Systemic Coaching

Peter Hawkins, Ph.D., is founder and Chairman of Renewal Associates and Professor of Leadership at Henley Business School. He is a leading consultant, writer and researcher in leadership and leadership development and an international thought leader and best-selling author in systemic coaching, systemic team coaching and leadership teams.Eve Turner combines research and writing with a busy coaching and supervision practice. A fellow at Henley Business School and the University of Southampton, she received the 2018 EMCC and Coaching at Work awards for Supervision, the Coaching at Work 2019 and 2015 Best Article/Series awards and the 2015 EMCC Coaching Award.

This book is hugely timely and important. As Hawkins and Turner quite rightly point out, as coaches and leaders, we no longer have the luxury of changing the world one person at a time. This era calls for a highly nuanced systemic coaching approach, and for those willing to step up, this rich and wise book will be the ideal companion to help them do so.Liz Hall, coach and editor of Coaching at Work and author of Mindful Coaching (Kogan Page), and Coach the team (Penguin), UKHawkins and Turner masterfully challenge us as coaches and leaders to engage in a necessary revolution to become ‘future-fit’ for the ever-growing complexities of the 21st century. Shifting our focus from the individual to the wider ecology, cultivating a system view and regularly disrupting ourselves with an eye to the longer view in these most formidable times. This book is truly a tour de force and must read for all of us!Pam McLean, Ph.D., CEO Hudson Institute of Coaching, USA; Author, Self as Coach, Self as Leader & Completely Revised Handbook of CoachingIt is time to question everything we thought we knew about coaching. The future of coaching lies not in one narrow cultural or philosophical domain but in diverse responses to complexity, in the aspirations of new generations, in wider social impact and in coach-AI partnerships. Peter and Eve capture this challenge admirably.Professor David Clutterbuck, David Clutterbuck Partnership, UKAs our profession takes shape, and evolves, coaches’ pursuit of Excellence and Mastery – and the wider systems that we serve – needs to stay relevant so that we create the biggest ripples, or collective impact, within both business and society. The authors of Systemic Coaching convey this beautifully, as an essential read for any practitioner or leader coach, looking to find greater meaning in their work. Katherine Tulpa, Group CEO, Chair & Co-founder, Association for Coaching; and Executive Director, Wisdom8, UKThis is truly a book for our age. Hawkins and Turner deliver a rich and insightful exploration of the systemic coaching model, emphasising that coaching is not just for the highly privileged few, but for the benefit of all. They highlight the collective change which is needed in our approach towards coaching, and the need to respond to the future in a more informed, compassionate and conscious way. We all need to take responsibility for our place in the world and for our ecological crisis. Applying the ‘Ecological Awareness Model’ to coaching will be crucial in coming years. As Hawkins and Turner rightly point out, the ecological dimension is present in every coaching session, overtly or covertly, consciously or unconsciously.Clive Mann, Executive Coach working with senior leaders and their teams, Managing Director of Ridler & Co and Author of the Ridler Report, UKHawkins and Turner’s Systemic Coaching powerfully addresses what continues to be, sadly, a consistent failing in the coaching industry. All too often we find coaches trapped in the vacuum of the individual, blind to organisational and market system dynamics. This malaise renders a lot of coaching into nothing more than a fancy counselling session, for ten times the price. However, when coaching is delivered systemically, in the way that Hawkins and Turner beautifully elucidate in this book, it has the potential to be one of the most profound value creating interventions available in the business world of today. This is a must read. Every coach should have a copy on their bookshelf with dog ears and margin notes.Dr Marc Kahn, Global Head of HR & OD, Investec Plc, and Visiting Professor of People, Organisation and Strategy Practices, Middlesex University, London, UKA tour de force! Essential reading for every OD consultant, HR specialist, coach and supervisor! It addresses the issue of our time, liberating coaching from the shackles of individual development to integrate the wider organisational, eco and ethical system in which we all exist.Tony Worgan, Head of BBC Coaching and Mentoring, BBC Leadership & Personal Development, UKCoaching was once the domain of the privileged few, or perhaps reserved as a tool to be used for