Learn how to identify and fix systemic problems in business. Discover common patterns of inefficiency, improve processes, and implement effective leadership strategies to unleash business agility.
Systemic problems often have a feeling of a roundabout. Round and round we go – solving the same problems again, bringing in new people who get the same results as the last people.
It was Edward Deming who suggested that 94% of the success of a business, comes down to the system. The other 6%? – The People.
Yet it’s common to find managers working with their people only – and not fixing systemic problems.
In this post and video I share ways to spot these systemic problems, so you can fix them for good. (Or at least put the evidence in front of those with levers to pull – execs and managers)
Systemic problems (often called Wicked Problems) in business aren’t obvious at first glance. Sometimes we're seeing the symptoms - and solving the symptoms often creates a new set of problems.
Many leaders want quick answers and solutions, but the truth is: until you’ve studied the system and identified the root causes, there’s no simple solution.
What I can do is help you spot patterns in your business that indicate deeper systemic issues. Recognising these patterns gives you clues about where to focus your energy and attention when addressing underlying problems.
Leaders hold the greatest levers to fix systemic problems — budgets, processes, rules, behaviours, and business goals. They often created the problems in the first place, so they can also solve them. But no matter your level in the organisation, you can identify these issues, gather data, and point others toward solutions.
Here are the most common patterns, with examples and practical guidance for addressing them.
Systemic problems are recurring issues caused by the structure, processes, or culture of an organisation rather than isolated mistakes or failures. They impact performance, slow delivery, and frustrate employees.
Signs of systemic problems include:
Once you can spot these patterns, you’ll know where to focus your energy and attention to create meaningful change.
Occurs when individuals exploit shared resources for personal gain, depleting them for the wider system. Individuals win (and deliver) but at the expense of others in the business. I see this a lot!
Examples:
Fix:
Rapid expansion can overwhelm teams, dilute focus, and create chaos. Leaders may respond with heavy governance, further slowing delivery. Every leader seems to want growth without realising the problems that growth can cause if done too quickly; poor hiring, lack of clarity, overwhelmed with work, opens up opportunities for mistakes and skipping processes.
Fix:
Leaders or managers often push problems onto others—other people in the business, HR, consultants, contractors, or technology—without addressing root causes.
Signs:
Fix:
Excessive issue escalation is a giant red flag. Decisions moving up the chain create bottlenecks and fear among teams. Everything slows down and leaders become overwhelmed dealing with minutia.
Fix:
Skipping rules often signals poor process design, overwhelm, poor work behaviours or the fact you're just going too fast and people don't have time to do things properly.
Fix:
Goals that don’t address the real issues indicate systemic dysfunction. A lot of business goals lack anything in the way of measurable outcomes. They are often best guesses or wishes - dreams and hopes with a deadline.
It's also common to find goals that compete with other goals - or arbitrary goals made up that have no direct connection by to strategy, nor the Painted Picture.
Fix:
Relying on consultants, vendors, or software without understanding internal problems often worsens systemic issues. Most consultancy companies come in with playbooks and "set ways" of doing things. We don't here at Cultivated Management by the way 😄
As such, these are generic frameworks and solutions, that may not be suitable for the very problems your company has. It's not uncommon for leaders to outsource important decisions, strategy and ways of working to consultants - after all, it's a form of insurance (i.e. not my fault), only to find the solutions are not right or too hard to implement.
The people who know your business the best are the people in it.
Fix:
Problems that keep coming back indicate the root cause is unaddressed. If a problem that you solved comes back, you didn't really solve it. Many leaders and managers are simply fixing symptoms of problems, not the root cause.
Fix:
Frequent, predictable problems highlight systemic flaws. If the same problems pop up at the same time, or with the same frequency, and they are impactful, there is a pattern that can be studied and the root cause identified. Random problems are harder to address. Problems that are infrequent and not very impactful may not even need addressing.
Remember: All businesses have more problems than you could ever realistically solve. Hence, it's important to focus on the impactful ones - and especially the ones that are preventing you from moving from where you are, to your painted picture and future.
Example:
Fix:
Minor issues dominating discussions often point to larger systemic challenges. It's not uncommon to find "working groups" and teams of people trying to solve minor inconsequential problems. These small problems are often shiny, interesting, obvious and simple to tackle - yet they take up a lot of time.
It should be commended that people are trying to solve problems but the chances are they are only addressing the symptoms, or are tackling problems that don't need to be solved right now.
Or, people are having to do lengthy, time consuming work arounds because a problem is too hard to tackle or nobody even sees it in the first place. Time is spent avoiding the problem or living with it, rather than addressing it. Very common indeed.
Fix:
Perceived organisational culture can prevent problem-solving. All companies have a perceived culture; "It's what we do", "that would never work here" etc. It needs challenging. Sometimes all it takes to be on a path to solving a systemic problem is the courage to go against the norm. Why can't it be done here?
Examples:
Fix:
High pressure can distort systems, causing skipped processes, poor decision-making, and reactive behaviours.
Fix:
If new hires produce the same results as predecessors, the system—not individuals—is the problem.
I see this often. A new team of people are brought in (typically from a consultancy - passing the burden), and they get the same results as the last talented team. This is often a sign the system is winning.
Fix:
Systemic problems don’t have quick fixes. They require study, observation, data gathering, and intentional action, often supported by leaders, budget and cross functional alignment.
By spotting these 13 patterns, you can:
Key takeaway: Fix the system, not the symptoms. Focus on the root causes, and the organisation will naturally become more agile, productive, and resilient.