Systemic Leadership and Constellations FAQ

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Q: When should I work with Systemic Lens?

A: You should work Systemic Lens when there is a sense that your team is not performing at its full potential. For example, high rates of absenteeism, high turnover of staff, strained relationships with managers and team members, or a vacancy that never seems to be filled. We can also help around strategy when a team knows what it wants but it doesn't seem to be working. In short, when potential is not being met, we can move the dial.

Q: What does Systemic Lens look at in a team?

A: Systemic Lens investigates how your team is performing now. We look for unconscious patterns that help or frustrate the team, what qualities should the team "insource" or take back in order to do what they are meant to do, where is there untapped potential that can lead to new possibilities and greater success, and what does the team need to say goodbye to?

Q: Can I use Systemic Lens as a consultant or in my role as a support function?

A: Yes, Systemic Lens also helps external team coaches, HR partners, and consultants to create a clear picture of a team. We support you to gain insights and make the invisible undercurrent visible. It will give you an accurate picture of what contributes and what hinders the whole.

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Q: How do systemic issues arise, and how can they be addressed?

A: Organizational systems are greatly influenced by naturally occurring forces that ensure their effectiveness and vitality. When they are disturbed or ignored, business and leadership can become unwittingly entangled in the self-righting dynamics and the flow of organizational health is disrupted. It is the attempts to ignore or side-step these underlying forces which cause imbalances and entanglements in the system. Once out of balance, the system tries to right itself and calls individuals or groups of people into service of the need to correct and find balance and the natural order again. A constellation workshop or systemic coaching/consulting can surface the unseen dynamics and reveal new paths to enduring resolution, bringing fresh vitality to the whole system. 

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Q: What kind of themes can be explored using Systemic Lens?

A: Business constellations reveal the underlying dynamics and patterns that both limit and resource leaders, teams, and whole organizations. By creating a three-dimensional relational map of the issue, leaders can see how lasting change can begin and endure. Constellations are particularly useful when the source of the issue or the solution is not clear, where previous attempts to change have not endured, or where there is a sense of "stuckness" in the whole or part of a system. Themes that can be explored include leadership, organizational structure, culture change, individual development, and more.

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Q: Where does the Systemic Lens approach come from, and what underpins it?

A: The Systemic Lens approach was originated in Europe by Bert Hellinger, a systemic specialist and philosopher, through application within family and organizational systems. Hidden loyalties, identifications, and entanglements are often revealed in just a few minutes, giving this approach a reputation as an intervention that can quickly get to the underlying dynamics and free up a system, releasing fresh energy that leads to resolution. The principles of acknowledgment and respect for "what is" run through this work and support people to really look at the truths and honor the past, before moving