Blaming the System Is a Confession

I am sure you have heard it. Maybe you have said it yourself.

The system is the problem.

It comes up in meetings, in hallway conversations and in exit interviews. It is offered as an explanation for why nothing changes, why good people leave and why great ideas never get off the ground.

I used to believe it too. I no longer do.

Not because systems are perfect. Many are badly outdated. But because I have learned that the phrase itself often hides more than it explains. It sounds like a diagnosis. In reality, it is usually a way of ending the conversation before anyone has to take responsibility.

The System Is Made of People

The system is not some force that exists apart from us. It is made of people.

Every system was built on a set of standards. And who created those standards? People did. Every policy, process and job description that feels immovable today was once a decision someone made, usually for a reason that made sense at the time.

That is what makes blaming the system so convenient. It allows us to point at something that seems to have no face. But when we trace any system back to its origin, we always find human choices, and human choices can be changed.

Policies Outlive Their Purpose

Here is how systems drift out of alignment. An organization sets a policy, and it exists. It keeps existing, often for years, until it starts creating problems.

Very few people take the time to ask: What was this policy for? Does it still mean anything to us? When we say we need a marketing person with this job description, is that really what we need today?

We don't ask those questions enough. So the policy stays, people from different generations form different opinions about it, and the friction builds until nothing seems to work. As I've written before, your job description is already out of date. Most of the standards around it are too.

People hold on to these standards because that is all they know. From childhood through school and into their first jobs, they were taught to follow the job description, meet the metrics and be accountable for what they were assigned, until it doesn't work anymore.

What Blame Reveals

When things stop working, we start blaming. We blame the leader. We blame the system. We blame, and we blame, and we blame.

But blame exposes everyone. The moment you start blaming is the moment you reveal that you don't have a solution. You don't know what to do. You only know that it isn't working according to you, and if it isn't working, it must be somebody else's fault.

It isn't only somebody else's fault. You have a responsibility too.

That is hard to hear, and I say it with respect. But I believe much of the frustration we see in the world today comes from looking at everything externally. We have spent so long pointing outward that we have forgotten how to do the work inward.

Inward work means asking harder questions of ourselves. What have I accepted without questioning? Where have I followed a standard simply because it was there? What would I do differently if no one were watching to tell me how it has always been done? These questions are uncomfortable, which is exactly why so few people ask them.

From Blame to Ownership

The alternative to blame is not silence or acceptance. It is ownership. Here is how I would begin.

Catch yourself in the act. When you hear yourself say "the system," pause and ask which specific decision or standard you are really frustrated with.

Trace it to its origin. Find out why that standard exists, who created it and what problem it was meant to solve. Often, no one remembers.

Ask whether it still serves its purpose. If it doesn't, you have just found something you can help change rather than complain about.

Bring a solution with your concern. Even an imperfect proposal changes the conversation. It turns you from a critic into a contributor.

Start with your own standards. Before redesigning the organization, look at the habits and assumptions you carry. They are part of the system too.

The System Changes When We Do

The good news hidden inside all of this is that if the system is made of people, then people can remake it. Systems don't change on their own. They change when the people inside them stop waiting for permission and start asking better questions.

That is why I believe the question that replaces complaining is so powerful: What more can I do?

The next time you feel the urge to blame the system, remember that you are part of it. Then do something only a person inside the system can do. Change it.

Want to explore these ideas further? Learn more about my work on leadership, identity and conviction at www.theglennllopis.com.