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Writer's pictureDr. Cindy Petersen

Upstream Thinking

Upstream thinking requires us to be proactive rather than reactive.”  ~ Dan Heath


Leadership People Connection

As leaders we often suffer from ‘problem blindness’. Problem blindness leads us to see current negative outcomes as natural or inevitable - and out of our control . Problem blindness is one of the indicators we are stuck in downstream thinking. One of the stories used to illustrate downstream thinking paints the picture of a meandering river. Around one curve you and a friend see a young child flailing and drowning. Of course you jump in and save the child. Another child floats around the curve in danger of drowning and your friend jumps in to save this child also but soon the two of you are worn out and exhausted as more and more children need saving. In contrast to downstream thinking, upstream thinking entails looking beyond the current problem to seek the source and address it there: How/why are these kids getting into the water in the first place and what can be done about it?


One of the reasons we as leaders find ourselves downstream solving problems is because it has its rewards - it’s quick, we feel heroic and there are tangible, if not sustainable results. We’re really busy rescuing, responding and reacting. Going upstream can mean looking at systems and systemic change is often hard and takes time - sometimes even lifetimes. Dan Heath suggests that the spirit of upstream thinking is that given some forethought we can prevent problems before they happen - if we can’t eliminate the problem we do at least blunt the impact.


As leaders we need to be sure we aren’t spending all of our time downstream in the glory of the rescue. We need to look at what isn’t working and be willing to take the time to research further, to look for underlying issues, reflect on our systems and put together coalitions to effect the needed upstream change.


“So often we find ourselves reacting to problems, putting out fires, dealing with emergencies. We should shift our attention to preventing them.” ~Dan Heath

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