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A few weeks ago, I was speaking at an HR conference on transformational change. I opened with a question: “What is the biggest issue facing your organisation? And if that issue served a hidden purpose, what might it be?”

As Einstein said, we cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them. And yet, too often, transformational programmes fail because they address the symptoms, not the root cause. We waste time and energy solving the wrong problem - at the wrong level.

To solve the right problem, we must look beyond the surface. We need to connect more deeply with the presenting issue—because often, what we see isn't the real problem at all.

So how do we shift our consciousness in order to see more clearly?

One way is to turn the question on its head. What if the problem itself is a kind of solution? This is a core idea in systemic coaching—a powerful lens that helps us see with fresh eyes.

Let me give you an example.

In family systems, someone often becomes the symptom-bearer —a child labelled as difficult or disruptive when, in truth, they are simply reacting to unspoken pain or secrets in the family. They carry the emotional truth the rest of the system can’t yet face.

The same dynamic plays out in organisations.

In one recent case, I worked with a company where a manager had become the emotional lightning rod for the leadership team. The team, composed mostly of strong analytical thinkers, had little capacity—or willingness—for emotional engagement, resulting in consistently low scores on the annual surveys. The manager, shaped by her own family history, unconsciously stepped into that gap. She began holding the emotional weight for the entire group.

Over time, the pressure built, and she started to break down. On the surface, the problem seemed to be her volatility and angry outbursts, which pushed away those who worked closely with her. But the deeper truth? She was carrying feelings that didn’t belong solely to her. She needed to stop taking responsibility for everyone else’s emotions and focus on her own boundaries and inner work. Only then could the team begin to rebalance and address the real issues behind lack of engagement in the organisation.

Recognising and naming patterns reduces their power. It’s aligned with the observer effect in physics: 

“When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.” – Max Planck

So, in order to begin pattern recognition, I leave you with these questions taken from Systemic Coaching by Jan Jacob Stam & Bibi Schreuder:

• What is the system trying to tell me?

• What drives things to happen the way they do?

• What lies just beneath the surface—something I can feel, but not yet name?

And if you return to the original question—“If this issue served a hidden purpose, what might it be?”—you may just find your breakthrough.