Different company.
Same problems.
Different team.
Same tensions.
Different partner.
Same conflicts.
Coincidence?
Not always.
Systemic psychology suggests something deeper may be happening.
Systems Have Memory
We tend to think of ourselves as independent individuals making rational choices.
But in reality, we operate inside systems.
Family systems.
Organisational systems.
Social systems.
And systems have memory.
They carry history, roles, loyalties, unresolved tensions, and invisible hierarchies.
These forces shape behaviour in ways we rarely notice.
Which explains why some patterns keep repeating — even when we change environments.
The Discovery of Bert Hellinger
In the 1970s, German psychotherapist Bert Hellinger began studying these systemic dynamics.
Hellinger’s work was influenced by several fields:
• Family systems theory (Murray Bowen)
• Systemic psychotherapy (Virginia Satir)
• Hypnotherapy (Milton Erickson)
• Phenomenology and group dynamics
Through decades of observation he noticed something remarkable.
Many human struggles were not purely personal.
They were systemic.
Hidden imbalances inside family systems — unresolved grief, exclusion of family members, broken hierarchies — often continued influencing later generations.
Even when people were unaware of them.
Making the Invisible Visible
To explore these dynamics, Hellinger developed what became known as Family Constellations.
The process creates a living map of a system.
Participants represent elements of the system — family members, organisational roles, or important events.
They are positioned physically in the room.
As the constellation unfolds, relational dynamics become visible.
Distance.
Alignment.
Hierarchy.
Tension.
Patterns that were previously invisible suddenly appear.
Once the system becomes visible, something interesting happens:
Solutions often emerge naturally.
From Family Systems to Business Systems
It did not take long for practitioners to notice something important.
The same systemic dynamics appear in organisations.
Companies are systems too.
They contain:
history
hierarchy
belonging
power structures
unspoken loyalties
When these elements fall out of balance, problems appear:
• leadership conflicts
• recurring team tensions
• stalled strategy execution
• unclear organisational direction
Which led to the development of Business Constellations.
Practitioners such as Martijn Meima have helped bring systemic constellation work into leadership and organisational consulting.
Today the method is used by executives exploring complex organisational dynamics that traditional analytical tools struggle to explain.
Why This Matters for Leaders
Modern organisations are incredibly complex systems.
Markets change rapidly.
Teams operate across cultures and continents.
Leaders often must make decisions with incomplete information.
Strategy alone cannot solve every problem.
Sometimes the real issue lies in the system itself.
And once the system becomes visible…
many challenges suddenly begin to make sense.
A Different Way of Looking at Problems
Instead of asking:
“Why is this happening to me?”
Systemic thinking asks:
“What is the system trying to show?”
This shift alone often changes everything.
Because once you understand the system…
you can change the pattern.
I am curious about your experience:
Have you ever moved to a different company or team, only to notice the same type of conflict appearing again?
Different environment.
Same dynamic.
It happens more often than we think.
With a keen eye on hidden dynamics,
Audrius
