TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

The systemic approach: seeing the big picture – seeing the hidden dynamics

The following is an overview of the systemic consulting services we offer. These tools and techniques are derived from a consulting model called systemic constellations, which has its source in Germany. Depending on the context, they are also referred to as organisational constellations, management constellations, structural constellations or family constellations, depending on the setting and the area of insights the client wishes to gain. To find out more read this page or follow the links.

• What are systemic constellations?
• What can systemic constellations do?
• How to benefit from systemic constellations
• Individual systemic constellation consultation
• Systemic constellations in a group setting
• Public systemic constellation seminars
• In-house systemic constellation workshops
• In-house workshops with management or teams
• Issue definition
• System analysis
• Building systemic awareness
• Systemic Coaching
• Consulting the Consultant
• Proposals and records

When considering our offers remember: systemic constellation work never substitutes action! And we can help you in this process.

Systemic constellation techniques are basically tools for communication. They are simple, yet highly effective. The power of these tools dictate they only be used by a very skilled and sensitive facilitator. Systemic constellations:

• Depict complex interconnections in a simple way
• Are an analogy to enable people to see what is happening in their system
• Give visibility to the emotional dynamics, where language fails
• Are phenomenological – you experience the phenomena instead of analysing a construct

For a more detailed description of systemic constellations refer to the following pages:
Family constellations for the origins and the format of systemic constellations
Organisational constellations for the application of systemic constellations to specific processes in an organisational and business context
The techniques described below are generally regarded as an addition to existing management tools and many combinations are possible. They are freely adaptable to the specific needs of the client, or complexity of the issue in question.
For example an organisational consultant, seeking supervision, may simply want to participate in a public systemic constellation seminar.
Conflict within a team may be addressed by an initial discussion, perhaps with an individual systemic constellation consultation by the team leader, followed by a series of team-specific workshops that include systemic awareness sessions.
At the other end of the scale, an organisation planning and executing a major change, such as a merger, may use most of our services, in the sequence described below.
For best effect when working with systemic constellations and systemic awareness, the process should be headed by the person holding the most senior position in relation to the issue in question. For example, a cultural change of an organisation is best headed by the CEO. Or, when seeking conflict resolution in a team, by the team leader. Of course, a team member can also do the work in relation to his or her position in the team, such as to find new ways to work with other team members or how to deal with obstacles.
A systemic constellation can be held either in an individual consultation or in a group setting as described below.

Systemic constellations can help you to look at a situation you are personally involved in, from the outside. This creates a certain meta position on your behalf.
With systemic constellations you will learn to trust your feelings and intuitions more. You can use them as an intervention when you get stuck with something and want to take a look at what is going on. The process can throw up questions and ideas you may otherwise not come up with on your own.Systemic constellations:

• Invite communication about communication
• Improve decision making
• Systemic constellations can be used as an initial stock take:
• What is the present situation?
• What do we need to take into account?
• They can also be used for the next step, when looking for possible solutions:
• What would an option look like?
• What would happen if we include …?

Systemic constellations are best approached from a ‘phenomenological stance’. The word sounds more complicated than the actual process and was coined by experts trying to explain what can’t really be explained by words. To benefit from systemic constellations you need a certain approach, a childlike curiosity, inherent to us from birth, but often forgotten over time as we grow more and more rational in our response to the technological and competitive world. To break with the merely rational, the following is required by the participants as well as the facilitators of the process:

• Willingness to take a wider perspective, wider than just the project you are working on
• Positive atmosphere where openness is permitted, and indeed encouraged

A systemic constellation in an individual setting is using figures or place markers on the floor as representatives, depending on the issue and the client’s preference. A session lasts one hour and includes a pre-constellation interview to distil the intention, and a brief post-constellation discussion to collect ideas and further steps.
Advantages of an individual setting are privacy, confidentiality, price and availability. They can be used as a preparation for a systemic constellation in a group setting, in particular when the issue is not clear, or as a precursor when the person approaching us is not in a position of greatest influence on the matter, so as to be in a better position to relate the process to others.
A sequence of individual systemic constellations can also be used to focus in on a particular part of enquiry or can be used to address a number of related issues which require individual attention. 

The primary benefit of a systemic constellation in a group setting, are live representatives. The constellation can often take unexpected turns due to feedback from representatives who are not overloaded with past dynamics or preconceived interpretations of the situation and who have no investment in a particular outcome. It is possible to participate in such a public seminar as an observer/representative to gain a better understanding of the process and to develop systemic awareness.
Systemic constellations in a group setting are very powerful. Therefore time needs to be given for its effects to settle and manifest. They can have a ripple effect for months to come and as a result shouldn’t be repeated too frequently on the same issues.

In a public systemic constellation seminar, the client chseminarsooses other participants of the seminar as representatives. Participants of a public seminar are either other clients planning to set up a systemic constellation during the seminar, or observers/representatives who may be newcomers wanting to gain a better understanding of the process, or past or current customers wanting to develop their own systemic awareness.

A pre-constellation interview is held at the beginning of the systemic constellation in the workshop or seminar itself, or prior to the event, depending on individual arrangements. If held at the seminar, the following is discussed:

• Formulation of the issue to create the intention for the constellation
• Facts relevant to the issue
• Generic organigram, if required

If the pre-constellation interview is held prior to the event, the consultation will be more detailed and include confidentiality issues. A systemic constellation can be held in a group setting without participants knowing any facts or names to protect copyrights and innovation.

For more information about how it all works follow the links below:

• The family constellation page describes the process in detail and gives information about the background of this tool
• The organisational constellation describes principles and elements on applying this model to businesses and organisations
• The schedule lists public systemic constellation workshops and seminars that occur at regular intervals

A systemic constellation is completed with a brief collection of ideas, depending on the client’s requirements, their need for confidentiality and any other constraints.

