our pattern of curious conversations with members of the Human Systems Dynamics (HSD) Community. We couldn’t think of a better way to end the season and podcast than inviting, Glenda Eoyang, Founder and Executive Director of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute, back as our special guest.

In our first episode, Glenda shared: the history behind HSD, why HSD matters, and advice that anyone new to and familiar with HSD can use now.

In this episode, we’ve asked Glenda to explain something many of us are curious about and that is the HSD Vision. She also shares details about the issue that’s at the top of her wicked list.

Glenda helps public and private organizations thrive in the face of overwhelming complexity and uncertainty. She is a pioneer in the applications of complexity science to human systems, and she founded the field of HSD in 2001.

As founding executive director of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute, she leads a global network of scholar-practitioners who use her models and methods to see patterns in the chaos that surrounds them, understand the patterns in simple and powerful ways, and take practical steps to shift chaos toward coherence. Her recent clients include the Finnish Research Institute (VTT), US Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, British Columbia Ministry of Health, Oxfam International, The International Baccalaureate Organization, The Sustainability Consortium, the Association for Medical Education in Europe, UK National Health Service, and Roffey Park Institute.

Glenda received her doctorate in HSD from the Union Institute and University in 2001, studying under Drs. Donald Klein and Kevin Dooley. There she discovered three fundamental factors that influence the dynamics of self-organizing change in human systems. This research forms the foundation for the body of work that helps individuals, institutions, and communities respond to complex change. With colleagues around the world, Glenda delivers a hybrid of education and consulting in the form of Adaptive Action Laboratories. Individuals and teams bring their most wicked problems, learn and practice human systems dynamics approaches, and leave with plans for next wise action. Groups from Vancouver to Sao Paulo and Boston to Delhi have used this method to break through apparently intractable issues.

Her published works include scholarly articles in a variety of fields and Radical Rules for Schools: Adaptive Action for Complex Change (HSD Institute, March 2013), and Coping with Chaos: Seven Simple Tools (Lagumo Press, 1996). Glenda’s latest book, with co-author Royce Holladay, is Adaptive Action: Leveraging Uncertainty in Your Organization (Stanford University Press, April 2013). It is a roadmap for anyone who chooses to work at the intersection of order and chaos.

Glenda grew up in the Texas Panhandle, where there is more sky than ground and the wind “has been blowing for a very long time.” She lives now near the headwaters of the Mississippi River, on a little lake in Circle Pines, Minnesota. Thanks to Zoom, she engages with global partners in local action. For more information about Glenda and the HSD Institute, visit
www.hsdinstitute.org. You can reach Glenda via email @Geoyang@hsdinstitute.org.
Dec 20, 202327:29
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Miss Handie - Season 2/Episode 19

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Miss Handie - Season 2/Episode 19

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community but this time Glenda Eoyang, Founder and Executive Director of Human Systems Dynamics Institute, is taking over the conversational reins to ask the questions that have her curious. Our next special guest is Tamela Handie, the host of Patterns & Possibilities - Curious Conversations with Miss Handie. Tamela’s passion is helping others fulfill the highest expression of themselves. She is a Corporate Trainer, Organizational Development and Leadership Strategist, Certified Facilitator and Human Systems Dynamics Practitioner. Tamela uses her skills and experience to disrupt status quo workplace culture and transform lackluster engagement, communication, and leadership into impactful, energetic and creative breakthroughs.  In addition to hosting and producing the Patterns & Possibilities podcast, Tamela serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Human Systems Dynamics Institute. Tamela’s first love is writing. She is a published author and poet and has written numerous blogs and poems about a wide variety of interesting topics, from racism to heartbreak, on the popular Medium platform.  Tamela comes from a family of seasoned educators and orators. Fueled by deep pride in her family surname, she truly believes that “Courage Comes in Handie.” In her spare time, she lends her talents as a voiceover artist, on-air personality, and inspirational speaker. Tamela’s celebrates life with long walks, solo vacations, dancing, hula hooping and a good lemon drop martini.  Her voice can be heard delivering travel announcements at Kansas City International (KCI) Airport in Kansas City, Missouri, and on her podcast, “Gumbo Nights with Miss Handie.” Tamela earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and an MBA in Management from Avila University, where she’s served as a guest lecturer on personal branding for many years.    She previously served in the Office of former Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, Sly James, as Senior Advisor for Operations. She’s also served on numerous boards and commissions including the Kansas City Credit Union’s Supervisory Committee, the Kansas City AIDS Foundation, and the Avila University Alumni Board. You can connect with Tamela on LinkedIn and follow her courageous blend of extroverted introversion on Instagram and TikTok.
Dec 06, 202315:06
Curious Conversations with Special Guest John Murray - Season 2/Episode 18

Curious Conversations with Special Guest John Murray - Season 2/Episode 18

John N. Murray is a systems thinker, collaborator, teacher, and coach based in beautiful Saint Paul, Minnesota. John is an Evaluation Specialist at the University of Minnesota Extension, where he has worked since 2020 with the most incredible Youth Development colleagues.

