What is an organizational constellation?

20 April 2020

Explaining what organization setup is and the how works

Do you know it? That within your company certain parts or teams are not functioning well, but you can’t put your finger on why? That within a team, team performance is lagging, while every team member is doing their very best? A new manager just doesn’t get a foothold? That there is a lot of resistance to change from the staff? Or that there is high absenteeism, while you really think you have the most fantastic organization?

For these and many other questions, an organizational constellation works.

What is an organizational constellation?

An organizational constellation is a research method based on systems thinking. This means that you have to use your  does not focus on the individual parts, but looks at the whole, like an ecosystem. This systems thinking can also be applied to relationships within companies, institutions and associations.

This method of investigation is mainly used to get to the bottom of intractable organizational issues. This is because the behavior of a system, i.e., a company, institution or association, is not a simple chain of cause-and-effect relationships, but involves the interplay of so-called subsystems (e.g., a department, certain individuals or a management layer) that interact and mutually influence each other.

Organization constellations is a simple but highly effective way to uncover the (disturbed) dynamics within an organizations.

How does an organizational constellation work?

First, the facilitator of the constellation (an independent third party) will ask a question about the organization. The person who has asked for the constellation to solve problems (the questioner), then designates several “representatives” who he/she puts in a certain place in a room. In this way, the mutual relationships are visualized. You visualize, as it were, the relationships within an organization by making a living painting.

These representatives can be puppets, as well as people and therefore not necessarily the employees of a company or members of an organization. They may, however, be invited to watch.

This allows the questioner to look at the relationships from the outside and thus see the “system.  At the same time, on the spot, participants feel the distance between them and the others, as well as the dynamics between them. Who stands with whom and who looks at whom?

Through questions and comments by the facilitator, it becomes clear what the core of the problem is and how this affects the current situation: the place where someone is placed, how close someone is to another (or how far away) and the viewing direction, can already say a lot about possible disturbed relationships within an organization.

Ultimately, the counselor’s goal is to rearrange the group so that solutions can be found and the “system” can be purified.

Examples of undesirable dynamics & issues may include:

  • Why is it that a particular team structurally underperforms when it comes to turnover?
  • What products and/or services are appropriate to add to my portfolio?
  • Or…which one right!?
  • I want to make a business acquisition. What is the path to optimal integration of “old” and “new”?
  • Does my business still add enough value in today’s economy or will I liquidate?
  • Is the resistance of my staff related to the departure of the founder? Or something else with it?
  • From where within the organization is the difference being made?
  • For whom or what is this strengthening? Who or what is becoming weaker?

Want to know more about how we can apply this to your organization? Then please  contact us.

This article was written by Marco Gorselink. He is a strategy specialist and entrepreneurial coach at Brilliant Work. Within the team, he is the specialist in the field of constellations with training in both family and organizational constellations. From his background in economics and psychology, he analyzes very precisely what is happening in your company. These trajectories, like the other Brilliant Work trajectories, are usually available with a subsidy.

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