Inner change and systems change are intertwined. How we see, know, and act shapes the systems we build.

Systemic change begins internally. It asks us to examine our assumptions, stay present with uncertainty, and work with tension instead of trying to eliminate it. This inner work helps us stay open to complexity and resist the urge to rush to conclusions..

As our way of seeing shifts, so do the systems we design, invest in, and govern. New perspectives lead to different choices about power, relationships, and value creation.

Systemic investing lives in this dynamic interplay, where inner development leads to a widening of perception, examination of conditioning and assumptions, and the capacity to hold several ’truths’ at the same time. Working on and in systemic change, in turn, requires further inner development. As our perception shifts, familiar ways of making sense of the world begin to loosen. This is where unlearning begins.

Unlearning

Unlearning is a core practice in systemic investing. This doesn’t take away from experience or success; it simply holds them differently. Recognising that many of the patterns that shaped who we are were formed in a different time. And may now limit what we are able to see. Unlearning also happens at the level of habit and reflex, we notice when urgency, control, or withdrawal are automatic responses shaped by earlier conditions instead of present reality.

This often begins with letting go of familiar identities and logics. It is rarely only about thinking differently. Unlearning can feel uncomfortable and disorienting, especially when certainty, expertise, or status are involved. Unlearning is a relational practice supported by dialogue, reflection, and shared experience. Unlearning is not a one-off moment but an ongoing practice even for the most experienced systemic investors.

It invites us to notice the assumptions that quietly shape how we see, decide, and act:

• How is the world structured and alive at the same time?
• How does capital both enable action and shape power?
• When does control create safety — and when does it get in the way?
• What value can be measured, and what only sensed in context and relationship?

Mental models

Mental models are how ontological assumptions translate into action. They are the internal maps that shape how we interpret reality and navigate complexity.

Mental models feel like “the way things are”. They are reinforced by institutions, peer norms, and reward systems, which makes them remarkably stable, even when people intellectually agree that change is needed.

As mental models shift — gradually and unevenly — the range of questions we ask, the risks we tolerate, and the actions we consider legitimate start to change. Think about how two investors can look at the same project and see different levels of risk, depending on if they prioritise predictability or resilience.

Shifting how we see the world reshapes what we consider possible. Mental models shape how we interpret the world. Values shape why we choose to act within it.

Values

How do we begin to imagine a world beyond the current system, when its logic shapes not only our economies and institutions, but also our relationships, identities, and inner lives? Systemic change is not only about analysing the present. It also asks us to sense and embody future possibilities before they are fully visible — and to notice where our inner compass already points beyond the dominant logic.

For many investors, values work begins with recognising a tension: between what feels deeply right, and what has been normalised as successful, responsible, or legitimate. Some values may feel innate — qualities like integrity, care, honesty, or compassion that people recognise early, sometimes even before they have language for them. Others become clearer over time, through experience, reflection, and difficult choices. In practice, values are not fixed or purely given; they are revealed, tested, and strengthened through engagement with the world.

This journey is guided by values and brings up these types of questions:

• What truly matters to me beyond performance or winning?
• When I seek clear A–B answers or quick closure, what assumptions am I operating from?
• What future do I feel responsible for sustaining — in human and planetary terms
• How does that future feel? And how do my decisions feel in relation to it?
• What familiar logics, roles, or definitions of success am I willing to let go of
• Where might staying with uncertainty open up new possibilities?

Systemic change is not only about learning new ways of seeing, but also about letting old worlds go. Every shift in values and worldview carries loss: of certainty, of familiar roles, of stories that once made us feel safe or successful. Acknowledging this grief creates space for deeper commitment, because it loosens the emotional grip of old paradigms and allows new forms of stewardship to take root.

Theory U by Otto Scharmer describes the pathway to come to innovation that is truly innovative, not just an improvement of the present. It is about letting go of your assumptions and narratives and making space for new realities to come from the future. When exploring a system:Observe, observe, observe and suspend judgement. Be still and let the future pull you.

Values rarely bring clarity without friction. They come to us through trade-offs, tension, and difficult choices. Especially when outcomes are uncertain or slow to unfold. When short term successes are strong but governance practices undermine long-term system health, values shape if an investor exits, intervenes, or chooses to stay engaged differently.

This is why values are the source of energy, courage, and long-term commitment in systemic work. Over time, values seek language, stories, and practices that allow them to be lived. This is where narrative enters.

Narrative

Every system is held in place not only by structures and incentives, but by stories. Stories about:

• what money is for, consumption, growth, GDP
• what success looks like, who is seen as winner and loser, hero stories
• who gets to decide, who is in charge
• what kind of change is possible within a lifetime

These narratives live inside us as much as they live in institutions we work in. They shape what feels sensible, responsible, or even imaginable, often without being named.

Because narratives are tied to identity, legitimacy, and belonging, they are not easily changed.

Systemic investors reinforce them through the questions they ask, and the futures they are willing to fund.

When narratives remain unseen, they can shape action in ways we don’t immediately recognise. When they become visible, often through play, metaphor, or shared reflection, they begin to loosen. Narratives do not simply create values, nor do values exist independently of story. They co-evolve. Values seek expression through narrative; narratives, in turn, amplify or suppress certain values.

“the root problem is not only the climate and biodiversity crisis itself, but the systemic inaction behind it — the rules, incentives, and beliefs that keep us stuck. Change only happens when structures, economics, social dynamics, and culture move together.” Shift — Quote

The inner journey of the systemic investor

We’ve collectedthe characteristics of a systemic investor. Based on wat we are reading and experiencing. The shift we see can be roughly divided over four main characteristics (hey, we still do love a good framework ;-). The topics in this chapter of the fieldbook describe a sequence many people recognise in practice — from first noticing a mismatch, to inner reorientation, to showing up differently in the world.

The quadrants describe the capacities that develop along the way. They do not unfold in a linear order. They strengthen in parallel, unevenly, and through repetition. Each topic tends to activate certain capacities more strongly, while drawing on others in the background. Over time, systemic practice requires all four to be in motion. Inner shifts don’t stay internal. They show up the moment we interact with others and broaden the way we can contribute.