The Ecology of your Life's Work: A Systems Approach to your Impact Career

Your Unique Contribution to Regenerative, Equitable & Thriving Futures

In the social impact world, we often feel scattered.

Pulled in different directions.

Unsure how all the pieces of our work connect.

But, your life's work isn't a random collection of tasks and roles.

It's an ecosystem.

A dynamic network of interconnected elements – your skills, your passions, your values, the communities you're part of, and the systems you're working to change.

This two-part series will help you use systems thinking to design a social impact career that is both impactful and fulfilling.

You'll learn to:

• Connect your individual strengths to collective action and systemic change.

• Understand your unique contribution to regenerative futures.

• Identify leverage points for learning, impact and income.

This is Part 1: Mapping Your Ecology and Creating Your Niche.

Here, we'll cover how to synthesize your unique niche by combining your

Individual skills

+ place in your collectives

+ the systemic issues you care about

Visually, it looks like this:

Individual: Weaving your Skills, Knowledge & Experience

You're more than a job title.

You're carry a unique blend of:

• Values: Your values are your why.

• Passions: Your passions are your fuel.

• Knowledge & Interests: What you know.

• Experiences: Your past experiences & story.

• Roles: How you contribute to collectives.

• Skills: The abilities you have practiced.

Understanding these as interconnected is essential.

Because without generating clarity, you might feel lost, drained, and less effective.

When you identify how they all come together you create something that is truly unique and innovative.

The easiest way I found to make sense of all of this, is to map out your core roles and connect them with specific skills, knowledge, values, etc.

Have a look at this example from my client Crystal:

Her core roles and connected skills are:

1. Guide & Mentor: Helps individuals find clarity and resilience. Leverages coaching, emotional intelligence, reflection.

2. Venture Builder: Brings structure to ambiguity; translates ideas into action. Skilled in resource gathering, team leadership, experimentation.

3. Project Manager: coordinating people, workflows, and timelines. Offers clarity on how to implement ideas, time management and delegation.

4. Strategist: Provides clarity in complexity; refines direction and aligns operations. Combines Critical thinking, planning, pattern recognition.

5. Ecosystem Weaver: Fosters trust, bridges networks, and supports collaboration. Leverages relationship-building, pattern recognition & network mapping.

6. Resource Gatherer: Connects people, knowledge, capital, and opportunities. Good at pitching, fundraising, relationship-building.

This will be different for you.

You can try it out right now:

Just grab a piece of paper, map your key roles and explore how they intersect!

Done?

Then let's move on!

Systems: Sensing large-scale problems, patterns & narratives

You've explored your inner landscape.

But your individual contribution doesn't exist in a vacuum.

It's embedded within larger systems.

To truly understand your impact, you must understand the context in which you operate.

It's time to zoom out.

Social impact work happens within complex systems. Interconnected webs of relationships, feedback loops, and patterns.

Understanding these systems is crucial for creating lasting change.

Without a systemic lens?

• You feel overwhelmed.

• You create new problems.

• You address symptoms, not causes.

In contrast, thinking systemically helps you:

• Identify root causes.

• Find leverage points.

• Co-create innovation

• Collaborate more effectively.

• Avoid unintended consequences.

Let's explore your systemic landscape

First it's vital to clarify what system(s) you want to shift with your collaborators.

What specific system are you working in? And at what scale?

And before you ask, yes:

You can work across multiple topics & scales!

Think:

• Scales: Local, organization, network, bioregional, national, regional, global, etc.

• Topics: E.g. Food, education, climate, indigenous rights, land stewardship, arts & culture, social justice & equity, policy, etc. (See the overview below)

Reflect: What are your primary system topic(s) and scale(s)? How do they intersect?

Once you have your target systems more clear it becomes easier to understand:

• Systemic challenges: What are the persistent challenges within this system? How do they reinforce each other?

• Systemic narratives: What dominant narratives shape your target systems? What alternative, regenerative narratives could create a shift?

• Patterns & Feedback Loops: Systems are dynamic. They're constantly changing. What patterns do you observe in your system? What feedback loops are at play?

By analyzing your system's topic, scale, challenges, narratives, patterns, and feedback loops, you gain a powerful perspective.

You move beyond surface-level understanding.

You begin to see the possibilities.

The interconnections.

The leverage points.

Collectives: Your Place in Communities, Networks & Movements

You've zoomed out to understand the system.

Now, zoom back in.

But not all the way to the individual level.

Consider the collectives you're part of. Your communities, networks, and organizations.

Without this step?

• You feel disconnected.

• You miss opportunities.

