The Hidden Systems That Shape Every Organization
How one organization discovered the gap between their values and their reality—and what they did about it
Every organization has two operating systems running simultaneously. There's the one documented in org charts, policy manuals, and strategic plans—the formal system that describes how things are supposed to work. And then there's the informal system that actually determines how things get done: the unwritten rules, implicit expectations, and cultural norms that shape every interaction, decision, and outcome.
Most organizational challenges live in the gap between these two systems. And closing that gap? It takes time, patience, and a willingness to look honestly at what's really happening.
When Good Intentions Meet Hidden Barriers
Last year, I began working with a mental health organization whose leadership team was genuinely committed to their vision. Their values statement emphasized an inclusive community of practitioners and meeting clients where they are. The team was passionate about expanding services to better reflect the needs of the diverse communities in their city.
But like many well-intentioned organizations, they were struggling. Despite their clear commitment to serving their community, they kept running into the same barriers when trying to hire therapists with the cultural competencies and language skills their clients needed.
"We keep posting jobs, but we're not getting the candidates we need," the executive director shared during our first conversation. "We know there are qualified therapists out there who could serve our communities better, but somehow they're not applying to work with us."
This is a frustration I hear often—organizations that know what they want to achieve but feel stuck in patterns that don't seem to serve their goals.
The Discovery Process: What We Found
When we began planning their recruitment initiative, we decided to take a step back and examine their existing hiring systems. What we discovered together was both eye-opening and, frankly, not that unusual. Their job posting templates included lengthy lists of requirements that inadvertently created a narrow lens of qualifications. The requirements didn't account for the reality that skilled, culturally responsive therapists might have different educational backgrounds or career paths than traditional hires. Their interview process, while professional and well-meaning, didn't include any structured way to assess the specific competencies they said they needed—things like cultural responsiveness, community connections, or multilingual capabilities. Their salary structure, developed over time without regular review, wasn't aligned with the specialized expertise they were seeking to bring in. Perhaps most significantly, when we talked with current staff, we learned there was no formal performance evaluation system. Some staff felt uncertain about expectations, and employee interviews revealed concerns about consistency in how different team members were recognized and supported.
The leadership team wasn't surprised by these findings, exactly. "We've always known some of this stuff," one manager reflected. "But we've been so busy trying to keep up with client needs that we never had time to step back and really look at how our systems were working—or not working."
The Invisible Infrastructure We All Navigate
What this organization was experiencing happens everywhere. Every workplace operates on invisible infrastructure—the assumptions, processes, and cultural norms that shape behavior without anyone consciously designing them.
This infrastructure shows up in predictable ways:
Decision-making patterns: Who really gets heard in meetings? Whose input carries weight? What kinds of ideas get taken seriously and which ones get politely dismissed?
Communication styles: What can be said directly and what must be implied? Which conversations happen in formal settings and which happen in hallways?
Resource allocation: What gets funding or support quickly and what gets stuck in endless approval processes? Who has access to professional development or leadership opportunities?
Problem-solving approaches: When something goes wrong, is the first question "Who's responsible?" or "What can we learn?" Do failures lead to blame or innovation?
Relationship dynamics: How do hierarchy and power actually operate day to day? What are the unspoken rules about who can challenge whom?
The challenge isn't that these systems exist—they exist in every organization. The challenge is that they often develop organically over time, without anyone intentionally designing them to support the organization's current mission and values.
Why This Matters More Than You Might Think
Here's what I've learned from years of organizational consulting: you can have the most brilliant strategy in the world, but if your hidden systems don't support it, your strategy will lose every time.
Hidden systems are more powerful than formal ones because they operate at the level of daily experience. They shape how people feel about their work, whether they trust their colleagues, and what they believe is possible. They determine whether innovation flourishes or struggles, whether diverse perspectives are welcomed or inadvertently discouraged, and whether the organization's stated values show up in actual practice.
For this mental health organization, their hidden systems were sending a clear message: "We hire and evaluate people exactly like the therapists we've always hired, regardless of the communities we're trying to serve."
No wonder their recruitment efforts weren't working.
