This week’s tip: Embrace feedback loops rather than mitigating their effects
I joined the social sector many years ago out of an intense desire to help.
To relieve suffering and pain.
To fight injustice.
I started on the front lines of nonprofits, went to public policy school, and was then chosen to lead several multimillion dollar change initiatives.
In each effort, there existed a shared conviction, stemming from our fervent desire for a better world, that we had the ability to disrupt the cycle of cause and effect perpetuating the problem.
Even with the most complex of problems, we believed we could surgically intervene and control feedback loops.
We chose metrics and then forced the numbers to get better.
You think I’m joking, but it worked.
For example, if we wanted to reduce injuries, we could get them to zero.
Reduce pain? We could relieve it immediately.
Improve grades? We could ensure they got better.
The desired metrics would magically get better…but things weren’t so good in the bigger picture.
A Paradigm Shift
As I reflect on those well-intentioned efforts, it becomes evident that our pursuit of immediate, measurable success inadvertently masked the deeper, systemic issues we were facing.
For a long time I couldn’t admit to myself that we had been unsuccessful.
Here’s what I thought:
“We did good work and the metrics got better. Just read the newspaper articles written about how successful our initiatives were. The problem overall ended up getting worse, but that was out of our control.”
Only by walking away from so-called successful initiatives and prestigious professional roles, by putting away my ego (at least a little bit), and actually owning failure did I gain a different perspective.
After years of study and reflection, here’s what I’ve come to:
Embracing feedback loops rather than attempting to control them is the key to unlocking lasting change.
Let me share this paradigm shift through a series of real-world examples:
#1. Playground Designed Too Safely
Mitigation Approach:
- Traditional Thinking: Design playgrounds with minimal challenges to reduce injuries.
- Result: Safer playgrounds but limited physical and cognitive development for children. Injuries are reduced on “safe” playgrounds, but overall increase of child injuries on other playgrounds and undesigned environments.
Embracing Feedback Loops:
- Shift in Thinking: Recognize that a degree of risk is crucial for child development.
- Action: Design playgrounds that balance safety with challenges.
- Result: Children develop better motor skills and risk assessment abilities, contributing to healthier overall development.
#2. Reliance on Opioids for Chronic Pain
Mitigation Approach:
- Traditional Thinking: Mitigate pain symptoms with opioids without addressing the root cause.
- Result: Reports of pain go down, potential for addiction, and significant non-pain adverse health consequences.
Embracing Feedback Loops:
- Shift in Thinking: Acknowledge the feedback loop of pain management and addiction.
- Action: Implement holistic pain management strategies, including addressing root causes when possible.
- Result: Reduction in opioid reliance, improved well-being, and a break in the cycle of addiction.
#3. Allowing Late Homework for “Equity”
Mitigation Approach:
- Traditional Thinking: Allow late homework submissions to accommodate various student circumstances.
- Result: Short-term relief, better quarterly grades, but potential long-term consequences like decreased academic performance.
Embracing Feedback Loops:
- Shift in Thinking: Recognize the feedback loop of responsibility and academic success.
- Action: Maintain deadlines while providing support systems for students.
- Result: Students learn time management and responsibility, leading to improved academic outcomes.
#4. Providing Housing Without Preconditions
Mitigation Approach:
- Traditional Thinking: Provide housing without strict conditions to address immediate homelessness.
- Result: Short-term relief but unintended consequences like dangerous living conditions and untreated mental health issues and addiction.
Embracing Feedback Loops:
- Shift in Thinking: Acknowledge the feedback loop of housing stability and overall well-being.
- Action: Implement supportive housing models with conditions focused on improving residents’ lives.
- Result: Improved living conditions, better outcomes for vulnerable populations, and a break in the cycle of homelessness.
A Journey Towards Sustainable Change
Perhaps the most important feedback loop to embrace is the connection between our efforts and real-world outcomes in the long-term.
When problems get worse despite our best efforts, it’s time to re-examine our approaches.
That begins by recognizing that true transformation lies not in the manipulation of numbers but in a deep understanding of the intricate dance within complex systems.
It’s a paradigm shift.
Moving from immediate problem-solving (and patting ourselves on the back for our success) to strategic thinking that considers the long-term consequences of our interventions.
By letting go of virtue-signaling and changemaker self-promotion, we can step away from the allure of immediate success and venture into the unknown..
And embrace the unpredictable.
It’s a journey that challenges social sector conventions, disrupts the philanthropic norm, and uncovers the potential within chaos – a potential waiting to be harnessed for a better world.
I think it can be realized when we see feedback loops not as adversaries, but as the allies we need for enduring impact.
See you next week.
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Whenever you’re ready, there are two ways I can help you:
→ I’m a strategic advisor for the toughest societal problems like poverty, crime and homelessness. People come to me when they want to stop spinning their wheels and get transformative, systems-level change.
→ I’m a coach for emerging and executive leaders in the social and public sectors who want to make progress on their biggest goals and challenges.
Let’s find out how I can help you become transformational.