• You struggle to find your place.

So now, it's time to explore your place within your key groups.

Because, your individual contribution, within the context of systems change, finds its expression through collaboration.

Knowing your place helps you:

• Find belonging.

• Avoid duplication.

• Collaborate effectively.

• Contribute to wider networks.

• Leverage collective intelligence.

Let's explore your levels of engagement

Your engagement varies across different groups:

Let's explore three common levels:

These are based on the work of Michel Bachmann, Enspiral, Fabian Pfortmüller & others.

1. Peripheral Member: You're connected, but not actively contributing. You observe and follow along. Why are you a peripheral member of this specific collective?

2. Contributor: You participate actively, but aren't on the core organizing team. How do you contribute in a way that honors your energy & adds value?

3. Core Steward: You're deeply involved in operations, a founder, or a core team member. What is your primary role in stewarding this collective?

Visually:

Over to you:

Draw the circle in your journal.

Then consider your different communities and networks. (And the ones you are interested in right now)

Reflect on your level of engagement in each.

Based on where you place each collective, refine how you show up.

So e.g. if you see yourself as a core member, double down and clarify how to add more value to the collaboration.

VI. Weaving It Together: The Ecology of Your Life's Work (Your Unique Niche)

Great work so far.

• You've explored your individual strengths.

• You've analyzed the systems you're working within.

• You've examined your collective engagements.

Now, the threads come together.

This is where the ecology of your life's work emerges. Your unique niche. Your contribution to a more regenerative future.

Remember the "breathing in" metaphor?

We've gathered. Reflected. Converged.

Now, we synthesize.

This equation is the key:

Individual + Systems + Collective = Your Unique Contribution

When these align, you find your niche.

The contribution that only you can make.

Let's revisit the example of my client.

Unique Niche Statement:

"I integrate ecosystem weaving, venture incubation, strategic coordination, and capacity-building to help regenerative leaders, ventures, and networks align, scale, and sustain their impact. I meet leaders and organizations where they are and enable visionary initiatives to bridge gaps, navigate complexity, and amplify their contributions to the well-being of people and the planet.

How I Contribute:

• For Ventures & Startups: Clarify vision, structure operations, and align resources, ensuring sustainable execution.

• For Networks & Ecosystems: Act as a connector and strategist, bringing people, knowledge, and funding together to strengthen collective impact.

• For Leaders & Changemakers: Provide mentorship and strategic guidance—helping individuals navigate their path while staying grounded, effective, and resilient.

You can see that she combines all of her roles, groups she is working with and her systemic understanding in a clear proposition of how she acts.

Over to you!

Reflect:

• How do your individual strengths (roles, skills, values, passions) enable you to address specific systemic challenges within the collectives you're part of?

• What unique perspective do you bring to your collectives, based on your understanding of the system and your individual strengths?

• What one action could you take this week to move closer to your ideal niche, integrating individual, systemic, and collective elements?

As you can see:

It isn't about doing it all.

It's about finding your place.

And contributing your unique piece to the collective.

VII. Conclusion: Exploring the Intersections

You've started to define the ecology of your life's work – the intersection of your individual gifts, your systemic understanding, and your collaborative engagement.

This isn't a destination.

It's a process.

A continuous unfolding.

Your career ecosystem is dynamic.

It will evolve. Your niche will shift and deepen.

Embrace the journey: Keep reflecting. Keep connecting. Keep weaving.

Remember the "breathing in" metaphor? This was Part 1 – gathering, reflecting, converging.

Part 2 is about "breathing out." It's about implementation.

You'll learn how to bring your unique niche to life through:

• Powerful Messaging: Crafting narratives that resonates with your audience.

• Impactful Projects: Designing initiatives that create real, lasting change.

• Diversified Income Streams: Building a sustainable career that aligns with your values.

And that's not all.

To dive even deeper into this process, stay tuned for upcoming podcast episodes with the Modern Maze! We'll explore these concepts in conversation, offering practical tips and real-world examples.

For now, celebrate your insights.

Celebrate your commitment to more just and regenerative futures.

That's it!

Warm wishes,

Adrian Röbke
Building the capacity of impact networks to create systems change.

PS: If you want me to guide you through this exact process, I have five coaching seats left. Learn more & book your session here.

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About the Systemic Shift Newsletter

This weekly newsletter is dedicated to exploring practices, mindsets, and strategies that make networks effective in driving systemic change. Each issue offers practical tools, real-world lessons, and curated opportunities to help you build impactful, collaborative networks & communities.

Stay tuned next Tuesday for more!