When the System Grinds to a Halt

**Summary**

This blog explores how disruptions in systems—from strikes to silent withdrawal—are not malfunctions to be smoothed over, but signals that tell us something essential about respect, capacity, and balance.

A system does not protest with words, but with disruption.

When public transport comes to a standstill, this is not merely a logistical problem—it is a signal. A signal of boundaries that have been ignored for too long. Of a balance that was lost long ago, but only now becomes visible because it can no longer be contained.

Our first reflex is often: fix it. Quickly. Back to business as usual. But what if the disruption itself is the most honest message the system can give us? What if, through our hurried attempts to repair, we miss the core of the signal?

Boundaries Are Not Walls

In many organizations, setting boundaries is still confused with resistance. Especially in work cultures where commitment and flexibility are highly valued, saying “no” can feel like a betrayal of team spirit. Yet safeguarding boundaries is not a form of obstruction—it is a form of self-respect.

From a systemic perspective—such as we know from organizational constellations—boundaries are not walls, but markers. They show where one person or part of the system ends and another begins. Boundaries give place, value, and legitimacy. They are crucial for healthy relationships and sustainable collaboration.

The Pattern Behind the Disruption

Strikes, production stoppages, or other major incidents often appear to stand alone. But they are rarely sudden. More often, they are the end points of a longer, smoldering process, in which one part of the system has carried too much, received too little recognition, or simply was not heard.

What eventually becomes visible—a strike, a conflict, a burnout—is often the result of what remained invisible for a long time. The unspoken irritation, the structural overload, the sense of “this will never change” that slowly seeps into an organization.

Mini-Case: The Tram Driver

Imagine a tram driver who, day after day, does his rounds in all weather conditions. He navigates not only the city, but also political decision-making, budget cuts, staff shortages, and sometimes even aggression from passengers. When he decides to lay down his work, it is rarely out of convenience. It is a final appeal—not only for wages or schedules, but for recognition. For being seen as a human being, not merely as a cog in the machine.

The same happens in offices, factories, and care institutions. The “silent withdrawal” of team members. The growing cynicism in meetings. The replacement of engaged conversations with distant, functional reports. All variations on the same theme: someone, somewhere, is carrying too much—for too long, too alone.

A Systemic View: Disruption as Opportunity

In systemic work, disruption is not seen as the problem, but as the gateway to the solution—provided we are willing to listen without immediately fixing. To allow the uncomfortable silence to exist. To let pain, anger, or disappointment be present, without rationalizing them away.

When a system grinds to a halt, it often becomes clear that there is inequality in the distribution of burdens, or that recognition is missing. By ignoring or minimizing the disruption, we lock the pattern in place. By taking it seriously, we open the door to repair.

Psychodynamics: What Plays Beneath the Surface

Psychodynamically, disruption evokes discomfort because it touches our need for stability and control. Leaders and managers feel pressure to “restore” what is not working, sometimes out of fear that chaos will otherwise become too great. But it is precisely this need for rapid order that can cause us to miss the core.

Disruptions often mirror themes such as:

- Unheard needs: people experience that their voice carries no weight.

- Loss of meaning: work feels disconnected from values or mission.

- Limits of capacity: physical, emotional, or mental reserves are exhausted.

By exploring these undercurrents, the leader’s role shifts from “problem solver” to “giver of meaning.”

Organizations as Living Systems

An organization is not a machine you can simply repair; it is a living system. Just as in an ecosystem, every part has a place and a role. If one element is structurally overloaded or undervalued, the entire system begins to malfunction. Strikes, high absenteeism, or major turnover figures are then not malfunctions, but symptoms of a broader imbalance.

Leadership in such situations calls for a different language. Not: “How do we fix this quickly?” but:

- “What is this disruption telling us?”

- “Which part of the system is asking for more attention or recognition?”

- “Which unspoken expectations or tensions are at play here?”

A Deeper Case: The ‘Silent Strike’

In a consultancy firm, the management noticed that projects were increasingly being delivered late. There were no open conflicts, but more and more anonymous feedback about workload and lack of appreciation. Officially, everything continued, but in practice deadlines slipped and energy declined.

Only when the executive team decided to bring in an external facilitator for a series of open conversations did it become clear what was happening: consultants had felt overburdened for years, while successes were hardly celebrated. A “silent strike” had emerged—employees did exactly what was asked, but nothing more.

By not brushing the problem aside, but acknowledging it, space for repair emerged. Small rituals of appreciation, redistribution of work, and greater say over planning made a noticeable difference. Not by steering harder, but by listening better.

Leadership as a Carrier of Balance

The art for leaders is to see disruption not as a personal failure, but as information. It requires the courage to carry the discomfort that comes with it. This means:

- Taking time to hear the story behind the signal.

- Acknowledging what is out of balance, without immediately assigning blame.

- Being open to change, even when it requires structural choices.

A Reflective Invitation

What does the disruption say about the balance in your system?

Not as a question of blame, but as an invitation to observe.

Which place, which rhythm, which voice has been asking to be seen for a long time?

Perhaps the moment when everything grinds to a halt is precisely the moment when repair becomes possible.

*Auteur: Rene de Baaij*