When You Keep Fixing the Same Problems Over and Over

The situation

You fix an issue… and another one pops up.
You make a change that helps in the moment, but weeks later you’re dealing with a new version of the same problem — or a bigger mess somewhere else.

Leadership starts to feel reactive and exhausting.
Not because you’re careless — but because you’re constantly responding to what’s breaking instead of getting ahead of it.

What’s really happening

In complex healthcare systems, quick fixes often address symptoms, not root causes.

When pressure is high, leaders naturally act fast. The problem is that isolated solutions can create ripple effects elsewhere in the system — new bottlenecks, new stress points, new breakdowns.

So the issue doesn’t disappear.
It just changes shape.

What helps

Instead of asking “How do we fix this right now?” shift to a more systemic approach:

• Pause before patching

  If a fix feels rushed or obvious, it’s often incomplete.

  You might ask: “Are we solving the root cause or just the symptoms?”

• Zoom out

  Look at upstream and downstream impacts, not just the visible problem.

  You might ask: “Who’s impacted? What’s upstream? What’s downstream?”

• Test small

  Pilot changes before rolling them out broadly.

  You might say: “Instead of rolling this out across the whole unit, let’s test it on a small scale first and see how it plays out.”

• Create fast feedback loops

  Ask early what’s improving — and what’s getting worse.

  You might ask: “Is this fix actually working? What’s improving? What’s getting worse? Are there any unintended consequences?”

• Think long-term

  Aim for solutions that still work months from now, not just this week.

  You might ask: “Will this still work six months from now?”

Listen to the podcast episode

🎧 Break the Insanity Cycle & Fix It Right the First Time (Ep. 21)