Having begun his career in the development and facilitation of youth programs, John was certified as a Human Systems Dynamics Practitioner in 2016 seeking to help support his and other programs and organizations facing complex challenges and environments. Since then, he has coached and continued learning alongside professionals from around the world, in fields such as economics, medicine, education, and youth development, taking action in uncertain and often overwhelming circumstances.

John holds a Bachelor of Arts in Cross-Cultural Communication and Ethics from Prescott College, a Masters in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development from the University of Minnesota, and is a Ph.D. Candidate researching the use of systems thinking and complexity science by evaluators.
Nov 15, 202321:39
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Miriam Bayes - Season 2/Episode 17

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Miriam Bayes - Season 2/Episode 17

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Dr. Miriam Bayés.

Dr. Bayés is a physician specialized in clinical pharmacology, and a doctor, with almost 30 years of experience in the rigorous world of clinical research, the strategic context of the corporate environment and the fascinating world of human development.

Miriam has always been passionate about teaching and facilitating the growth of people and teams, what she has been doing in the multiple positions Miriam has had over the years as Medical Director.

Recently Miriam has decided to put her knowledge and experience in several hospitals and organizations, family businesses and large multinationals in different countries to the service of the medical, scientific, and academic community as well as entrepreneurs.

As a consultant, coach and trainer, Miriam creates adaptive leadership and team management programs for personal and professional growth based on the neuroscience, the systems thinking and the complexity of the human dynamics.
Nov 01, 202315:60
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Marie Murtagh - Season 2/Episode 16

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Marie Murtagh - Season 2/Episode 16

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Marie Murtagh. Marie is Chief Executive Officer and Partner at The Collective Edge. Marie and her business partner aspire to help “shape the shift” that is emerging into our collective future, helping clients, partners and society at large stay present to and functional on the collective edge. Marie has trodden a unique path to The Collective Edge, from IT professional (developer), to project manager beloved by her teams, to Agile explorer, to accomplished consciousness facilitator. Along the way, she has worked for small startups, medium size organizations, and Deloitte Consulting. She has explored many career paths, investigating where her calling was best deployed. Time spent in a career break caring for her mentally ill father stretched her boundaries (and her compassion) in untold ways. As her career continued to unfold itself, she became an autodidact in Integral Theory, consciousness studies, collective sensemaking, complexity science, and various transformational arts. She is the untitled head of R&D.
Oct 18, 202319:34
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Phei Sunn - Season 2/Episode 15

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Phei Sunn - Season 2/Episode 15

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Phei Sunn.

Phei Sunn is currently Director, Transformation Office at the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Singapore, where she drives organisational transformation efforts by aligning strategy and risk governance, building culture and capabilities for transformation, and developing strong leaders and a supportive ecosystem for innovation and learning. She also co-leads the Environmental Sustainability Secretariat which provides oversight on sustainability workstreams across LTA.

She currently contributes as a public sector career coach, action learning facilitator for public sector organisational development programmes, and serves as a pro-bono Board member with the HSD Institute.

Phei Sunn is also an active session designer and/or facilitator in many citizen-engagement projects. As part of giving back to the community, she regularly conducts facilitation refresher workshops for fellow colleagues. Over her 20+ years span in the Singapore Public Service, Phei Sunn has also worked on portfolios such as trade policy, manpower development, and strategic foresight.

Prior to LTA, she was Principal Consultant at Civil Service College, Institute of Leadership and Organisational Development (CSC/ILOD), where she supported public sector projects in the areas of change, visioning, culture building, and leadership conversations; facilitated training workshops on organisation design, teaming, organisational development and change.

Phei Sunn holds a Masters in Social-Organisational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, a Masters in Public Administration from the LKY School of Public Policy (Best Capstone Paper), and a Bachelors (Hons) in Economics from the National University of Singapore. She has a graduate diploma from the NTL-CSC Organisational Development Practitioner Certificate Programme, is a certified Human Systems Dynamics (HSD) Professional in working with complex adaptive systems, and certified Prosci change practitioner.

Outside of work, Phei Sunn is an avid ultra-endurance athlete and mountaineer. She loves being in nature, and running ultra-distances in the trails. She climbed Mt. Everest in 2019, and became the 3rd Singaporean to complete the Seven Summits (scaling the highest peak in each continent) in Dec 2021. In 2023, she successfully scaled Mt. K2, the second highest peak in the world, and became one of the first Singaporean females to do so.

Oct 04, 202311:39
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Dr. Urmi Ashar - Season 2/Episode 14

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Dr. Urmi Ashar - Season 2/Episode 14

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Dr. Urmi Ashar.