remedial cases. However, both the coaching industry and organisations have matured and now coaching is increasingly seen as way of achieving substantial and sustained change. As coaches, we are arguably uniquely placed to influence organisational thinking – to pierce the organisational conscience. Without doubt, coaching is a force for good, and this book, ‘Systemic Coaching’ challenges us all to be an even greater force for good. Whether you are an Individual, team coach or a supervisor, through the themes explored, through the well thought through questions asked together with the case studies, the book holds up a challenging mirror to our practices. Like any well-placed coaching questions, they are designed to make us sit up and think. Many coaches work as individuals or in small practices, perhaps ploughing a lonely furrow, maybe wondering if they are actually making a difference. I was delighted therefore to read in the final chapter about the ‘call to action’ and for each of us to ‘raise our game’. We often encourage our coachees to dream big, to imagine what might be possible, and so on. Well, just imagine what kind of paradigm shift we could achieve by collectively rising to the challenge of the ‘call to action’.Tim Dench, Head of Coaching & Mentoring, Euroclear, UKThis book offers a blueprint for the next stage in the evolution of coaching. It blends a call to coaches for deeper personal development with an expansion of Peter’s highly regarded systemic approach to include an ecological commitment. May it inspire you to join the necessary revolution.Dr David Drake, CEO, Moment Institute, founder of narrative coaching, USASystemic Coaching: Delivering Value Beyond the Individual" takes coaching to a whole new level. It challenges coaches to raise their game further by focusing on the positive difference they are and could be making in the human and more-than-human world. I highly recommend this to coaches, mentors, supervisors and leaders.Dr Marshall Goldsmith, World-renowned business educator, coach and author, USAThis splendid new book from master coaches Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner is a major contribution to the growing field of New Generation Coaching: coaches committed to partnering with leaders in service to a better world. Clearly structured, addressing their theme of systemic coaching from every angle, and offering a rich range of examples, case studies and guidelines, the authors pull no punches. They address the key questions we need to ask ourselves at this critical juncture in the planet’s history and in the development of coaching: What and who is coaching for in the face of our huge, complex global challenges? How can coaches help organisations become 'future fit' in an interdependent, volatile and uncertain world? How might coaches work together with leaders to develop an eco-systemic vision and multi-stakeholder perspective? What does it take to deliver coaching value beyond the individual? This is a riveting read and a landmark publication that should be in every coach’s library.Hetty Einzig, author of The Future of Coaching: vision, responsibility and leadership in transforming times, UKSystemic Coaching breaks open the box of traditional coaching to show us a new vision and role for the profession. Hawkins and Turner then lay out the tools, models and method to make it real. From a place of passion and purpose they challenge all coaches to see more, be more and do more for individuals, teams, organizations and the planet. This book will shift your horizon and enrich your work.Phillip Sandahl, coauthor of Teams Unleashed: How to release the power and human potential of work teams, and Co-Active Coaching: The proven framework for transformative conversations at work and in life, USAA profound and essential read for anyone who is engaged in and with the field of coaching. The book highlights the importance of coaching becoming increasingly aware of the social, ecological and political changes in order to peer and partner with clients beyond the individual or the team. Having worked in a global matrix organisation for many years I believe this is critical for the future, as is the point the book makes on redistributive coaching and echo empathy, brilliant! Claire Davey, Former Head of Coaching & Leadership Development, Deloitte UK; Director at CDPerformance Ltd, UKThis challenging book shows how organisations today face some daunting challenges in their quests to be successful, including the rapid evolution of technology, the disintermediation of industries and an ever more pressing need to learn and adapt. Also how those coaches who desire to contribute to the ongoing, unceasing transformation of society must embrace the same challenges, viewing them as opportunities rather than threats. The role of the future coach will