Constellation work is a practice originally developed in family systems therapy, but it has since found a meaningful place in organizational settings. In an organizational constellation, people are invited to represent different roles, elements, relationships, or forces – such as departments, values, stakeholders, or even abstract ideas like “profit” or “trust.”
These representatives are placed in a physical space and invited to notice what they feel and perceive – and speak or act – from that position. The practice explores A word used there to explore “the field” which is a term very close to how I imagine the term “context” I’m talking about here.
Therefore, constellation work may be the most direct way to represent the context in its different realms while focusing on certain aspects of the context, like people, concepts, groups, objects.
What I love the most is that we can constellate even a mix of different players.
Constellation work relies on the somatic intelligence of the participants. The idea is that everyone understands a field of players, because it’s relatable, or even taps into “downloading” information from the field directly. With that, it’s as if the organization’s hidden structure becomes visible for a moment, in the subtle sensations, utterances or movements of those who stand in for it.
What’s interesting is that observers can tune in as well, meaning we can shift our attention to different parts of the field and therefore include a lot of people in an experience that lets them participate in a somatic, emotional and social experience.
As such, constellation work is a weaving and attunement practice; it seeks to surface tensions for everyone to see and notice – it’s a way for the system to see itself. We can even manipulate the field by trying out shifts in the system via the representatives.
A particularly helpful part is to ask representatives for “statements that resolve.” These often come in the shape of what I’ve called an acknowledgement here. For example, a founder of an organization might be recognized for their contribution by a representative of “the new people.” Or “the old guard” can express their gratitude for “the new people.” It’s not uncommon for this to directly “work” on the field itself when enough of the involved people are present to witness, meaning it serves just like other acknowledgement practices that weave across realms.
In terms of coherence and frames, constellation defines a frame of the space that we consider. Yet, if something outside of that space heavily “tugs” on the system, the contained may be broadened. For example, imagine that a dead co-founder hasn’t been acknowledged, this gap may show up for people when acknowledging the other founders who are present. In that case, words to or from the representative of that late co-founder may shift the situation for the people present. It may be that acknowledgement of that late co-founder’s role resolves a tension or knot that has lived in the system.
So it’s a diagnostic tool for deeper understanding of the context, and an acknowledgement tool.
A practice of surrendering certainty and opening to relational truth, constellation work doesn’t require a lot of words. The coherence produced by constellation work is less about alignment with a model and more about surfacing what is in a non-neat way.
Wiser organizations 