Dr. Ashar is a physician who empowers medical students with the critical skills to be leaders in their profession, communities, and the Public Health spheres. She crafts unique experiential learning opportunities for the students so they can recognize their innate leadership potential and impact public health by improving Social Determinants of Health and catalyzing the current healthcare system through the practice of Adaptive Leadership and tools from the Systems Thinking and Complexity Sciences toolkits.

Dr. Ashar asserts that effective leadership in healthcare and public health, involves utilizing social influence and advocacy to anticipate and act on health challenges for a positive outcome. She also believes that practicing leadership with cultural humility in pursuit of excellence in empathic patient care, humanism, accountability, and altruism is a core tenet of professionalism for a physician practicing in service of humanity.
Sep 20, 202316:49
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Ahmed Avais - Season 2/Episode 13

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Ahmed Avais - Season 2/Episode 13

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Ahmed Avais.

Ahmed Avais is an expert in driving success in demanding business landscapes. With a career spanning 20 years across various sectors such as healthcare, finance, insurance, and technology, Ahmed has garnered extensive experience in enabling teams and organizations to excel.
From coaching Fortune 500 companies, mid-size firms, and emerging startups across the United States, Europe, and Asia, Ahmed has empowered his clients to unlock new levels of agility, resilience, and innovation. His remarkable leadership has guided numerous teams of coaches, Scrum Masters, and change agents, initiating pivotal shifts in organizational culture – transforming from managerial to coaching, from exclusive to inclusive, and from unintentionally undermining to actively empowering.
Apart from his professional commitments, Ahmed is based in Apex, North Carolina, where he enjoys a vibrant life with his wife and four children. He has a deep-seated passion for personal growth, mastery, Agile games, and embracing the great outdoors. Whether it's hiking, globe-trotting, or exploring diverse cultures, Ahmed pours his heart into it.
Sep 06, 202317:44
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Stacy Becker - Season 2/Episode 12

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Stacy Becker - Season 2/Episode 12

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Stacy Becker.

Stacy Becker is in the process of launching a consulting practice, "Third Horizon," aimed at helping leaders solve complex problems. Her previous consulting experience included projects addressing long-term care financing; affordable housing; early childhood education; and employee health. As Vice President for the Rippel Foundation, she authored and presented a paper on financing population health to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and co-wrote "Beyond the Grant" a financing workbook used by America's Essential Hospitals and the National League of Cities, among others. Prior to consulting, Stacy served as the Public Works Director the the City of Saint Paul, and as Budget Director for the the City and County of San Francisco as well as the City of Saint Paul. Stacy has an MPP from Harvard and an MSc from the London School of Economics, which she attended as a Bush Leadership Fellow.
Aug 16, 202318:25
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Leslie Patterson - Season 2/Episode 11

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Leslie Patterson - Season 2/Episode 11

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Leslie Patterson, PhD HSDP.

Leslie Patterson taught English and language arts Texas middle and high schools for ten years before becoming a teacher educator, where she taught in Texas universities until she retired in 2005. As a Co-Director of the North Star of Texas Writing Project, Patterson integrates her support of K-12 literacy leaders with her interest in complex systems and literacy learning communities. She has consulted with teachers and school districts in Texas, California, Alaska, and Brazil.

Her publications include numerous articles and books on language and literacy instruction, with a particular focus on writing instruction for adolescents and English learners, as well as human systems dynamics (HSD). In recent years, she has co-authored two books with Royce Holladay and Glenda Eoyang: “Radical Rules for Schools: Adaptive Action for Complex Change” and “Deep Learning Ecologies: An Invitation to Complex Teaching and Learning.” Her deep commitment and joy are to support educators as they work to make sense of complex challenges.

Patterson’s other publications include numerous articles and books on literacy instruction, particularly writing instruction for adolescents and English learners, as well as literacy policy and practice and human systems dynamics (HSD). Her deep commitment and joy is to support educators as they work to make sense of complex challenges. Patterson’s recent publications, including “Radical Rules for Schools” and “Deep Learning Ecology,” combine her interests in writing instruction, support for multilingual students, professional learning, and school reform—all from a perspective that views teaching and learning as networks of complex adaptive systems.

She is now a Co-Director of the North Star of Texas Writing Project, affiliated with the National Writing Project site, and an Associate with Human Systems Dynamics Institute. Patterson’s recent publications, including “Radical Rules for Schools: Adaptive Action for Complex Change,” combine these interests in writing instruction, professional development, and school reform as a complex adaptive system.
Aug 02, 202320:33
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Mary Nations - Season 2/Episode 10

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Mary Nations - Season 2/Episode 10

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Mary Nations.

Mary lives in Raleigh, North Carolina and works all around the country, now mostly online. In the past, she’s led large-scale change projects, facilitated international cross-functional teams, managed the interface between business needs and IT systems development, and provided group and individual coaching.

