Black Coconut Blog

21 May 2025

systems thinking, systems change

 
 

A reflection on feedback loops and systems thinking

by Adanma Yisa

In a world that’s rapidly unraveling, from climate collapse, social injustice, to economic inequity, it often feels like we are being called to find temporary fixes to these larger systems. But what if we did more than fix the broken system, what if we reimagined them entirely? Perhaps it is time to reject our fragmented and linear approaches to change in favor of something more holistic, relational, and accountable to land, other species, other people, and future generations. This is where systems thinking and feedback loops come in.

At its core, systems thinking is a way of seeing the world as deeply interconnected. It moves us beyond quick fixes or isolated interventions, instead encouraging us to understand the underlying structures, beliefs, and relationships that produce the outcomes we see.

When we adopt a systems thinking mindset, we ask ourselves:

  • What forces are at play in this situation?

  • How do the parts influence the whole?

  • Where are the patterns repeating over time?

A systems thinking approach reminds us that our social and ecological crises are not accidental, they are human made, and the result of ongoing systems like colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy that have been designed to concentrate power in the hands of some and dispossess power from the from the hands of many.

Feedback loops are the mechanisms that can either stabilise or amplify change and there are two main types:

  • Reinforcing loops (positive feedback) amplify a process, amplify change.

  • Balancing loops (negative feedback) work to bring a system back to equilibrium, meaning they counteract change.

When we fail to recognise these loops, we risk not problems properly and applying solutions that backfire or reinforce the status quo. But when we learn to see them, we uncover places where small, strategic interventions can lead to meaningful, systemic change.

How can this be applied to your work?

Systems thinking helps us resist the pressure to deliver immediate, measurable results at the expense of long-term transformation. It invites us to slow down, to map power, systems and structures that impact our work, and engage with complexity. It demands that we ask important questions like: Who benefits from the current system? Who is harmed? What assumptions are we reinforcing in our work?

Feedback loops remind us to be iterative, change isn’t a one-time event, instead it is an ongoing process that requires us to evaluate, adjust, and form collective learning so we can ensure that everyone is working together. Feedback loops also help us stay accountable with every step so we can re-evaluate, questions like who are we hearing back from? Or whose voices matter when we evaluate impact? Can greatly shift our feedback loops from being balancing to reinforcing.

Systems thinking doesn’t just help us understand how the world works, it helps us imagine how it could work differently. By paying attention to feedback loops, we aren’t just dismantling systems of domination, but co-creating systems rooted in life, care, and liberation.