Making the Invisible Visible: Where We Started
The good news is that once you know how to look for hidden systems, you can begin to redesign them intentionally. But this process takes time and patience—change doesn't happen overnight.
With this organization, we started by asking questions that helped reveal the systems shaping their workplace:
Following the energy: What activities generated excitement and engagement among staff? What drained people's energy or created resignation? Where did people go above and beyond, and where did they do the minimum required?
Tracking the stories: What stories did people tell about success and failure? What examples did they use when explaining "how things work around here"?
Noticing the exceptions: When did the normal rules get suspended? Who had permission to break standard procedures? What happened when someone challenged the usual way of doing things?
Examining the artifacts: What did their physical spaces, communication tools, and meeting structures communicate about what was valued? What messages did their hiring, promotion, and recognition practices send?
Listening to the silence: What topics consistently got avoided? What questions didn't get asked? What perspectives were missing from important conversations?
This discovery process took several months. We moved at a pace that felt manageable for the team, who were still managing full caseloads and the daily demands of running a mental health clinic.
Designing Systems That Actually Support Your Mission
Once the organization could see their hidden systems clearly, we began the slow, intentional work of redesigning them. This wasn't about creating more policies or procedures—it was about thoughtfully changing the conditions that would naturally produce the outcomes they wanted.
Reimagining Recruitment (Months 3-6): We worked together to redesign job descriptions that valued lived experience alongside formal credentials. We created interview processes that actually assessed the competencies they needed—cultural responsiveness, community connections, language skills. We researched and developed salary ranges that recognized specialized expertise and community knowledge.
The leadership team was nervous about these changes at first. "What if we don't get any applicants?" But they were also excited about finally aligning their hiring practices with their values.
Transforming Evaluation (Months 6-9): We developed a performance review system that included measures of cultural responsiveness, client outcomes, and community engagement alongside traditional productivity metrics. This was particularly challenging because it required the organization to get clear about what good performance actually looked like in their context.
Addressing Pay Equity (Months 9-12): The salary research led to a comprehensive pay equity audit and the development of transparent compensation structures. This was probably the most complex part of the process, involving budget reviews, board discussions, and some difficult conversations. Some existing employees received raises, and the organization developed clear criteria for equitable pay rates for new hires.
Building Support Systems (Ongoing): We established supervision models that provided enhanced transparency and shared accountability, professional development opportunities that helped all staff deepen their skills, and peer consultation processes that reduced isolation and increased learning.
Throughout this process, there were setbacks and moments of doubt. Change is hard, especially when you're trying to do it while continuing to serve clients who need you. The leadership team had to balance the pace of change with the organization's capacity for implementation.
The Results: What Changed Over Time
The transformation wasn't immediate or dramatic—real organizational change rarely is. But over the course of more than a year, the shifts became clear.
The clinic successfully recruited three new therapists who brought language fluency, specialized expertise, and deep cultural connections to the communities they served. But more importantly, the entire organization became more aligned, more equitable, and more effective in living out their stated values.
Staff reported feeling clearer about expectations and more supported in their professional development. Client feedback reflected increased satisfaction with culturally responsive care. The organization's reputation in the community grew, leading to more appropriate referrals and stronger community partnerships.
Perhaps most significantly, the leadership team now had the tools and confidence to continue evolving their systems as their needs changed.
Your Systems Are Your Strategy
Every system in your organization is either supporting your mission or undermining it. There's no neutral ground. The question isn't whether your systems are powerful—they are. The question is whether they're powerful in service of what you're trying to create.
If you're reading this and recognizing your own organization's challenges, know that you're not alone. The gap between values and systems is common, and closing it is possible—but it takes time, patience, and support.
Change doesn't have to happen all at once. It doesn't have to be perfect from the start. But it does have to be intentional.
What hidden systems might be operating in your organization? What would change if you made them visible and redesigned them to serve your mission?
The path forward exists. And you don't have to walk it alone.
If you're ready to examine the hidden systems in your organization and begin the work of intentional change, I'd welcome a conversation about how we might work together. Organizational transformation takes time, but with the right support and approach, it's absolutely achievable.