Mary also taught a variety of courses regarding complexity in human systems, including sessions with a focus on diversity, change, peace, and conflict. She’s worked with others to write several books in the emerging Human Systems Dynamics field, and co-led the Human Systems Dynamics Practitioner program with the founder of HSD Institute, Glenda Eoyang.

Mary remains curious and motivated by how we can create generative engagement to get things done together, to work with change and across differences.
Jul 19, 202323:18
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Ella Firebrace - Season 2/Episode 9
Jul 05, 202315:01
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Bhav Patel - Season 2/Episode 8

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Bhav Patel - Season 2/Episode 8

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Bhav Patel.

Bhav spends most of his time supporting individuals and groups having conversations about their messy realities as they look for direction and make decisions. Usually these are networked groups, often global, often with unevenly distributed power and resources. All of them in some ways are trying to make a difference in people's lives and our planet. You might call him a facilitator, trainer, coach, host, or even a conversational gardener. However, he finds it difficult to define his work and give himself a specific title or badge, and he quite likes that!
Jun 21, 202314:22
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Judy Tal - Season 2/Episode 7

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Judy Tal - Season 2/Episode 7

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Judy Tal.

Judy is a professional consultant, teacher, supervisor, and lecturer in the field of Human Systems Dynamics (HSD), Co-founder and director of the HSD Learning Center in Tel- Aviv (HSD-IL).

My interest in human systems and human relations emerged at the late 90s after 24 years in the academy learning and later teaching and researching in the field of pure mathematics; Graphs' Theory and Combinatorial Algorithms.

My current calling emerged from various professional certifications and practices, among which are the Tavistock analytical approach to OD, Theory of Constrains (ToC), Mediation with practicum, The Learning Organization and Theory U, and many more. In the summer of 2004 I was introduced to the HSD complex paradigm which finally made sense of what I've observed in my work with Organizations and teams. The HSD paradigm offers explanations rather than descriptions and thus it supports decision making and provides options for action. I joined the HSD community by becoming a certified associate (HSDA) of the HSD Institute, and a few years later an HSDP under the supervision and teaching of Dr. Glenda Eoyang and Royce Holladay.

In 2010, together with Dr. Glenda Eoyang we established a HSD Learning Center in Tel-Aviv, providing certification programs, workshops and consulting services to the local market. During that time, I was frequently involved in the development and delivery of various learning activities with the HSD Institute around the world and in the virtual arena.

In 2011, inspired by Dr. Glenda Eoyang's theory and based on my own professional experience, I put together a set of axioms and defined by them the foundations for the field of Human Systems Dynamics. Since then, together with various partners, I'm involved in collaborative projects under the name "HSD-inside" where the complex paradigm is woven into traditional disciplines (more concretely: HSD inside Planning and Strategy, HSD inside Performance Appraisal, HSD inside Coaching etc.).

The HIVE©, developed with Sabine Amend, HSDA herself, is a new group-ware, a capacity builder of creative and generative engagement in human interactions, particularly for management skills like leadership, authority, and innovation.
Jun 07, 202317:23
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Mike Norbury - Season 2/Episode 6

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Mike Norbury - Season 2/Episode 6

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Dr. Mike Norbury.

Dr. Norbury is Senior Medical Director for Vancouver Community - Vancouver Coastal Health.

Following completion of his Family Medicine training in Scotland in 2008, Dr. Norbury spent several years working as a GP Academic Fellow and a GP Health Inequality Fellow, during which time he also completed his Masters in Public Health Policy and Health Inequalities.

Concurrently, he worked in large urban primary care clinics serving socio-economically disadvantaged populations in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. He formally became involved in medical leadership in 2011 with his first medical director role.

Dr. Norbury relocated to Vancouver, BC, in 2015 and started work at Raven Song Community Health Centre, serving medically and socially complex primary care clients as a Family Physician.

In 2016, while continuing in clinical practice, Mike became the Medical Director for the Primary Care Program at VCH. In 2019 he became the Associate Senior Medical Director.

Thereafter, in May 2021 he became the interim Senior Medical Director and in July, 2021, Dr. Norbury became the Senior Medical Director, for Vancouver Community - the role in which he still currently works.

Mike also currently holds a Clinical Assistant Professorship in the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia.

