Another Systems Thinking Analogy… Straight From My Shoulder

Everyone knows I find analogies in literally every walk of life — from broken bones to boarding gates.

So, if you read my earlier blog, you’ll remember the airport analogy I used when I broke my collarbone — how one damaged part of the system (my shoulder) threw off the entire rhythm of my body, just like one delayed flight can bring an entire terminal to a standstill. Gate B6 goes down, and suddenly we’ve got chaos at baggage claim, missed connections, and nobody knows who’s boarding next. Classic cause and effect.

Well, I had another aha moment today. Same shoulder. New lesson.

Still in pain months later, I ended up back at the hospital. This time, a new surgeon decided we’d try a hydrocortisone injection — and this was no gentle tap. We’re talking a full-on 8-inch fisherman-style whopper of a needle straight into my shoulder joint. (And no, I’m not a fisherman — but if I were, I’d probably be saying it was 12 inches.)

Now, here’s the bit that hit me — and not just physically.

As that needle pierced some deep part of my shoulder, I let out a very dignified squeal (super proud I didn’t swear, which is very unlike me). But the wildest thing? I felt the pain not just in my shoulder, but shooting right down into my hand.

I said to the surgeon, “Woah — that hit something, because I felt it in my hand!”

His reply?

“There are no nerves or ligaments that connect the shoulder joint to that part of the hand.”

And that’s when my systems thinking brain lit up. Because actually… there are.

Not in the way we’ve clinically mapped it maybe — but in the way everything is connected. Through fascia. Through energy. Through movement patterns. Through trauma and memory and compensation and adaptation.

Just like the body, an organisation is one connected system. You can’t poke one bit and expect the reaction to stay local.

Systems Thinking: From Fascia to Functions

What struck me in that moment — needle still in, brain firing on all cylinders — was this:

He was looking at one part of the system in isolation.

Just the shoulder joint. Just the local scan. Just the most obvious source of pain.

But I know my body well. And I know systems thinking even better.

The shoulder pain might not be about the shoulder at all.

Just like an operational breakdown in one team might actually trace back to a decision made two departments away… or three years ago.

Just like a culture problem might really be an outdated leadership model.

Just like burnout might actually be the symptom of poor workload design, not a lack of “resilience.”

The pain in my hand may not show up on a scan — but it’s still real.

And the system knows — even if the experts don’t see it yet.

The Broader Question: Why Don’t We Lead Like This?

I’ve seen this time and time again in transformation, HR, and leadership work:

We fix what’s visible.

We inject where it hurts loudest.

We focus on the “part” that’s broken, rather than looking at how it fits within the whole.

But everything is connected:

• Strategy affects wellbeing

• Leadership affects performance

• Culture affects customer experience

• Tech systems affect human behaviour

• Your fascia affects your fricking hand

Yet we still run orgs, projects, and restructures like each piece is isolated.

My Inquiry-Based Question

So here’s what I’m sitting with (as the cortisone kicks in):

Why, as humans, aren’t we set up to think systemically?

Why is it, as thinkers like Bill Torbert and Ken Wilber have explored, that only a small portion of humanity naturally operates from a systemic lens?

Is it because it’s messy?

Is it because it slows things down?

Is it because seeing the whole means we can’t hide behind quick wins anymore?

Because let’s be honest — the symptoms will just keep returning until we address the cause.

Like pain in the hand.

Like disconnection between people.

Like burnout cycles that repeat.

One system. One body. One business.

From airports to anatomy, leadership to ligaments — the pattern is the same:

We treat the shoulder, but ignore the hand.

We fix the part, but forget the whole.

We build new models, without healing old wounds.

Next time you’re leading change, supporting a colleague, or even feeling pain in your own body — ask yourself:

Where else might this be coming from?

Because often, the real insight isn’t where it hurts.

It’s where the system is still holding onto something.

And that… is what the 8-inch needle taught me today.