Hello friends,
Last week, in a burst of domestic optimism, I designed a new task-based household system to keep our apartment in order.
(By the way, welcome to Theory of Change #038! This edition probably takes 5 minutes to read. Not subscribed? You can change that).
We’ve got an almost-three-year-old, full-time jobs, time-consuming hobbies (hello, trail running), lots of travel, a weird apartment with way too much glass, and no family or support in the nearby vicinity. By 8 pm, we’ve got nothing left but knowledge-worker brains, two piles of laundry, and sticky fingerprints all over the kitchen windows following an overzealous dinosaur biscuit bake-off.
A week in? The system hasn’t really fixed anything. I’m still not into cleaning the windows, despite the assigned task.
So why the procrastination?
To understand that, I turned to a deceptively simple framework: Head, Hands, Heart. It helped me realise something that’s often the case when I stall on doing something in life, but in my work too. Despite good intentions, certain things refuse to get done.
Head, Hands, Heart helps you diagnose why and fix it.
This week, I’m reframing this timeless model from a personal productivity tool into a powerful lens for diagnosing what’s going wrong in your organisation, collective, or creative project.
Read on for simple exercises to get started, long-term changes to plan, and to find out the reason why I’m writing this newsletter rather than cleaning the windows.
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🧠🖐❤️ HEAD HANDS HEART 🧠🖐❤️
What is it?
The Head, Hands, Heart model is a holistic framework popularised by the forefather of experiential education Kurt Hahn (Kopf Herz Hand). It is used to describe three essential dimensions of learning and action: cognitive understanding (🧠), practical capability (🖐), and emotional connection (❤️). It’s since been adapted across fields - from leadership to social impact - as a way to diagnose misalignment and guide more integrated, purposeful work.
When to use it
Use this framework when you’re facing:
A programme or strategy that’s mysteriously stalling A lack of momentum or team energy A project that looks good on paper but doesn’t feel right in execution Recurring team/partner burnout or churn Fundraising friction, unclear messaging, or sluggish collaboration
This, like all the frameworks I unpack, is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It can miss deeper systemic or cultural dynamics if over-applied. As ever, use it as a prompt, not a prescription.
Why it works
The framework maps to how humans process work and motivation: cognitively, practically, and emotionally. Here’s why it sticks:
Head (Cognition): Our prefrontal cortex handles logic, planning, and goal-setting. When tasks feel unclear or misaligned, we lose rational motivation. Hands (Execution): The brain’s motor system relies on habit loops and skill acquisition. Without the right tools or capacity, even good ideas stall. Heart (Emotion): Emotional salience drives attention and persistence. When we lack emotional buy-in, effort declines especially in high-stress or low-autonomy environments (did someone say nonprofit?)
By naming which part is out of sync, you should (in theory) shift from vague frustration to actionable insight. In theory, he says looking out of dirty kitchen window.
Get started
Step 1: Identify something that’s stuck.
Choose your poison: programme, campaign, strategic plan, household task...
Step 2: Ask these three diagnostic questions:
Head: Is this rationally clear and aligned with our goals or mission? Hands: Do we have the skills, systems, time, and tools to do it well? Heart: Do we care about this? Is it energising, joyful, or meaningful?
Step 3: Find the weakest link.
Whichever domain (Head, Hands, or Heart) is weakest likely holds the key to unlocking progress.
Step 4: Ideate on getting unstuck
Consider running a quick “asset remix” by listing what you do have in the weakest domain (e.g. committed people but no formal skills) and generate ways to reconfigure or repurpose them toward traction.
Or try a “peer swap” brainstorm: identify someone in your network who’s strong where you’re stuck (e.g. partner with a skilled facilitator if Hands is your gap), and design a lightweight collaboration or support exchange.
Take it to the next level
Make this framework part of your organisational toolkit:
Embed it in project reviews: Use Head, Hands, Heart as a regular rubric to reflect on progress and pivot when needed. Normalise it in culture: Unblock folks in the daily stand-up by helping them assess whether a challenge they are facing is head, hands, or heart. Overlay with your theory of change: Map potential outcomes to see if the strategy (head), capacity (hands), and buy-in (heart) are in sync and capable of delivering on your promises to your community (and funders/backers!).
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🔮 FUTUREPROOFING 🔮
In a landscape of burnout, overstretched teams, and shifting expectations:
Misalignment is common, but rarely named. Emotional disengagement (Heart) is often mistaken for underperformance. Capacity gaps (Hands) get masked as strategic failure (Head).
Head, Hands, Heart offers a simple system for collective sensemaking without judgment or jargon.
But be careful: as I said earlier, it’s not a substitute for addressing systemic issues, power dynamics, or trauma-informed design. It works best in psychologically safe environments and needs honest reflection to be effective.
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🪁 PARALLEL PLAY 🪁
Beautiful distractions. Because you're worth it.
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🌊 WAVE GOODBYE 🌊
Our numbers are growing, thanks to some nice newsletter shout-outs recently (thanks to Bridget, Ash, and David at Career River, This week’s best things, and Weekly Filet respectively). Framework nerds, we are becoming legion.
The biggest source of new subscribers however is people sharing this email. So thanks to each and every one of you who forwarded this and, in doing so, helped someone get some clarity or much-needed space for reflection.
The YouTube algorithm (read: audience) hated my last YouTube video. But if you’re interested in five things I learned from YouTube that aren’t about YouTube, head over there, drop a like, and recalibrate my validation machine. The five lessons:
Make habits a playground Create the conditions for magic Being humbled is underrated Define your own success Beware survivor bias
And the windows? Classic Hands problem. I knew they mattered (Head) and I wanted to live in a streak-free utopia (Heart), but I lack the time. The fix?
Ein Fensterputzer.
A window cleaner. Simple.
Adam
P.S. Were you forwarded this email? Want cleaner windows or a better functioning organisation / life? Subscribe here.
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