May 17, 202315:36
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Monica Leon - Season 2/Episode 5

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Monica Leon - Season 2/Episode 5

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Monica Leon. Monica Leon is an experienced global OD practitioner, strategist, facilitator, and executive coach, specializing in sticky issues, open systems theory, complex systems, and innovative work practices that intertwine vertical development and achieve sustainable results. Monica believes in tapping into the collective wisdom to co-create and being a natural strategic thinker. She focuses on mobilizing and expanding her clients’ abilities to make desired changes in their sticky issues.   Her experience incorporates working in large to small organizations both locally and internationally. It includes functional expertise in sales, marketing, finance, insurance, FMCGS, engineering, public transport, manufacturing, facilities management, rail, retail, contracting/asset management, logistics and public organization environments.   Monica holds a BS with honors in Economics and International Studies from Wilson College, an MBA with distinction from UFSIA, Belgium, and a Master of Science in Organisation Development (MSOD) from Pepperdine University, USA. She is working towards becoming a PCC ICF Coach and has been a certified Senior and Global Professional in Human Resources (SPHR & GPHR). She is the founder and choice architect of Nurturing Choicefulness, www.nurturingchoicefulness.co.nz  and developer in partnership with Wendy Morris and the HSD Institute of www.hsdessentials.com.  
May 03, 202316:12
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Nora Murphy Johnson - Season 2/Episode 4

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Nora Murphy Johnson - Season 2/Episode 4

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Nora Murphy Johnson.

Nora Murphy Johnson, Ph.D., is the President of Inspire to Change. She holds a PhD in Evaluation Studies from the University of Minnesota. Nora believes that all systems of people and institutions are connected and that all parts of the system need to be strong and healthy. Nora encourages clients and stakeholders to think outside of our boxes and disciplines and create a coherent shared vision for something greater than what exists now. Evaluation can be an integral part of working towards this vision.

Nora works towards understanding (1) how principles-focused, developmental research and evaluation can be used for systems change and social justice, (2) ways to create a coherent and shared vision that allows for contextualized learning and adaptation, and (3) how to best engage people in useful research and evaluations that inform and inspire.

Nora is best known for her publications, “Nine guiding principles to help youth overcome homelessness: A principles-focused developmental evaluation” (Developmental Evaluation Exemplars, 2015), and “Connecting Individual and Societal Change” (Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2020), and Creative Evaluation and Engagement: Volume 1 (2022).
Apr 19, 202314:07
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Antonia Wilcoxon - Season 2/Episode 3

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Antonia Wilcoxon - Season 2/Episode 3

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Antonia Wilcoxon.

Antonia Maria Apolinário-Wilcoxon, Ed.D., Equity Strategies, LLC, founder, president, and principal consultant provides direction and leadership in efforts of private, public, and collaborative efforts working to improve the lives of disenfranchised and vulnerable persons impacted by inequities.

Dr. Apolinário-Wilcoxon obtained her doctorate degree in educational leadership focusing on critical studies informed by Critical Pedagogy theorists. An African-Brazilian, she brings experiences in education, corporate, privatenonprofits, and government to lead efforts that bring agency, voice, and liberation in spaces where the presence of Oppression, bias and other barriers, silence those most valuable voices to find solutions to problems in their world.

Dr. Apolinário-Wilcoxon’s approach is one of listening deeply, exercising inquiry to enable wisdom and insights to emerge. Her facilitation is participatory, inclusive, resourceful, caring, and thoughtful.

She is a volunteer member of several advisory boards, including board of directors:

President-Elect, Minnesota Public Health Association (2023)
Member, Senior Community Services Board of Directors
Chair (2022), People’s Center Clinics and Services Board of Directors
Chair, Center for Resilient Families, University of Minnesota/Arizona, Federal Grant
Member, African American Registry Board of Directors
Member, Public Health Administration and Policy Community/Alumni Advisory Board, U of MN
Member, Program in Health Disparities Research Advisory Board, U of MN/Medical School
Member, National Association of Black Social Workers
Member, ICHRP (Integrated Care for High-Risk Pregnancy/Healthy Black Pregnancy Board)
Apr 05, 202314:31
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Royce Holladay - Season 2/Episode 2

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Royce Holladay - Season 2/Episode 2

In this episode, we’re continuing our pattern of inquiry with active members of the HSD community. Our special guest is Royce Holladay, Director of Services for Human Systems Dynamics Institute.

Royce Holladay, M.Ed. is a self-proclaimed "hunter/gatherer/sharer" of ideas, insights, and possibility as she steps into life's complexity. Looking at the world through multiple lenses, she hunts for patterns and unexpected perspectives in times of uncertainty and turbulence. Gathering them to explore and catalogue, she shares them as new connections and ideas she finds true and useful. Royce enjoys seeing a slow, growing recognition, as well as great bursts of ideas that are slightly new, creating a greater understanding of reality.

Royce Holladay is a leader among Associates from around the world who use human systems dynamics (HSD). She serves as a teacher, consultant, and coach with individuals, groups, and organizations as they engage in complex change. Well-grounded in theoretical foundations of HSD, she brings a practitioner's voice to applying the theory, models, and methods to everyday opportunities and challenges. Ms. Holladay's long experience as an educator and district administrator in the USA has gifted her with a deep understanding of the dynamics of human systems. This has been a springboard for the development of a number of models, methods, and approaches used by practitioners across a wide variety of sectors and agencies.

