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This blog explores the human side of work.

It’s where I share reflections, tools, and perspectives on leadership, culture, and organisational behaviour, all grounded in behavioural science and real-world experience. Whether you’re leading a team, designing learning, or simply navigating change, you’ll find insights here to help you do it with more clarity, care, and connection.

No jargon. No quick fixes. Just thoughtful writing for people who believe better workplaces are possible, and worth working for.

System Skill vs Systems Kill: A Leadership Lens for Today’s Workplaces

System Skill vs Systems Kill

Some workplace systems support clarity, fairness, and connection. Others quietly drain trust, inclusion, and initiative. The difference isn’t always in what the system is — it’s in how it’s used.

What Is a System Skill?

System skill is the ability to see the human impact of workplace systems and intervene intentionally. It’s knowing that processes and policies aren’t neutral — they either empower or exclude. And it’s about being the kind of leader who uses structure to support trust, not erode it.

How Systems Kill

When we stop noticing the effects of our systems, we let them drift into dysfunction. Think of:

  • Performance reviews that reward conformity, not contribution
  • Onboarding processes that feel more like exclusion than inclusion
  • Meetings where silence is read as consensus

In each case, a system — however well intended — is creating disconnection. And the real danger? When people adapt to the dysfunction and call it culture.

System Skill in Practice

Here are three signs of system skill in action:

  • You question the norms that most people take for granted.
  • You design for equity, not just efficiency.
  • You treat structure as a living thing — something that should evolve, not ossify.

A Tool to Try

Here’s a simple diagnostic you can use with your team or in a leadership meeting:

Ask: “Which of our current systems or processes:

  • Creates clarity and consistency?
  • Accidentally excludes or confuses?
  • Needs redesign to better serve our people?”

Then listen. Ask again. And follow through.

From Reflection to Action

Leaders don’t need to overhaul every system. But they do need to notice what’s happening beneath the surface — and build the skills to intervene. Because every system, at its core, tells people something about whether they belong, how they’re valued, and what’s possible.

Let’s build systems that elevate, not erode. That’s system skill.

If this resonated with you, subscribe to my newsletter Beyond Work Weekly for weekly insights. Or visit danieldixon.net to learn how I help leaders and organisations rethink culture and connection.

Daniel Dixon