Change Signal How an Engineer Would Map Your Org. Emily Moore
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Feb 4, 2026 Emily Moore, engineering educator and leadership teacher at the University of Toronto, specializes in systems mapping and organizational change. She talks about why people get left off system maps. She walks through a hands-on post-it mapping exercise and why messy, iterative maps beat tidy diagrams. She reframes resistance as useful intelligence rather than mere obstruction.
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A Canadian Breakfast That Changed Trajectories
- Michael recounts meeting Emily at a Canadian breakfast at Oxford which led to meeting his future wife, Marcella.
- He emphasizes their 32-year friendship to introduce Emily's background and credibility.
Map Connection Strength And Direction
- Connections differ in strength and direction and mapping them reveals information and decision flows in a system.
- Using solid/dotted lines and arrow directions helps surface strong ties, weak ties, and systemic dynamics.
Stay With Ambiguity Before Solving
- Teach and practice staying comfortable with ambiguity and resist the impulse to rush to solutions or premature convergence.
- Cultivate professional humility and seek other experts' perspectives before deciding on a fix.