Along with a number of blog posts about using HSD in day-to-day life, Ms. Holladay has co-authored nine books and guides. Her writings are designed to support others in using HSD as a foundation to see, understand, and influence patterns in the organizational and personal lives of individuals, teams, and communities. One of those co-authoring partnerships produced two books: Radical Rules for Schools: Adaptive Action for Complex Change and Deep Learning Ecologies: An Invitation to Complex Teaching and Learning. She also partnered with Glenda Eoyang, Ph.D., to co-author Adaptive Action, Leveraging Uncertainty in Your Organization.

Additionally, she has published a book of Haiku, based on complex images in nature; a book of poetry offering her observations of women she has encountered in her life; and a four-part series of Haiku that trace nature’s patterns across the landscape of a full year. All her books are available online through Amazon and other online booksellers.

Using a unique training format called Adaptive Action Labs (AA Labs), she establishes a deep learning ecology. In these sessions, participants focus first on their own intractable challenges, relative to the topic at hand. They describe and explore the nature of those challenges, from their current perspective. Then throughout the learning experience, Ms. Holladay sets conditions for the Participants to use new learning to build understanding of the dynamics of the intractable challenges they face. They come to see new options for forward action in those areas. Each participant leaves the session with three value-added outcomes:

• New insights about the dynamics of human systems
• Viable action plan to address the next challenge in an intractable issue
• Skills and understandings they can generalize to complex challenges in all areas of their life at home, at work, and in their community

To find out more about Adaptive Action Labs, visit the HSD website to see the AA Labs that are offered this year!
Mar 15, 202316:06
Curious Conversations with Special Guest Glenda Eoyang - Season 2/Episode 1

Curious Conversations with Special Guest Glenda Eoyang - Season 2/Episode 1

This episode launches a new pattern of inquiry with members of the HSD community. Our first special guest is Glenda Eoyang, Founder and Executive Director of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute.

Glenda Eoyang helps public and private organizations thrive in the face of overwhelming complexity and uncertainty. She is a pioneer in the applications of complexity science to human systems, and she founded the field of human systems dynamics (HSD) in 2001.

As founding executive director of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute she leads a global network of scholar-practitioners who use her models and methods to see patterns in the chaos that surrounds them, understand the patterns in simple and powerful ways, and take practical steps to shift chaos toward coherence. Her recent clients include the Finnish Research Institute (VTT), US Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, British Columbia Ministry of Health, Oxfam International, The International Baccalaureate Organization, The Sustainability Consortium, the Association for Medical Education in Europe, UK National Health Service, and Roffey Park Institute.

Glenda received her doctorate in Human Systems Dynamics from the Union Institute and University in 2001, studying under Drs. Donald Klein and Kevin Dooley. There she discovered three fundamental factors that influence the dynamics of self-organizing change in human systems. This research forms the foundation for the body of work that helps individuals, institutions, and communities respond to complex change. With colleagues around the world, Glenda delivers a hybrid of education and consulting in the form of Adaptive Action Laboratories. Individuals and teams bring their most wicked problems, learn and practice human systems dynamics approaches, and leave with plans for next wise action. Groups from Vancouver to Sao Paulo and Boston to Delhi have used this method to break through apparently intractable issues.

Her published works include scholarly articles in a variety of fields and Radical Rules for Schools: Adaptive Action for Complex Change (HSD Institute, March 2013), and Coping with Chaos: Seven Simple Tools (Lagumo Press, 1996). Glenda’s latest book, with co-author Royce Holladay, is Adaptive Action: Leveraging Uncertainty in Your Organization(Stanford University Press, April 2013). It is a roadmap for anyone who chooses to work at the intersection of order and chaos.

Glenda grew up in the Texas Panhandle, where there is more sky than ground and the wind “has been blowing for a very long time.” She lives now near the headwaters of the Mississippi River, on a little lake in Circle Pines, Minnesota. Thanks to Zoom, she engages with global partners in local action. For more information about Glenda and the HSD Institute, visit
www.hsdinstitute.org. You can reach Glenda via email @Geoyang@hsdinstitute.org.
Mar 01, 202315:58
Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 8

Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 8

Affirmations of the Heart uses HSD language to help you to See, Understand, and Influence your world with calmness, kindness, and resilience.

We invite you to listen to the affirmations, repeat them aloud and make them part of your daily pattern. If you enjoy what you hear, please share them with the folks in your circle.
Dec 21, 202204:29
Hope: On the Other Side of Certainty - Episode 16

Hope: On the Other Side of Certainty - Episode 16

HSD thought leader, Glenda Eoyang, has come to understand why and how uncertainty is now a source of hope, rather than despair, for her students and clients. The more she shares these insights with our curious HSD a community, she sees the energy rise and the momentum for change build. In this episode, we will share six of the patterns that Glenda has noticed. We wonder if they will help you, too, find hope in chaos. Let’s explore it together!
Dec 07, 202224:29
Affirmations of the Heart - Volume VII

Affirmations of the Heart - Volume VII

Affirmations of the Heart uses HSD language to help you to See, Understand, and Influence your world with calmness, kindness, and resilience.