For busy managers, who do not have time to spend two or more days in a public a seminar in order to investigate a specific issue, or if the there is a very pressing issue, neutral representatives can be brought from outside for an in-house systemic constellation. The constellation can also be held at an off-site location if this helps. The constellation can be watched by the whole team or by a selected group from the company, with the team leader being the main client. In this case every person present needs to be in agreement with the process. An attitude of ‘this on’t work’ and general suspicion will hinder the emergence of insights and initiatives. Curiosity is more productive, and even a bit of doubt can be beneficial to the outcome as it will keep ideas in the context of reality. As stated earlier, systemic constellations never substitute action.
At the systemic constellation itself, neutral representatives are given minimal or no information, depending on the request for anonymity of the client and the nature of the preparation. This ranges from, stating the intention by the client plus some basic information on facts, to the representatives not being told anything, apart from being assigned an identity such as A, B, C etc. In this case the client and the facilitator will have a list with descriptions of the placeholders.

For certain issues, such as testing strategies, values or branding possibilities, systemic constellations can be held in-house with members of the company as representatives. This specific form of systemic constellations is often referred to as management constellations.
The intention for the constellation is discussed in the group to establish a common request followed by the team leader choosing the representatives. Special techniques are used to keep the representative feedback neutral, such as exchanging positions regularly to receive a feedback from more than one person in a particular position. Another possibility is to work with the representatives not knowing who or what they represent during the process of the constellation; they are chosen according to an initially secret list.
The constellation process can be video taped and subsequently watched and discussed by the whole team once the identities of the representatives are available to everybody.
Please note, these types of systemic constellations are not recommended if a conflict in a team needs to be resolved. In this case uninvolved representatives will be freer to give honest feedback. For directly working with conflict issues in a team, we will use other team building facilitation techniques.

With systemic constellation work it is very important that the issue, and desirable outcome, are formulated clearly. In other words, an intention has to be created. A long story can often be distilled into one or two sentences. We have special consulting skills to help you do this.
This can be done directly at the beginning of a systemic constellation, or, as a preparation in a separate meeting before a systemic constellation seminar. There are benefits to be had from developing the intention for a systemic constellation, in advance. More time is available, and privacy and confidentiality can be ensured for sensitive issues or issues effecting high profile companies.
In an initial meeting, the client outlines the current issue he or she is seeking insight into. This can be anything from testing an idea or a product, developing a strategy or making a decision, analysing loss of clients or blow out of costs, resolving resistance, power struggles and conflict between staff, understanding the root cause of high staff turnover and gauging the impact of redundancy, recruitment and succession planning.
Some sections of this meeting may, if requested by the client, be voice recorded as part of the data gathering for the preparation of a report.

In a more complex situation, for example a restructuring of an organisation, a system analysis is needed before we can give any recommendations. Basic information is gathered, for example:

• Ownership: is it a privately or publicly owned business, a family business, a non-profit organisation or a government department?
• Output: what does the organisation provide, develop, produce or sell?
• Hierarchy of the organisation: an organisational chart is either sketched during a meeting, or provided by the client.
• History of the organisation: founding of organisation, takeovers of other companies by the company or from other companies, mergers, downsizing, boom, restructuring, reorganisation or product changes.
• Other major influences that might affect the dynamics within the company.

In addition, we discuss measures and strategies that currently work – the organisations successes and what contributed to these successes. We will use this information as a starting block for a systemic consulting project, as there is little to be gained in changing things that already work well!
Through performing a collection of qualitative interviews we looks at information between the lines.

Systemic awareness or systemic intelligence can be learned and will improve management and team leading skills, help to run projects more successfully. Observing and being involved in as many systemic constellations is one way. In addition, we offer team building workshops containing exercises that help promote systemic awareness and other group dynamic processes to improve communication within a team.

Systemic constellation work never substitutes action! As an integration of the new information received in a systemic constellation workshop we offer systemic coaching on an individual basis. As a key contribution to transferring insights, received in a training session, back into the workforce, systemic coaching is not just looking at the client’s goal. Systemic coaching also includes the bigger picture, the system the client works and lives in. For example to achieve better performance does not just depend on an employees ability; it also depends on his or her position in their team, the teams position in the department etc.
In systemic coaching we use the systemic approach in our questioning in addition to traditional, solution focused, coaching techniques for the individual. This includes the shadow sides of what is missing, the system of the voices that go on in each person’s head when trying to achieve success. We also take into account that every action has a ripple effect throughout the whole system, the organisation, the individual is working in.
Depending on the issue presented in a coaching session, we will also use individual systemic constellations to find insights.

Systemic consulting and organisational constellations can also be used for consultants and their position in the company they are consulting to answer questions such as:

• What is going on in the organisation I am brought into
• What are the possibilities of my position within the organisation
• Does the customer have a hidden agenda
• How much am I, myself, trapped in the hidden dynamics of the organisation

Based on initial meetings and a system analysis, we prepare detailed reports on the findings. We look at options, tasks and steps we perceive as being beneficial to the client’s progress, recommend a strategy and present a proposal toward a solution. This report may contain an appropriate selection of the services described here, and possibly other services not described here, offered by us or our partners, that we think would help the client. These findings are presented in a meeting, with a PowerPoint presentation and subsequent discussion, for clarification of any questions.
Systemic constellations mainly work with the unconscious mind and our emotional intelligence can come up with the most unexpected results. Nevertheless, remembering what happened in the consultation can help building a bridge to intellectual understanding. Ideas that evolved can be tried out in the ‘real world’. Depending on the situation and your preferences, constellations can be recorded in a combination of video, audio, photographs and handwritten notes. We also offer the preparation of reports if so required.