We’re all part of personal and professional systems, whether we are mindful of it or not. Visualising them, representing them and then discussing them can open up routes to greater awareness and understanding.

Rachel Morris and Kim Gieske discuss the revelatory value of adopting a systemic approach to coaching and their own practical examples of its application

Exploring Systemic Coaching & Constellations - Kim

I’ve become increasingly fascinated by systems and how they impact us personally, as part of a team, as a leader and within organisations and societies. As a result, I completed a Systemic Coaching and Constellations qualification. Systemic Coaching looks at how everything and everyone is interconnected in systems and its central principles are based on time, place, exchange and thanks.

The Value of a Systemic Approach - Rachel

Coaching is in part about objectivity. Providing a ‘third person’s eye’ on an individual and their situation. It’s why we talk about non-judgement as a core quality for an effective coach. The ability to stand back, listen, observe objectively, offer perspective.

Often, when people show up in a coaching session, they are very full up. Close and enmeshed in their situation and the players and the dynamics within it.

Ask any coach about their experiences when they open with a “how are you today?” or “how have you been since we last spoke?” – the volume of content that can come in response can be vast, varied and fast flowing.

If not always with clarity, people nevertheless talk very eloquently about their own situations, using people, names, places that are so familiar to them. However, even the most skilled coaches can sometimes find this data overwhelming and hard to grasp.

As I think about systemic interventions in the coaching process, I’m reminded how much it serves both parties involved, the coach and the coachee. I’d begun this piece thinking about how we use systemic thinking to add insight and clarity for the coachee, but in doing so realise how much it helps me do my job as a coach effectively too.

Addressing Systemic Issues - Kim

In a work context you may see Systemic issues happening when an organisation has high staff turnover or a leader is struggling to occupy their role or a team is in conflict. Systemic coaching can help to clarify what the underlying systemic issues are, create healthy relationship systems and help leaders to feel empowered. A constellation offers a visceral experience of hidden organising forces and gives the client an opportunity to ‘stand’ in these forces and feel their effects.

Practical Application of a Systemic Approach – Rachel

Ackoff (1970) described a system as ‘not just the sum of its parts but a product of its interactions’. When we ask people in coaching sessions to show us their system, we are asking them to make a visual representation of the relationships between things such as people, places, teams, time and power.

As a coach, I move towards a systemic approach when a client is expressing strong feelings about things that are or aren’t working, but can’t quite pinpoint why they feel the way they do. I use it to gain a helicopter view for me and my client, to help them see more clearly the connections and interrelated nature of the component parts.

Let me use an example to illustrate.

A coachee started a session recently with the words “I’ve got a juicy situation for you here… which I just can’t navigate my way through. I need some help!”. She proceeded to tell me in detail about a complicated situation, the players involved in it, their relationships, her feelings and frustrations.

As I was listening, I became acutely aware of the complex dynamics at play, and her role within them. At one point, I intervened and asked her “Have you got any PlayDoh? – or Lego – or… even coloured pens..?” Not my usual style – or hers. She smiled cautiously, then went to get some.

I explained that we are all part of wider systems. Interlinked by relationships, time, needs and so on. I highlighted that our personal view of any given system in which we are operating has a direct impact on how we both interpret and respond to behaviours and information around us.

I asked her if she could use the items she’d collected to map out the system which she was describing to me. To think about her and the other players. To think about things such as the size of people in relation to each other. The proximity between people. The sight lines – who is looking at whom?

She took 15 mins. Then came back to me with her diagram. I asked her to explain it to me, listening clearly as she did. She explained the situation comprehensively, in great depth, with a clarity that had previously been difficult to both share and to accurately interpret as the listener.

Prompt questions such as “How do you feel when you notice that this person isn’t looking at you?” and “I notice you’re alone, why do you think that is?” added additional insight for both of us. At the end I asked her “What have you learned from this?” Her response was clear, articulate and gave us a good insight into the actions to focus on next.

Sometimes I’ve asked people to then draw what a ‘better’ or ‘improved’ system would look like. Not a fairy tale one with perfect dynamics, but one that is better from their perspective. Follow up questions such as “What needs to change to make this happen?” and “What role do you have in making this change?” can be particularly useful too.

The Depth of Personal Systems – Kim

There’s a well-known model that says we are all icebergs with only a small proportion of ‘what we are’ visible above the surface and a significant proportion such as nationality, upbringing, values and experiences sitting below the surface. Taking this concept a step further is ‘The Peacock’s Tail’ model.

With my clients I’ll ask them to imagine that all the systems they have belonged to form a Peacock’s Tail behind them. If a client is stuck on an issue or the sources of difficulty are unclear or there are perhaps repeating patterns of behaviour, we can dig into their tail to assess where the issue lies; it may come from their family of origin or social and cultural systems. We can then apply the principles of time, place and exchange to the relevant feather.

My clients have found these techniques to be very beneficial, particularly when an issue is explored through the idea of a constellation, which provides a way of viewing this challenge in 3D.

A Final Word or Two

Kim – I’m now a huge fan of Systemic Coaching and I’d encourage you to try it out. I’ll leave you with a quote from Plato: “The part can never be well until the whole is well.”

Rachel – The next time you or someone you’re talking to seems confused or frustrated about a situation they are in, try asking them to develop a visual system. You can simply ask them to explain it to you and listen as they do. Or you can ask some prompt questions and work with whatever comes out.

Here are a few more constellations we’ve explored with coachees.