We invite you to listen to the affirmations, repeat them aloud and make them part of your daily pattern. If you enjoy what you hear, please share them with the folks in your circle.
Nov 16, 202203:53
Our Time: Resilience Now and Into the Future - Episode 15

Our Time: Resilience Now and Into the Future - Episode 15

What do people mean when they talk about resilience? In this episode, HSD thought leader Royce Holladay offers both a definition and some practical applications for building resilience in the uncertainty of the current COVID-19 crisis. You’ll learn how to leverage your connections to create a more resilient world.
Nov 02, 202220:50
Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 6

Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 6

Affirmations of the Heart uses HSD language to help you to See, Understand, and Influence your world with calmness, kindness, and resilience.

We invite you to listen to the affirmations, repeat them aloud and make them part of your daily pattern. If you enjoy what you hear, please share them with the folks in your circle.
Oct 19, 202204:36
Simple, Not Easy: Living the Future Today - Episode 14

Simple, Not Easy: Living the Future Today - Episode 14

In this time of COVID disruption, we are missing two things that are essential to decision making: 1) Complete information and 2) Reliable connections with a community to create a meaningful, shared reality.
In this episode, we’re breaking down how to make decisions and feel good that those decisions are both appropriate and effective. Using HSD “Simple Rules” can supply us with what we need. Press play and learn just how this simple process can help you to live, work, and play better.
Oct 05, 202219:25
Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 5

Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 5

Affirmations of the Heart uses HSD language to help you to See, Understand, and Influence your world with calmness, kindness, and resilience.

We invite you to listen to the affirmations, repeat them aloud and make them part of your daily pattern. If you enjoy what you hear, please share them with the folks in your circle.
Sep 21, 202204:28
It Begins with Me & You and You & You - Episode 13

It Begins with Me & You and You & You - Episode 13

In this episode, we’re answering an important question: How can we use HSD to help us see, understand, and influence patterns of health and sustainability as we move through the current crisis and work together to shape whatever comes next?
Sep 07, 202216:59
Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 4

Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 4

Affirmations of the Heart uses HSD language to help you to See, Understand, and Influence your world with calmness, kindness, and resilience. We invite you to listen to the affirmations, repeat them aloud and make them part of your daily pattern. If you enjoy what you hear, please share them with the folks in your circle.
Aug 17, 202203:46
Problems into Patterns - Episode 12

Problems into Patterns - Episode 12

To thrive in complexity you have to adapt—quickly and often! You can’t afford to wait for deep analysis or complete data. You don’t have time to take things apart, fix each piece, and put them back together. Even if you could, complex systems are massively entangled and emergent, so fixing parts may not fix the whole. 

Sit back, relax, and listen as we share new possibilities for old problems. 

Aug 03, 202221:34
Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 3

Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 3

Affirmations of the Heart uses HSD language to help you to See, Understand, and Influence your world with calmness, kindness, and resilience.
We invite you to listen to the affirmations, repeat them aloud and make them part of your daily pattern. If you enjoy what you hear, please share them with the folks in your circle.
Jul 20, 202203:43
The Power of Questions - Episode 11

The Power of Questions - Episode 11

HSD Professionals have focused on personal and professional wicked issues from around the world. They have covered a wide range of issues. A physical therapist was not able to touch her most vulnerable clients during the COVID lockdown. A middle-aged professional wonders how to respond when his city turns becomes a police state overnight. We have found no solutions, but we have found creative options for actions for each of us. As we hear others’ issues and contribute our questions, we recognize our own wicked patterns and find our own pathways toward action.
We are also using this approach with institutions in education, health care, public health, and finance. In all cases, leaders discover hope and possibility in the Power of Questions.
You can learn how to unleash your power through powerful questions simply by pressing play on this episode.
Jul 06, 202218:41
Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 2

Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 2

Affirmations of the Heart uses HSD language to help you to See, Understand, and Influence your world with calmness, kindness, and resilience.
We invite you to listen to the affirmations, repeat them aloud and make them part of your daily pattern. If you enjoy what you hear, please share them with the folks in your circle.
Jun 15, 202203:55
Transformation - Episode 10

Transformation - Episode 10

The transformation that results from the HSD approach is true to the science and useful in many different challenges and contexts. In this episode, we will explore transformation from the HSD perspective: What is it? How can we set conditions for transformation that brings productivity, health, and well-being to human systems?

