In design and UX, systems-thinking is ostensibly invoked and praised, but in closed-door performance reviews and KPI meetings, it tends to ruffles feathers because it’s out of step with our culture of individualism. In Western cultures , which prioritize boot-strapping and manifesting destiny, all problems that arise are within the individual’s purview; and problems only arise because an individual didn’t control their environment sufficiently. Thus, personal responsibility is elevated over institutional responsibility or community responsibility.
As a Black woman, and someone inhabiting multiple marginalized identities, a part of my activism is subverting individualism through taking a systems-thinking approach to problem-solving. This means that when an issue arises at work or on a project, I tend to question the systems, structures, processes in place that help to produce that issue or problem first before blaming other individuals or myself. On many occasions, my approach has earned me the title of “lightning rod” , or sometimes less favorable titles, “entitled”, “victim-player”, “problem”.
I press on because our individual-focused cultural belief system— though not entirely useless — is part of the bedrock of many Western social ails. And this month, I think time is due to call out the many ways this approach to problem solving is harmful to Black and indigenous people specifically. It is harmful because one outcome of it is to blame marginalized people for the natural products of unfair and discriminatory practices, company policies, procedures, systems, and institutions. And in turn, Black professionals and academics will internalize the blame for the mistakes of larger powers, effectively corroding their self-esteem.
When marginalized people aren’t allowed to name and address systemic inequalities and told they don’t exist, we end up internalizing them as individuals though they are not ours alone to carry. And as we know from countless behavioral studies, internalizing racism is detrimental to the physical and mental health of Black people.
I think truly, if corporations, teams, and departments want to be equitable, then they must allow for marginalized people and specifically Black people (and more specifically Black women and queer people) to challenge the systems that are in place and prioritize systems-thinking over a focus on individual behavior without retaliation.
When we come together to discuss what processes were in place that led to an issue in the workplace, we craft better solutions than if when we put the blame on one or two individuals. We stop missing the forest for the trees. We stop protecting the status quo. This does not mean we shirk personal responsibility entirely. It is simply a recognition that no one person’s actions can create a pattern of results and that outcomes are often contextual. As human beings, conditioned to bias for survival, the context of our environment is often influenced by it a lot. There is no harm in admitting that bias, one of the many floors of our work system skyscraper, contributes to the issues, outcomes, and relationships in our professional environments.
It’s easier to weed out “bad apples” — something our society often does to Black and Indigenous people — than to focus on systems that seem insurmountable, but I believe the latter is the better way. This month, in the face of mounting backlash against DEI efforts, affirmative action, and pledges made post-George Floyd, I hope we can all recommit to it wherever we are.
Happy Black History Month
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Aside: I didn’t come up with this systems thinking. It is the lineage of civil rights movements. Folks should read Systems thinking for Social Change, Emergent Strategy, and The Black Design experiment for more. Feel free to drop more books on the topic in the comments.
