FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

It’s a page full of words, but some of them might be useful. And, we do like words, of every shape, colour, and creed.

What is systemic thinking?

Systemic thinking, or systems thinking, is an analytical and holistic approach to understanding and solving complex problems. It views them as part of an overall system rather than isolating their components. This approach emphasises the interrelationships between the system's parts and how they influence one another as a whole.

Key principles of systemic thinking include:

  • Interconnectedness: Recognising that elements within a system are interconnected and that changes in one part of the system can affect the whole. This principle helps identify how different components influence one another.

  • Holism: Focusing on the system as a whole rather than just its individual parts. Systemic thinking encourages looking at the big picture and understanding how the components fit together and contribute to the system’s behaviour.

  • Feedback Loops: Understanding how actions within the system can produce outcomes that provide feedback into the system, affecting future actions. These loops can be positive (amplifying changes) or negative (dampening changes to maintain stability).

  • Emergence: Acknowledging that complex behaviours and properties can emerge from the interactions of simpler system components, which cannot be understood by examining the components in isolation.

  • Causality: Shifting from linear cause-and-effect thinking to recognise complex causality, where effects can have multiple causes and vice versa, and causes and effects can be distant in time and space.

  • Patterns: Looking for behaviour patterns over time rather than focusing only on static snapshots. This helps to predict future behaviours based on past trends.

  • Systems Dynamics: Understanding how systems change over time and identifying leverage points where small changes can significantly impact the system’s behaviour.

Systemic thinking is applicable across various fields, including ecology, economics, psychology, and organisational management. It offers a framework for addressing complex, multidimensional problems by understanding the system’s structure and dynamics.

Do you work with constellations?

Yes. See below.

What is a constellation?

A constellation can be understood as a method used to visually represent the relationships and dynamics within an organisation. This practice involves placing individuals or objects in a physical space to symbolise different members of the company, team, or project. In German, the original language of systemic work, the words means to ‘set up’ the system, which is so much more accurate and appealing that ‘constellation.’ :)

Constellations aim to uncover hidden patterns and underlying issues that may affect the organisation's performance, culture, or outcomes. By visually representing the system through the physical placement of representatives, potential sources of challenges such as conflicts, lack of alignment, power dynamics, communication breakdowns, or inefficiencies can be identified and addressed.

Through constellations, leaders and teams can gain insights into the systemic relationships and dynamics at play within the organisation. By observing how representatives interact and move within the constellation, leaders can identify the root causes of issues and work towards resolving them, ultimately promoting better understanding, alignment, and effectiveness within the corporate environment.

Implementing corporate constellations to explore systemic dynamics provides valuable insights and facilitates positive organisational changes, leading to improved collaboration, decision-making, and overall organisational performance.

What are patterns, dynamics and undercurrents?

  • Undercurrents in a corporate setting refer to the unseen forces that drive behaviour within the organisation. These might include the unspoken norms, values, beliefs, and emotions that pervade the workplace. Just as in families, these undercurrents are often not immediately apparent but significantly influence how people interact, make decisions, and approach their work.

  • Patterns in organisations can be thought of as the recurrent behaviours, relationships, and decision-making processes that become established over time. These might include hierarchical patterns of communication, patterns of conflict resolution, or patterns in leadership and authority. Patterns often emerge from the organisation's history, past successes and failures, and the collective experiences of its members.

  • Dynamics involve the interplay between different elements within the organisation, such as between individuals, teams, and departments. Dynamics can be influenced by power distributions, roles, and responsibilities, and the alignment (or misalignment) between the organisation's stated goals and the actual behaviours and attitudes of its members.

What do you mean by interference?

Interference is the collective impact of patterns, dynamic and undercurrents on an organisations, and on individuals. It is based on the work of Tim Gallwey a tennis coach who wrote The Inner Game. He coined the equation, performance = Potential - Interference. That interference was not the quality of the court, racket or shows, it as the interference that welled up inside the athletes. Our organisations are as sleep, lean and cost efficient as they can be. The only play left where significance impact can be made is in reducing interference.

How do you measure the impact of their interventions on organisations?