Jun 01, 202219:43
Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 1

Affirmations of the Heart - Volume 1

We’re establishing a new pattern in HSD that we hope you’ll enjoy. We invite you to listen to 120 seconds of soothing affirmations, repeat them aloud and make this your new daily pattern.
May 18, 202202:11
The Concrete World of HSD - Episode 9

The Concrete World of HSD - Episode 9

In today’s Age of Uncertainty, the winning strategy is to make a plan and hold it lightly. Keep asking questions outside the boundaries of your own silo. Support others in their plans, and hold them lightly, too. In school we learned that you should make a plan and stick to it, but that is a losing game when you are faced with unexpected events. In today’s uncertain environments, you have to be resilient and creative as you work with others to find your most Adaptive Action.
May 04, 202219:46
Strategic Frameworks: Plan at the Speed of Change - Episode 8

Strategic Frameworks: Plan at the Speed of Change - Episode 8

Traditional strategic plans are built around long lists of strategies with multiple objectives and tasks. Such a plan locks you into a single understanding of the environment and limited expectations for the future.

In this episode, you’ll learn how HSD models and methods can transform strategic planning into meaningful, useful, and Adaptive Planning.
Apr 20, 202218:30
Lead in the Age of Uncertainty - Episode 7

Lead in the Age of Uncertainty - Episode 7

There was a time when a leader needed (and had time for) a catalogue full of training programs. Each task had its own skills, and each skill had its own course. As the role of the leader became more complex, the number of tasks—and the number of courses—multiplied. At the same time, the leader’s calendar filled up, leaving little space for learning.

This pattern emerges often in the Age of Uncertainty: Increasing demand and decreasing resources. As these constraints increase, tension accumulates over time. At some point the situation becomes untenable. A new paradigm emerges to changes not just HOW MUCH can be done, but HOW to do it.

Press play to learn how HSD can help you to create and spread a new paradigm and create a place where leaders thrive, in spite of complexity and constraints.
Apr 06, 202216:38
Your Stories: See the Simple in the Complex - Episode 6

Your Stories: See the Simple in the Complex - Episode 6

We have our own stories to tell, and we have important stories we need to hear. But how can our stories compete with all the noise?

We need compelling narratives to capture the imagination and reveal deeper meaning, so ours stand out from the noise. We need to be prepared to understand the deeper meaning in the stories we hear.

How can we sift through the noise to find the compelling stories of our time? How can we create narratives to capture the attention and imagination of others?

Press play to learn easy ways to zoom in and zoom out to find the simplest and sexiest aspects of your complex stories.
Mar 23, 202221:44
Generative Collaboration: Partnerships for 21st Century Challenges - Episode 5

Generative Collaboration: Partnerships for 21st Century Challenges - Episode 5

In the 21st century, people are looking for ways to build coalitions and partnerships that make a difference in the world. Whether it’s corporate, non-profit, or governmental strategy, organizations and groups are realizing they can’t do it all. The challenges are too big. People, ideas, and needs are too diverse. We will discuss how we can form partnerships that make a difference in the differences we make in the world.
Mar 09, 202219:30
Generative Engagement: Leverage Dynamics of Interaction - Episode 4

Generative Engagement: Leverage Dynamics of Interaction - Episode 4

This episode focuses on Generative Engagement, an HSD-based model/method that can help you explore your system to make decisions about how you can set conditions for more productive interactions. Listen and learn how to use Generative Engagement in a challenging human system where you live, work, or play.
Feb 23, 202219:28
Generative Engagement: Balance of Power - Episode 3

Generative Engagement: Balance of Power - Episode 3

A critical capacity that ensures generative engagement is a deep understanding of power from an HSD perspective. In HSD, we talk about “power with” rather than “power over” to describe generative relationships. Do those who wield influence in the system listen to and consider perspectives of those who have less influence? Do those who traditionally have less influence in the system believe their voices can and will be heard? What happens when the formal—or informal—distribution of power does not honor or establish patterns that sustain the system?

Press play to find out why these questions are being asked and listen to a real life altering experience that outlines why they are part of the difference that makes a difference.

Feb 09, 202223:17
Facilitating Conversation - Episode 2

Facilitating Conversation - Episode 2

Facilitation has outgrown its traditional image. It’s no longer about an individual at the front of the room guiding a group of people through processes. It’s no longer just about decision making, conflict resolution, or team building. Many factors in today’s world have brought a new look to the role of facilitation. We will discuss how the role can be used today to enrich and expand conversations.
Jan 26, 202213:10
HSD Invites YOU to be a Curious Fool - Episode 1

HSD Invites YOU to be a Curious Fool - Episode 1

In our first episode, Miss Handie explains what Human Systems Dynamics (HSD) is, why it matters, and how it can be used to transform wicked issues. She invites you to join her on the HSD journey with an open mind and a foolish sense of curiosity. Miss Handie believes that foolish curiosity opens the door to endless possibilities with HSD that everyone can experiment with, experience, and enjoy.
Jan 12, 202210:53
Patterns & Possibilities - Thriving in Uncertainty with Miss Handie

Patterns & Possibilities - Thriving in Uncertainty with Miss Handie

Human Systems Dynamics introduces its theory-based approach to seeing, understanding, and influencing patterns in a podcast format. New episodes are published every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month at noon c.s.t.
Jan 11, 202200:60