I’ve written about systems thinking before. You can read a brief introduction to systems here or a more in depth introduction here. Today I’m going to talk about a specific pattern in systems called “Shifting the Burden.”
It is helpful to understand our place within the systems in which we interact. Otherwise we may end up playing a role in producing the very effects we’re trying to eliminate. This is because a key element in systems is feedback. We don’t act in isolation. Others respond and react to our actions – sometimes even without conscious thought.
Shifting the burden is when we solve the symptom rather than the problem. It appears that the problem is fixed because the symptoms go away, however the root cause of the problem still persists. As we continue to provide this “symptomatic” solution more and more, the fundamental, long-term, solution that address root causes are used less and less. Eventually, the ability to apply the fundamental long-term solution is diminished and there is a dependence on the “symptomatic” solution being provided.
Here are a few examples:
- We help our kids with their homework so much that they can no longer do their homework on their own.
(The burden of the homework has shifted from the kid to the parent.) - We rely so much on HR to solve our personnel problems that our ability to solve such problems ourselves is diminished.
(The burden of good employee relationships and productivity is shifted from the manager to HR.) - A marriage counselor intervenes in a marriage facilitating the couple’s communication. After a year of this intervention, the couple isn’t able to communicate well without the marriage counselor.
(The burden of good communication has shifted from the couple to the marriage counselor.)
For some of us, our calling is going to be related to solving societal problems: Eliminating poverty and hunger, ending sex trafficking, providing homes for the homeless, and more. The big lesson here is to make sure that we’re not shifting the burden of self sustained living onto ourselves (the intervenor). We don’t want to create dependence so that people need our help more and more to sustain their life.
If we do create this dependence, the social injustice we’re trying to eliminate may actually get worse. For example, making more money available to help those in poverty can actually increase poverty rather than reduce it. As people become more dependent on the subsidy, they become less able to provide for themselves.
The principle here is “teach the man to fish rather than just giving him a fish.”
In practice, this doesn’t mean that we don’t give food, clothing, shelter or money, for example. It does mean that we watch how folks respond to our aid. Are they coming back for more and more of our aid, or are they using it as a “launching pad” to get back to self sufficiency?
When we are providing solutions that address the symptom, we should also connect people to solutions that address root causes.
Share with us. When have you been a part of or seen a “Shifting the Burden” system in your life?
