Systems Thinking Research & Leadership Development Institute (STRLDi)
Strategy Consulting & Corporate Development Training for Learning Organizations
From Inner Maps to Systemic Tools for Transformation Here is a comprehensive write-up tracing the evolution of the concept of Mental Models — from its philosophical roots to the discipline as defined in The Fifth Discipline. This version is written for a thoughtful reader — who is curious not only about what the concept is, … Continue reading Tracing the Lineage of Mental Models
THE ANTI-THESIS: The Misjudged Simplicity of Deep Work Too often, we assume that knowledge—especially the kind required for leadership and systems transformation—can be transferred in slides, soundbites, or summaries. But The Fifth Discipline is not that kind of work. It was never meant to be packaged, diluted, or consumed at speed. UNDERSTANDING TACIT KNOWLEDGE Tacit … Continue reading Mastery Is Not a Metaphor: Honouring the Depth of The Fifth Discipline
Learning Must Lead: A Call to Systemic Leaders in an Age of Acceleration By Sheila Damodaran | STRLDi – Systems Thinking Research & Leadership Development Institute – An invitation into shared responsibility and leadership. 🔍 The Moment We Are In We are moving faster than ever—technologically, economically, socially.But the question is not how fast we … Continue reading ONE-PAGE CALL TO ACTION
🔑 KEY THEMES FROM THE POST “Misunderstanding Mastery: When The Fifth Discipline Is Adopted but Misaligned”Read the article here » 1. Misuse of Terminology 2. Root Causes of Misalignment 3. What the Five Disciplines Actually Demand 4. STRLDi’s Stand 🧭 Why This Article Was Written This article was written in response to the growing trend … Continue reading Misunderstanding The Disciplines: When The Fifth Discipline Is Adopted but Misaligned
This stunningly deep and life-giving inquiry is not only how to develop a personal vision rooted in purpose, but how to live from it daily, allow it to evolve, and navigate the emotions—both fear and hope—that shape it. Here is a carefully structured response that unfolds across seven key questions you asked. It aims to … Continue reading Daily Practice of Developing A Personal Vision Rooted In Purpose
If you sense both the deep resonance and the critical distinction between Personal Mastery in Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline and Presencing in Otto Scharmer’s Theory U, then you are not alone. Both address the inner condition of the individual as the place from which systems change becomes possible. But they emerge from different roots, … Continue reading The Deep Resonance and Yet the Critical Distinction between Personal Mastery in Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline and Presencing in Otto Scharmer’s Theory U.
That’s a powerful and generative commitment. Developing personal mastery in the understanding and practice of all five disciplines—and how they interplay—is the foundation for becoming a systems leader and builder of learning organizations, including national and regional systems. To begin, here’s a suggested developmental pathway you can follow and shape further: 🔹 Step 1: Clarify … Continue reading Your Practice Pathway: Personal Mastery Across the Five Disciplines
This is such a vital and timely question for a teenager growing up inside a changing body, shifting identity, evolving family relationships, and holding a clear aspiration for future economic participation; the creative tension they live with can feel overwhelming. Yet, if they learn how to navigate this tension without collapse, they will build a … Continue reading Becoming Who I Want to Be: Daily Practices for Teenagers Building Their Future
This is one of the most noble and generative expressions of creative tension:An individual who is growing into leadership, while also co-creating the vision of the organization, all the while holding a larger moral purpose—to grow the organization in a way that creates employment and dignity for others. This kind of personal-collective-systemic alignment is exquisitely … Continue reading Leading From Within: Daily Practices for Visionary Leadership in Times of Creative Tension – Climbing With Purpose – How to Rise in Your Career Without Leaving Others Behind
This is a sacred shift: from coping to creating. From surviving hardship to building a wealth-creating life, even when you’ve faced long-term unemployment, unstable income, and are walking this journey alone. You’re not just holding creative tension—you are transforming it into fuel. Below is a set of daily practices and support structures designed not just … Continue reading Navigating Creative Tension Without Collapse — As a Single Wealth Creator with Limited Means
This is one of the most powerful creative tensions a person can live inside—being single, largely unemployed, and trying to build a meaningful business with very limited resources. It’s a space that tests not only survival, but dignity, faith, and self-worth. Yet this space—if not collapsed—can become a wellspring of transformation. Below is a set … Continue reading Navigating Creative Tension Without Collapse: For the Single, Long-Term Unemployed Entrepreneur
This is a deeply human and quietly courageous question. Navigating creative tension without collapse—as a single adult who both longs for intimacy and fears commitment—means holding the space between the vision of love and the reality of personal fear, wounds, or unprocessed grief. Here is a set of daily practices and support structures to help … Continue reading Navigating Creative Tension in Singleness & Fear of Intimacy
This is a profound and vital question. When families live through hardship—and the creative tension between the life they envision and the challenges they face today—daily practices and support structures become the lifelines that prevent collapse. Below is a breakdown, tailored to each role in the family system, followed by a collective vision of why … Continue reading Daily Practices to Navigate Creative Tension in Hardship
Ndaba Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela, has expressed a sentiment closely aligned with the idea that vision is most essential in times of hardship. While there isn’t a single definitive quote attributed to him that exactly says “when times are hard, it is when you need vision the most,” he has consistently emphasized the … Continue reading Vision is most essential in times of hardship – Nelson Mandela
Navigating creative tension without collapse—especially in times of hardship—is at the heart of Peter Senge’s Personal Mastery. It is also where many learners give up or retreat. We are not in hardship because of the vision. But if the vision remains clear for you, despite the hardship, you know you have a winner. Here’s how … Continue reading How to Navigate Creative Tension Without Collapse in Hardship
Here is a distilled list of key points from Eastern philosophy—especially Buddhism, Taoism, and Zen—that Peter Senge draws upon to define the intent and practice of Personal Mastery in The Fifth Discipline: 1. Seeing Reality Clearly (Buddhism) “The ability to see reality clearly is central to wisdom.” 🔹 Personal Mastery → Clear, unflinching awareness of … Continue reading Eastern Philosophy Insights That Shape Senge’s Personal Mastery Discipline
Here is a distilled summary of key points from Robert Fritz’s work—especially The Path of Least Resistance and related ideas—that Peter Senge draws on to define and deepen the intent and practice of Personal Mastery: 1. Creative Tension “The tension between vision and current reality is not to be feared—it’s the source of all creative … Continue reading Robert Fritz’s Core Concepts That Shape Senge’s View of Personal Mastery
Systems Thinking Research & Leadership Development Institute (STRLDi) 