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Rewarding High-Leverage Work
Compensation by Design: Rewarding High-Leverage Work in Complex Systems
Introduction: The Currency of Leverage
In a world increasingly defined by complexity, not all work is created equal. Some efforts move the needle; others merely keep the wheels turning. Yet traditional compensation systems often fail to distinguish between the two. They reward presence over progress, activity over impact.
Systems thinking urges us to reconsider this. As Donella Meadows writes,
“The leverage point is not where you push harder—it’s where you push smarter.”
In business, the highest leverage lies in those who build structure, absorb complexity, and make decisions that shape the system’s future. These individuals do not just work in the machine—they reconfigure it.
This is a framework for compensating such people.
🧱 Pillar 1: System Builders & Scalability Enablers
Definition: High-leverage individuals create tools, structures, or processes that decouple growth from headcount. Their work scales.
Why it matters: In systems thinking, this is equivalent to changing the structure rather than tweaking inputs. They reduce entropy—creating order from complexity.
Actions include:
Systemic Impact:
🔍 Pillar 2: Complex Problem Solvers
Definition: These individuals think holistically, diagnose root causes, and see the system’s interdependencies.
Why it matters: In a dynamic system, solving the wrong problem faster is still failure. High-leverage thinkers reframe the problem.
Actions include:
Systemic Impact:
🧭 Pillar 3: Decision-Makers with Judgment Accountability
Definition: These are individuals whose decisions influence the behavior of the whole system—and who are willing to be accountable for it.
Why it matters: In complex systems, decisions are interventions. Each one nudges the system into a new state.
Actions include:
Systemic Impact:
📊 Pillar 4: Transparent Judgment & Learning Archives
Definition: These individuals document their thinking and make it traceable—turning decision-making into an organizational learning loop.
Why it matters: Systems evolve. Documented judgment becomes a shared cognitive asset that future employees can inherit.
Actions include:
Systemic Impact:
📣 Pillar 5: Proactive Communication & Feedback Loops
Definition: These individuals treat communication as a circulatory system, not a command line.
Why it matters: Systems don’t just run on code—they run on clarity. Proactive communicators keep feedback loops open, alive, and evolving.
Actions include:
Systemic Impact:
🎯 Using the Framework
This framework is not a performance checklist. It’s a system diagnostic.
Use it to:
Conclusion: Leverage as Currency
In a well-structured system, not every role needs to carry high leverage—but those that do should be unmistakably recognized. In the ecology of work, builders of self-healing, self-scaling systems are the keystone species. Without them, the ecosystem frays.
So the question is not just: “How hard are you working?”
The better question—through the lens of systems thinking—is:
“What part of the system does your work rewire?”
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