A Little Bit About Us

The Waters Center for Systems Thinking is an internationally recognized leader in systems thinking capacity building.

We are dedicated to providing the tools and methods that help people understand, track and leverage the connections that affect personal and professional goals.

We’re all about delivering benefits and working with others to help them do the same — whether it’s in a classroom, school, district, business or community, systems thinking helps people of all ages and walks of life see beyond the heart of a problem to find equitable and lasting solutions.

Our leadership team is made up of former school administrators and educators. We’re passionate about what we do and we have fun doing it.

We have worked with more than 800 schools and 30,000 educators worldwide to build systems thinking capacity.

Our Mission

Our mission is simple: to make the world a better place.

This goal may sound lofty, but that's the power of systems thinking — a shift in perspective, a new habit, or the identification of a leverage point can make a profound difference and produce positive change.

Let's start by understanding systems.

A system can be a district, school, classroom, department, community, government, family, team — the list goes on and on. Systems like these are perfectly designed to produce the results they get.

Understanding system structure is not a solo venture. It takes the perspectives of all stakeholders to truly understand and communicate how structure produces actions and outcomes.

It’s a multifaceted, complex, and sometimes daunting process.

Tools to Help You THINK

Our Approach

To begin, we provide a common language that makes understanding and talking about systems accessible for all. The 14 Habits of a Systems Thinker describe what it means to become a systems thinker and inspire shifts in thinking that influence day-to-day behaviors.

They’re called “habits” because they’re just that — it takes consistent practice and use of these concepts to make them a part of how members of a system operate. Some of the 14 Habits include:

• Changes perspectives to increase understanding
• Considers how mental models affect current reality and the future
• Seeks to understand the big picture
• Considers short-term, long-term and unintended consequences of actions

From kindergarten students to Fortune 500 company CEOs, our Habits of a Systems Thinker resources have proven to be useful and beneficial in any kind of system and for any kind of learner.

We also utilize a variety of visual tools that deepen understanding of systems and the results they produce.

Some of these tools include:

• Behavior-over-time graphs
• Causal loop diagrams and archetypes
• Connection circles
• Stock-flow maps

Whether it’s a student creating a Behavior-Over-Time-Graph to analyze change in a literary work, a manager using the Ladder of Inference to understand how certain mental models affect how she/he leads employees, or a teacher using a Causal Loop Diagram to explore how positive relationships influence student behavior, the uses and benefits of these tools are endless and highly adaptable.

Whether it’s a full-fledged Systems Thinking Adoption and Integration Plan, ongoing coaching and support structures, systems thinking workshops, Systems Thinking Institutes or online learning opportunities, the Waters Center approach recognizes the unique needs of every member of an organization’s system.

We form a solid relationship with everyone we work with, and the relationships we build go beyond the length of a project.

Even though we'd like to work with you indefinitely, that's not how we operate. Instead, we're committed to collaborating with you and your staff until you have the skills and confidence to carry on the systems thinking work after our time together has come to an end.

Highlights:

• Over 90% of the 150 teacher and leader participants showed evidence of active ST applications to classroom instruction, and school and district leadership.
• Teachers and administrators in both regions reported significant student engagement and depth of knowledge when applying ST Habits and tool.
• Inter and intra-school and district collaborative structures in both regions support ST learning that encourages ongoing professional, collegial relationships and learning opportunities.
• Over 150 artifacts of ST applications created by students, teachers and leaders have been collected throughout the first 6 months of the project and will be incorporated into an e-library of resources for all district members.
• Learning partnerships have developed between participating districts and other organizations interested in ST at each region including, Auburn University (AL), Kentucky Valley Education Cooperative (KVEC) and Central Kentucky Head Start.
• Began working with Facilitators-in-Training (FiTs) in Jan 2019. The FiTs process involves a small group of teachers and leaders in workshops, coaching, collaboration, facilitation responsibilities, etc. During the FiTs' apprenticeship time, they help others develop the capacity to effectively design and use applications of systems thinking. There are currently 7 FiTs in AL and 5 in KY.

Highlights:

• The Waters Center provided the initial two-day training in systems thinking that laid the foundation of the Great Expectations initiative.
• The initial training for leaders of the various communities of practice was focused on using the tools of systems thinking to help them as an organization, including: creation of a work plan, documentation of progress, making systems changes and bringing stakeholders together.
• After building sufficient capacity, practitioners are not fully dependent on the Waters Center and are now conducting the ongoing professional development in systems thinking.

Highlights:

Catalina Foothills School District (CFSD) has applied systems thinking (ST) in both the classroom and organization since 1989, being the first Waters Foundation (now Waters Center) project. The district has embedded ST concepts as appropriate throughout its curriculum and has been a demonstration site in partnership with the Waters Center, rather than a project, since 2011. The district’s community chose to include ST as one of the deep learning proficiencies they see as essential to deep learning for all students (along with citizenship, critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and innovation, communication, and collaboration). CFSD has numerous structures that keep ST learning alive for their staff and students:

• Internally-conducted Waters Center Systems Thinking Level 1 and Level 2 workshops during the school year that are facilitated by Waters Foundation Associates
• ST learning sessions during administrative meetings
• ST as a component of school improvement plans
• Staff-generated rubrics for the ST deep learning proficiency

Let’s connect to find out how we can help you, your team, and your organization reach its desired outcomes.