We have created a survey that each member of a team or organisation completes.  People are invited to state between 1 and 9 the event to which the Strongly Agree or Strongly Disagree. It includes questions about culture, language, support, accountability and NPS. In addition to our survey, we also work with the Leadership Circle, BRITE and the Collective Leadership Assessment. These tools measure the current state and give various diagnostic scores around leadership effectiveness and impact. CLA allows an organisation to measure current versus desired culture.

We are a very blue, practical, left-brain organisation - does your approach work?

Yes.

Most organisations describe themselves in this way. We’ve worked with professors, scientists, police officers, and CEOs. We’re working with an inherently human skill, one we use on a daily basis to make subconscious decisions about people and situations and to make choices. It’s effective, fast, practical, and it

How does storytelling help with organisational change?

Storytelling is a powerful tool for aligning teams around a shared vision and purpose. We create narratives that inspire and translate into clear, actionable steps that drive transformation within your organisation. Our approach ensures the story becomes a living part of your company culture, leading to meaningful and sustainable change.

How can you help our organisation adapt to the rapidly changing business landscape?

The rapidly changing business environment requires more than traditional strategies. Here’s how we can help your organisation not just adapt but thrive:

  • Systemic Approach to Change: We use a systemic approach beyond surface-level solutions. By examining your organisation's undercurrents, patterns, and hidden dynamics, we identify the deeper issues that need to be addressed. This ensures that the changes we implement are sustainable and aligned with your organisation’s long-term goals.

  • Story-Driven Transformation: We believe that stories have the power to unite and drive change. We help craft a narrative that resonates with your organisation’s purpose and future vision. This story becomes a tool for aligning your teams and guiding them through the transition, making the change process more cohesive and less disruptive.

  • Creative and Experiential Methods: To engage and energise your teams, we use creative methods like storytelling, film, somatics, design and art. These techniques make the change process more personal and experiential, helping your people connect with the new direction on a deeper level. This approach facilitates adaptation, fosters innovation, and reimagines what’s possible in your business.

  • Navigating Transitions with Expertise: We draw on models like William Bridges’ transition framework to help your organisation navigate the emotional and psychological aspects of change. By focusing on the human side of transitions, we ensure that your teams are prepared for change and motivated and empowered to embrace it.

  • Collaboration and Co-Creation: We don’t just work for you; we work with you. Our collaborative approach ensures that our solutions are co-created with your teams, making them more relevant and more accessible to implement. This partnership model also helps build internal capacity to manage future changes independently.

By integrating these methods, we help your organisation build resilience, embrace new opportunities, and maintain a competitive edge in a constantly evolving business landscape.

What industries do you work with?

We primarily work with large corporations and scale-ups across various industries, including technology, finance, healthcare, and more. Our methods are versatile and can be tailored to fit the unique needs of any industry.

What makes Ben Wickham & Co. different from other consultants?

Our unique approach combines the art of storytelling and the magic of creativity with the science of systems thinking and somatics. This holistic method ensures that change is planned and executed and deeply understood and embraced by everyone in the organisation. We don’t just create stories; we turn them into real, actionable change, with a touch of wonder and magic.

Can you work with our internal teams, or do you operate independently?

We believe in collaboration and often work closely with internal teams to ensure our strategies align with your company’s culture and goals. We can adapt to your preferred working style, whether it’s leading the process or supporting your existing teams.

How do you incorporate creativity into the change process?

Creativity is the lifeblood of meaningful change. We incorporate creative approaches like narrative storytelling, design thinking, film, art, and experiential learning to engage stakeholders and make the change process impactful and enjoyable. This ensures that the changes are not only strategic but also resonate on a personal level with everyone involved.

What outcomes can we expect from working with Ben Wickham & Co.?

Clients can expect outcomes that include a clearly defined and compelling organisational narrative, aligned behaviors and actions across teams, and a deep understanding of the systemic factors influencing their organisation. Ultimately, our work leads to increased clarity, stronger alignment with organisational goals, and sustainable change that resonates at all levels of the company.

How do you handle resistance to change within organisations?

Resistance to change is a natural part of the process, and we approach it with empathy and strategic insight. The two gurus of change, William Bridges and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, predict and explain resistance. It’s normal, so let’s roll with it. We use storytelling to align everyone around a shared vision, and we engage with all levels of the organisation to understand and address concerns. Through systemic thinking and somatics, we help individuals and teams move through resistance, fostering acceptance and engagement with the new direction.