What is systemic coaching?
 

Coaching is defined by the International Coach Federation (ICF) as: "partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential". Systemic coaching works on the premise that in order to 'maximise our potential' we must understand the nature of human systems, and how the systems we interact with have a profound impact on us, and we on them.
 

Perhaps it's helpful to imagine that as we all move around our daily lives we are sending out ripples of energy or influence much like a stone throws out ripples in a pond. However the 'human ripples' are invisible, but we still feel them and respond to them whether we are aware of it or not. It's like gravity, you can't see it but you know it's there! And like big and small stones thrown into a pond, human ripples also have their differences of impact depending on where we are in relation to them.
Systemic coaching is designed to illuminate these 'ripples' and their impact allowing people to make significant shifts in perspective, bringing clarity and deep understanding of the human systems in which we live, work and play.

What is systemic mapping?
 

Systemic Mapping is a tool we teach and use to help people to gain clarity on the key influencers and dynamics they are working with. We use representative objects on a tabletop or floor markers to enable people to really get to their 'felt sense' of what's happening around them. This powerful way of working often sheds light on previously unseen patterns that are having a major effect on the person or team's ability to pursue their goals.

And systemic constellations, what are they?
 

This is the next stage building on the mapping, where people get to seek resolution to their issues during the coaching session itself. Sometimes this involves putting responsibility back where it belongs in a system; acknowledging previously unacknowledged contributions; or remembering past members of a system that were excluded. Constellations are more often done in group settings allowing the use of human representatives who can bring more information about the 'felt sense' of other people or things in the system being worked on.