When the Solution Becomes the Problem: A Systems Thinking Lesson for Managers
Updated: Nov 6
By Paul Gerhardt, PhD, management professor, leadership author, and host of The Better Workplace.
A quick workplace fix deserves two questions: did it reduce the original problem, and what else changed because of it? Systems thinking helps managers examine the cause, anticipate side effects, and check the result before making a new control permanent.
Have you ever introduced a workplace policy that seemed to solve a problem, only to discover later that it had created another one?
A customer order goes wrong, so every order must now receive the manager's approval. Initially, mistakes decline. Then orders begin to pile up, employees stop making routine decisions, and the manager spends the day checking work that used to move along just fine.
The manager wanted to improve quality. That was a reasonable goal. The difficulty is that the solution changed more than the error rate. It also changed how people made decisions and how quickly work could get done.
Look beyond the immediate problem
One of the most useful ideas I teach in organizational behavior is systems thinking. Organizations are made up of connected people, processes, and relationships. When we change one part of the system, other parts often respond. Some consequences are immediate. Others take time to become obvious.
John Sterman's work on policy resistance and Peter Senge's discussion of shifting the burden offer useful ways to understand these patterns. A short-term fix can relieve a symptom while leaving the deeper cause untouched. Over time, the organization may become increasingly dependent on that fix.
In the customer-order example, perhaps employees were using an outdated form. Perhaps the instructions were confusing, or training was incomplete. Requiring approval for every order might reduce some errors without addressing any of those underlying conditions.
Three questions I encourage managers to ask
First, are we addressing the cause or simply controlling the symptom? Before writing another rule, talk with the people doing the work, review what happened, and look for patterns.
Second, what else could change because of this decision? Consider the time required, the effect on other departments, and whether employees will still have opportunities to exercise sound judgment. Some controls are essential for safety or compliance, but they should address real risks.
Third, how will we know the change is helping? Measure more than the original problem. Track turnaround time, customer experience, rework, and employee independence alongside error rates. Ask employees what they are seeing. Be willing to adjust when the evidence suggests something isn't working.
A practical challenge for this week
Choose one policy or procedure your team follows. Ask why it was introduced, whether it is still serving that purpose, and what unintended problems it may be causing. You don't have to remove it. Start with a conversation and an open mind.
In my latest episode of The Better Workplace, 'When the Solution Becomes the Problem: How Good Intentions Create Unintended Consequences at Work,' I explore this issue with a workplace example and practical questions for managers.
Test the fix without overlooking its side effects
For the order-approval example, review both errors and waiting. A lower error count may look encouraging while the queue grows.
Before a small test, write down: the symptom, the suspected cause, the change, the owner, and the review date. Choose one measure of the original problem and one measure of a possible side effect. Ask the people doing the work what the numbers miss.
Keep safeguards needed for safety, quality, or compliance in place. Review proposed changes with the person who owns that responsibility.
Paul Gerhardt, PhD, teaches management and leadership with a practical commitment to helping people build better workplaces. The examples and exercises in this article are teaching illustrations, unless identified as research findings.
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