Compared to traditional coaching, systemic coaching considers the larger system in which we all operate. Authors Prof. Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner argue that “coaching needs to step up to deliver value to all the stakeholders of the coachee, including those they lead, colleagues, investors, customers, partners, their local community, plus the wider ecology.” In short, systemic coaching adds a new dimension to coaching.
Prof. Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner
What Is Systemic Coaching?
Fundamentally, systemic coaching attempts to bring wider perspective to the process by encouraging individuals and teams to consider the ecosystem they’re embedded within while also developing their own self-awareness.
Prof. Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner
Systemic coaching is rooted in Systems Theory, which explores the interconnections between elements. While there are different approaches to systemic coaching , at its most basic sense, systemic coaching is an approach which encourages the client to consider the system in which they operate and the connections between the parts of the system.
How Does Systemic Coaching Work?
While systemic coaching processes vary, there are common aspects that exist across this type of coaching.
Prof. Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner
(1) Coach and coachee apply a systemic viewpoint to the process; (2) Coachees are asked to visually illustrate the system; And (3) the process recognizes and seeks to integrate the needs of different participants within the system.
Apply a systemic perspective to individuals and groups
While systemic coaching acknowledges the greater system, the approach can be used in one-on-one coaching arrangements or in team coaching
Prof. Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner
Systemic coaching simply deploys a systemic point of view—one that acknowledges relationships and system dynamics beyond the individual. Teams, a group of people who share a common purpose, are themselves a system, as well as being part of a wider system, for example within an organization, within an industry and within a cultural or regulatory context.
Illustrate the system
In systemic coaching, coachees are often asked to physically map their system, using a method known as constellations.
Prof. Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner
This activity can be done in a variety of ways. In a one- on-one setting, a coach and coachee may use sticky notes to represent key elements of a wider system or arrange objects on a tabletop to depict the individuals or forces within their system. In team coaching, a team may work together to draw a map of their system, illustrating individuals, teams, and the organization as a whole. Whittington says the goal of this activity is to create a true inner picture of the system and reveal underlying relationship structures.
Acknowledge and align individual and organizational goals
Within a systemic coaching approach, individual and organizational goals both matter.
Prof. Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner
Systemic coaching asks coachees to align their individual goals with organizational goals to co-create agreed outcomes.
What are the Benefits of Systemic Coaching?
Business coaching leads to increased employee confidence, professional growth, job satisfaction, goal attainment, and psychological wellbeing (to name a few
Prof. Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner
Coaching has been linked to improved retention, employee engagement, and revenue, among other benefits. By tackling system dynamics and the organizational health of the system, systemic coaching only strengthens this impact.
Systemic coaching tackles system dynamics
Systemic approach to coaching helps coachees address systemic issues (or system dynamics) – things like dysfunctional teams.
Prof. Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner
Whittington writes, “Working only at the level of the individual means you may be able to remove the symptom, but the dynamic—if it belongs at the level of the system—will simply re-emerge.”
Address the organizational health of a system
While traditional coaching often accounts for the holistic health and wellbeing of a coachee, it doesn’t necessarily address the health of the system.
Prof. Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner
This is where systemic coaching can differ. According to Whittington, “In a healthy system, everyone who has contributed is acknowledged and the history of the system is spoken about, including the difficulties.” While unhealthy systems are plagued by insecurity, shame, and distrust, healthy organizations tend to experience improved psychological safety, better employee retention, and higher levels of motivation.
Getting Started with Systemic Coaching
If you want to experience the benefits of systemic coaching—outcomes like improved workplace dynamics, increased psychological safety, and better employee retention— consider working with a coach who specializes in systems thinking.• What methods and coaching techniques do you use?
Prof. Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner
The Role of Systemic Coaching
Compared to traditional coaching, systemic coaching adds a new dimension to the coaching process by emphasizing the value of coaching beyond individual development. If you want to deliver value to all of your stakeholders, from coachees to investors, systemic coaching may be the solution you’re looking for.
Prof. Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner
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