The Purpose of a System - by Kimberley Debus • POSIWID, a …

The Purpose of a System - by Kimberley Debus

• POSIWID, a systems thinking heuristic by Stafford Beer, states that a system's purpose is what it does, not what it intends to do.
• The true purpose of a system is revealed by its actual behavior and outcomes, not by the intentions of its designers or operators.
• Congregational systems often resist change despite intentions and desires for growth and diversity.
• The difficulty in changing congregational systems may be by design, suggesting the system is working as intended to prevent change.
• Congregations desire more young people, diversity, and families but fail to change the systems that keep them small, white, and older.
• Processes within congregations, such as consensus and reacting to individual complaints, are designed to prevent change.
• Cultural practices and invisible roadblocks, like the need to study everything or the phrase "we tried that once," stymie progress.
• Religious professionals often frame new initiatives as "experiments" to bypass the system's resistance to change.
• Despite the desire for change and growth, congregational systems often fail to support these goals.
• The systems are working as designed, and the author questions what it will take to change them.
• Changing the system is not about a new governance structure but about covenant and putting love at the center.
• The democratic process in UU congregations and the UUA is seen as a problem in addressing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
• Systems are designed to encourage repetitive behavior, which gives them power but also makes them resistant to change.
• Systems change when they realize that change is necessary to remain true to their core values, a painful insight that often comes too late.