Our world is growing ever more complex and interdependent and that applies to the work environment as well. Systemic thinking helps people to see things as a unified whole instead of isolated and unrelated. Thus, learning about systemic coaching is as pressing as ever. No client is an island, a solitary being living in a vacuum, but instead someone who is impacted and influenced by their social network. Moreover, the client in turn also impacts and influences others within that social network. Understanding systemic thinking allows you to understand the multidimensional influences, and to act accordingly.
Why Systemic coaching skills?
Benefits of systemic coaching skills are multifaceted. Systemic coaching helps the client to understand their thinking more deeply, as well as the surrounding phenomena and relations they have with the system. In our rapidly changing work environment, understanding systems and getting insights from systemic thinking helps people to adjust into different situations.
Coaching skills are needed in the work environment because they foster goal-setting, motivation, self-awareness, and help people to see their situations from a larger context of interdependence and mutuality. If you work in an internal developer role, e.g. in HR, or as a manager, these skills are vital for you. Through coaching you are able to unleash the hidden potential of your organization’s employees.
There are two major themes where systemic coaching skills are particularly useful:
- Unleashing the potential that lies in an organization.
- Unraveling wicked problems.
Both of themes are common and have a impact on how successful an organization is or how satisfied its employees are.
Unleash the potential of your personnel.
One of the key questions in organizations is how to unleash the potential of the personnel? A coaching-based manager knows that they are not the one with all the answers. Instead, the coaching-based manager can help their team and colleagues to use their own skills and know-how in their work. Through inquiry and being present, a coaching-based manager promotes their team members professional growth.
Unravel wicked problems.
The dynamics of human systems are complex, and the roots of problems may at times lie deep. With coaching skills, you’ll be able to help others to use their talent to solve problems. This will also be a cornerstone of cultural development. By adopting a coaching-based leadership style, organizations will become more positive, meaningful, and appreciative.
When are systemic skills needed?
There is no specific situation when to use systemic coaching. It is not a solution to any singular problem, but it is a mindset and a way of working.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, remote and hybrid work have become the new normal. These ways of working differ substantially from the traditional working in the workplace. When working remotely, employees can be more distracted or impacted by external factors. Social interaction decreases and changes considerably leading to potential decline in remote worker’s motivation and job satisfaction. Worker’s self-management might also suffer. We have all experienced the consequences of the pandemic, realized first-hand how the world as we know it can change rapidly. However, change is inevitable, and there is so much to do and manage.
Systemic thinking helps in understanding these factors and tackling them. It provides tools to understand the whole system of a hybrid or remote worker’s life and to deal constructively with changing and uncertain situations.
Our understanding of what is good leadership has also changed. In today’s working environment, we need to learn to ask more questions instead of just providing the right answers.
Systemic thinking helps in achieving successful change
There’s no survival and development without change. Because of this, the systemic approach doesn’t strive towards stability and balance, but change. The system is in constant motion, and change in one part of the system will automatically lead to changes in other parts of it.
Systemic influencing strives towards goal-oriented collaboration that leads to results. To utilize the potential of individuals and teams, the inherent developmental energy of the organization needs to be liberated and directed towards adequate solutions and goal-oriented work.
Coaching-based leadership is the leadership style of the future
Coaching-based leadership is not a pack of quick fixes, but rather a holistic approach for influencing others and being influenced. It embodies appreciative, participative, and goal-oriented collaboration, which liberates the individuals’ potential for the use of the group and the organization. Reciprocally, the group’s potential empowers each individual. Coaching-based leadership is grounded in mutual trust, and it is for everyone.
Become a change professional with coaching skills
The Systemic Business Coach® training provides the participants with a wide range of skills needed for acting as an internal coach or a coaching manager. These include the core competencies of a coach, the code of conduct, and the use of effective coaching models. The content of this accredited training is based on the requirements of the International Coach Federation (ICF).
Tool: We as a team
Reserve some 20 minutes of your time in the next management team meeting and crystallize your teams as-is-state and your teams to-be-state. The tool is from the book Stellar Management Teams (2018).