“Helen, you simply can’t do this to me, you are the steady one; you are the one who holds it all together. I need you to stay just the way you are.”
A systems approach begins when first you see the world through the eyes of another. Charles West Churchman
When Change Meets Resistance
Linda’s words stopped me in my tracks. It was 1987, the final year of my psychotherapy training. Vulnerability was essential for my growth, yet not everyone welcomed it.
That moment taught me something profound: personal change doesn’t happen in isolation. It ripples through the systems we belong to and not all parts of those systems want us to change.
Modern challenges, whether in business or life, are complex, interdependent, and dynamic. One essential competency for coaches today is the ability to see wholeness, not just parts. However for centuries, science has taught us to focus on the parts, in the process our capacity to see wholes is often dismissed or neglected.
Beyond the Individual: Coaching in Context
Change in one person affects their environment, sometimes positively, sometimes in ways perceived as negative. Families, teams, and organisations are a part of that change. So as coaches we need to remember that ‘resistance’ isn’t always about the individual; it often originates in the everyday interactions within their networks, and we are part of that network.
Just like Linda’s reaction to my vulnerability all those years ago, systems often push back when equilibrium is disturbed.
The Ripple Effect of Change
Individual transformation is never just personal, it’s systemic. When a client shifts, the system shifts. That can mean evolution, or resistance.
Donella Meadows sums it up beautifully:“You think because you understand one you must understand two, because one and one makes two. But you must also understand and.”
In other words, we need to pay attention to relationships within networks the “and” that connects everything, not just the human but the ‘more-than-human’ world, all the wider geopolitical forces and stakeholders that impact us all the time. Whether we are an executive, life, team or any other kind of coach, we can help clients to:
- Map the system: Who are the actors: managers, peers, structures, processes, regulators, technologies?
- See interdependencies: How do these actors influence and respond to change?
- Spot nodal points: Where does power sit? Where are the blocks? Where is support?
Stakeholder mapping is often overlooked in coaching, but when profound change is on the table, it’s vital. Mapping stakeholders and the relationships between them builds a sense of the whole. It helps clients anticipate asses impact, resistance, unintended consequences of actions as well as engage allies early.
Seeing systems begins with empathy, seeing through the eyes of another. It’s not about forcing change but understanding the web of relationships that shape it. Coaching with this awareness helps clients navigate complexity with wisdom and compassion.
We can’t impose our will upon a system. We can listen to what the system tells us, and discover how its properties and our values can work together to bring forth something much better than could ever be produced by our will alone. Donella Meadows
How BCorp Certification Expanded our Systems Lens
Even small businesses can be surprised by how many people have a stake in their future. Going through the B Corp certification process was a learning journey here at Wise Goose. It required us to consider the ripple effects of our work across a much wider network: suppliers, clients, community, environment, and governance structures. Mapping these relationships and understanding their interdependencies deepened our appreciation of systems thinking. It reminded us that every decision, from training design to business policy, influences and is influenced by a web of stakeholders. This perspective now shapes how we coach and how we run our business: with awareness, responsibility, and a commitment to the whole
Reflection:
Can you think of a time when you grew or changed personally or professionally?
What impact did it have on your environment?
Who resisted? Who supported?
Keen to learn more?
Visit Donella Meadows Project the online archive of her work with personal, organisational and systems livel change.
For another take on the impact on systems of networks of relationships work watch this video about wolves: