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Relationship Constellations
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Finding the hidden dynamics in relationship systems of organisations

Dr.Eddy Kloprogge

Introduction

The word organisation comes from “organic”, a system that organises (organism), following certain universal rules.

Either in the family, school or any other organisation, individuals form different levels of relationships, which themselves form regulating systems. Those systems determine a large part of our daily lives. People are born within a system (family, community etc) or choose to become a member of a system, for example, when joining a club or starting to work for an organisation. Once part of a system, regardless of your opinion, you are also part of the dynamics within that system.

Unit of knowledge

When we take one cell from a person (one unit), science has proven that that cell contains all the information of the total body of that person. We call the information in one cell the “unit of knowledge.”

When we take one person out of a system, that person contains all the information of that system. That person contains the “unit of knowledge” from that system.

One person contains different units of knowledge from different systems.

Communication

When you have Person A, who needs to communicate with Person B, to achieve a certain goal, it is obvious that both persons have to negotiate the outcome of that communication.

Pure communication is a form of art that needs quite some consideration:

When people meet for the first time, they use reference points of understandings that are built from their own history of memories, experiences and intelligence. Without these references one cannot communicate (example: you have to understand the meaning of the spoken words). However, those references are not always that clear (the meaning of a certain word is subject to interpretation).

Understanding between life partners can be very good, but it may have taken years before those partners started to know each other. When you meet a person for the first time (like a customer and a sales person in a shop) the communication takes place on assumed (learned) understandings, which can be misinterpreted by subconscious interference of reference points (like somebody talks like one’s diseased dominant destructive father). The negotiation of the outcome of the communication (a sale) can be quite different when the interpretation of a certain language was compared with unconscious interference of reference points of a voice that resembles that of a very dear loving friend.

Then there are the hidden “agendas” of the persons involved: person A wants to buy something, trying to get some discount, while person B wants to sell not only the item, but some other goods as well. During the communication all sorts of levels of feelings will express themselves by intonation of the voice, body language etc. Both persons will react on those signals (transference), which will then give counter reactions (counter transference) and therefore interfere with the “clear” communication.

We can compare the communication process with a floating iceberg. When we consider the “pure” communication (that is the communication without all the interferences like transference and counter transference) as the visible top of the iceberg (10 % that is above the surface of the water), then the rest of the communication (90%) is not visible, but dominates the communication process.

Relationships

Relationships, which are the building blocks of systems, are based on communication. We believe that when we are dealing with issues and problems within a system or organisation, we locate those problems at the level of communication. We now can make the hidden parts of the communication process (the under water part of the iceberg) visible with a technique called: System Constellation or Organisational Constellation.

Organisational constellation

The word constellation comes from the positioning of the stars and planets in the universe. Organisational constellation is the positioning of elements (people, influences etc) in an open space, using subconscious knowledge of the participants.

A person sets up a constellation by placing people (including a substitute for him or her self) intuitively in a specific configuration that represents an issue they want to have a look at. This provides a living map of key elements within a particular situation. Rather than simply talking about, or just looking at a ‘snap shot’ of what is happening, participants will be able to see clearly into the interaction of these key elements.

Experience has shown that participants in the constellation become aware of the meaning of their own place. The conscious knowledge of this place and the position of others make space for acceptance and meaning.

An unconscious level exists in all systems formed by man; this can be interpreted as the system's collective sub-conscious. The members of a system are generally unaware of the dynamics originating from this. The patterns that determine the dynamics in systems are often complex and intangible for the people participating in the system. For this reason they are also difficult to trace by questioning the members of the system.

When we set up a constellation, verbal communication is restricted to a minimum. The facilitator will interview the person with the issue or question and discretely guides the person to (intuitively) choose the representatives.

The experience of the participant

People tend to initially experience the constellation method as something ‘magical’. A participant tends to get drawn to a position that gives the feeling of balance and harmony. Being in harmony means that by "recognizing what is" you eventually experience a peaceful concentrated state of being. From this state of consciousness you experience inner peace. You are connected and at a distance at the same time.

While being in that state, when asked how your feel, intuitively you are able to reflect the feelings and thoughts that describes the part that you represent in the actual system.

Sometimes, very accurate and with quite astonishing preciseness, wordings will emerge and contribute to the solution focussed resolutions for the person whose issue has been constellated.

Relationship Constellations

It is not only those belonging to an organisation who participates in the success or failure; others also play a role – for example, the customer, the share holder, the users, the competitors and perhaps foreign affiliates. Like a network, all those elements are interrelated, they form relationships, they create a powerful whole that is more than the sum of its parts.

Regardless of your position in your system, the application of relational principles can give you insight into problems, help you in making critical decisions and open new perspectives for the development of the system as a whole.

Using Relationship Constellations, you can tap into the informing field of your business. You can select what you need from this network that receives all relevant information about the web of relationships within and outside the company.

References:

Emotional Intelligence (1997) D. Coleman; Bantam Books, New York, ISBN 0-553-37506-7

Spiritual Intelligence (2000) D. Zohar and Dr I. Marshall; Bloomsbury, New York, ISBN 1-58234-044-7

Invisible Dynamics (2005) K. P.Horne and R. Brick; Crl-Aur, Heidelberg, Germany, 2005,

Acknowledgement What is (2001), B. Hellinger and G. ten Hoevel, Phoenix; Zeig,Tucker & Co, Arizona

Constellations (Submitted for publication) (2005) Dr E. Kloprogge, P.G. Gleeson and T.J. Francis.

The Therapeutic Relationships (2003), P.Clarkson: Whurr Publishers, London. ISBN : 1-897-6357-7