“Something hidden comes to light. In a very short time, the constellation reveals what it is all about in its depth. At the same time, it points towards a solution that is due, if success is to be safeguarded and failure to be averted.”
Systemic constellations
What is a systemic constellation?
A systemic constellation is a way to map out and explore a situation that feels complex or sensitive, and where the best way forward is unclear. Constellations help us see ‘what’s really going on’, the patterns and relationships between things, and where and how to intervene to bring about change. They are powerful and effective and can be a quick way to gain insight about a situation or opportunity and experiment with different interventions.
In constellations work, we:
- Look at situations as a whole rather than dissecting them
- Map out in a three-dimensional way the patterns we hold about a situation
- Work at a more-than-cognitive level, using what we know intuitively and subconsciously to give us more of the picture
- Pay attention to purpose and to the important ‘orders’ of history, place, belonging and exchange
- Test what needs to happen to bring the system into better balance.
Constellations do not tell fortunes, and do not show the only thing that can happen. Instead, they show the path that a system is on, the opportunities open to it, and the strategies and interventions that are most likely to bring balance and flow.
Constellation work is both diagnostic and a process tool. That is, it can ‘diagnose’ a problem or opportunity and help shift to a better state or pattern.
Constellations are often used in coaching and group work; we can also embed constellation principles into our leadership practice, organisational processes and everyday actions.
Case study: coaching a team of directors
I ran an exercise with a group of directors who wanted to resolve some tension in how they were working as their company grows to the next stage.
I gave them A3 paper and sticky notes and asked them to work individually to draw a ‘map’ of the organisation. When we looked at their maps, several dynamics became apparent that had been hidden until that point:
- Each director had a different ‘map’ of the organisation
- Finances were “behind a wall” from the perspective of two of the directors
- The directors drew themselves on the outside of a rapidly growing organisation, which aligned with their experience of “straining at the seams.”
We worked together to draw one shared map with the directors at the centre and talked through the implications of this new configuration. In the next days and weeks, they made significant changes, redefining their roles, changing how they managed finances and appointing new non-executive board positions.
They reported a few weeks later that they were a happier, more integrated team, able to tell a more coherent story to staff and potential investors and feeling more confident of success.
“When we attribute behaviour to personality, we lose sight of how the structure of the system shaped our choices.”
How do constellations work?
Systemic constellations developed in family and group therapy and is generally credited to Bert Hellinger, who developed key aspects of the practice. It became widely known in Germany in the 1980s and is today practiced around the world. It is better known in family therapy, but is growing in popularity in organisational change and coaching.
Constellations shares much of its thinking with other practices and therapies (for example gestalt psychotherapy). It is also consistent with some aspects of complexity science (the branch of physics concerned with complex systems) and quantum theory.
How do constellations work?
Systemic constellations developed in family and group therapy and is generally credited to Bert Hellinger, who developed key aspects of the practice. It became widely known in Germany in the 1980s and is today practiced around the world. It is better known in family therapy, but is growing in popularity in organisational change and coaching.
Constellations shares much of its thinking with other practices and therapies (for example gestalt psychotherapy). It is also consistent with some aspects of complexity science (the branch of physics concerned with complex systems) and quantum theory.
“When we attribute behaviour to personality, we lose sight of how the structure of the system shaped our choices.”
“There’s a new mindset; we understand things differently.”
“You can’t underestimate the incredible difference moving offices made, and it already feels different, with a focus on conversation rather than email.”
“Creative team meetings have a new lease of life. They aren’t about putting ideas into practice any more; they’re about practising being creative together. We’re changing the format every time and asking who wants to get involved from the whole of the organisation.”
How do constellations work?
There’s another aspect to this: using the model to remind ourselves about the influence the structures and beliefs can have on behaviours – and how creative people can be in delivering exactly what you ask for.
A very large, global organisation wanted to increase ‘employee engagement’ in community investment across their offices around the world. ‘Engagement’ was defined as ‘the number of employees participating’ across a set of programmes and a high target was set.
The retail guys rolled up their sleeves, delivered some amazing projects, raised a record-breaking amount of money for charity and moved the dial on brand loyalty with some great local PR.
Employee satisfaction moved up a notch with community participation cited as one of the top 3 reasons to work for their part of the organisation. They did a great job – but missed the participation target.
The finance guys took a different approach. Their manager heavily promoted payroll giving where employees could donate the ‘pennies’ from their salary – so each person would donate between 1-99p (or cents) each month. They raised relatively little money and people didn’t have the experience of participating in anything so it didn’t affect employee satisfaction or the brand. They did however completely blast the target, the only part of the organisation to do so.
It won’t go down as a great example of employee engagement, but was a lovely lesson in how influential measurement is.
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