Helen Keller Syndrome
From SystemsWiki
Given a situation where apparent support is needed others will often provide that support. This is opposed to actually supporting development so the person, team or organization can help themselves. The associated side effect is that those providing support, and often those being supported also, develop a belief in helplessness for those being supported. This belief in helplessness further precludes the self development which would allow the person, team or organization to deal with the situation on their own in the future.
If the following diagram notation is unfamiliar please refer to the Causal Loop Diagram article.
The diagram in Fig. 1 is a Shifting the Burden structure which has well defined strategies for dealing with the structure.
Reference
- Diagram created with Vensim
- Kim, Daniel and Anderson, Virginia (1998) System Archetype Basics: From Story to Structure. Pegasus Communications
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