evolve, as organisations re-insource the functions of the traditional coach. The future coach will be adept at working with groups and teams. If it is to be useful, the coaching industry will move beyond the current narrative around coaching competencies and its desire to become a profession. Instead it will focus on learning how to navigate change in a complex world and will invite thought leaders from other disciplines and domains to engage in dialogue. The authors show how coaches can reinvent themselves and provide many practical insights, case examples and approaches to help us coaches on our way. All coaches who want to be ‘future-fit’ need to read it.Dr Paul Lawrence. Centre for Coaching in Organisations, Lecturer in Coaching at Sydney Business School (UoW). Sydney, AustraliaNot a book for the shelf, but a book for every day – on each page there is something that will resonate with thoughtful Coaches, Supervisors or OD Practitioners who are ready to stretch and embrace systemic coaching. This book will challenge your thinking and transform your practise.Dr Colleen Harding, Head of Organisational Development, Bournemouth University, UKHawkins and Turner offer provocative new thinking for a complacent world. If you want to be challenged about your coaching practice and how you deliver value to individuals and organisations this book is a great place to start your thinking journey to develop Horizon 3 thinking about the future of coaching.Jonathan Passmore, Director Henley Centre for Coaching, UKOxford Saïd Business School and Meyler Campbell recently announced the Ignite partnership, to help leaders tackle the existential challenges almost all sectors face: this book opens up many of the issues faced by those working systemically and is warmly welcomed.Anne Scoular, Founder Meyler Campbell and Associate Scholar, Oxford Saïd Business School’s Ignite Programme, UKSystemic Coaching is a must read for all coaches in training as well for experienced, mentors, coaches, and coach supervisors who are committed to use system thinking in their work and be prepared to meet the future needs of our societies. The authors, through a dialogical approach, invite readers to a reflective space that provides an extraordinary learning opportunity and challenge them to think beyond traditional frameworks. They create awareness of the critical role of the coaches, not only at supporting leaders to be prepared for the future but also their ethical responsibility of revolutionizing the coaching practice to meet these needs. Dr Damian Goldvarg, MCC, CSP, ESIA. President, The Goldvarg Consulting Group, Inc. International Coach Federation Global Past President (2013-2014), USAThis book is a passionate and persuasive appeal for the coaching community to keep the needs of the whole world rather than one person in front of us in the core of our philosophy. In the current state of the world, the values that the authors advocate are incredibly important for all of us, not only for coaches. At the same time, I recall that after one of the author’s presentations a coach from the audience thanked him for reminding about such importance. I wish we knew why such a reminder is needed and why we forget! I suspect that the answer to this question brings us back to the individual and how they face what is happening within and around them.Professor Tatiana Bachkirova, Director of the International Centre for Coaching and Mentoring Studies, Oxford Brookes University, UKPeter Hawkins and Eve Turner have co-authored a tour de force of Systemic Coaching. The approach goes beyond coaching as we know it and highlights the importance of looking at the whole picture. This comprehensive book is thorough and covers everything a trainee or experienced coach will need to know about the theory and practice of Systematic Coaching. It’s great to see that the authors have included an exciting chapter on Eco-systemic coaching.Professor Stephen Palmer, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, UKThe central challenge of coaching has always been: who is it for: the person or the organisation they work for? At last, we have a clear-sighted view of where the answers lie. Hawkins and Turner understand the delicate and complex interplay between people and place and skilfully, wisely disentangle it. At its best, coaching makes organisations and the individuals in them smarter, braver, more alert and farsighted. It’s a lofty goal and never achieved without effort. But this book gets you started in the right place: knowing the ultimate destination.Margaret Heffernan, CEO and author, Wilful Blindness, UKHow fortunate we are to benefit from Peter’s wisdom on systemic coaching. It is a very profound and future-fit philosophy. It reinvents the traditional approach in individual coaching, team coaching and organizational coaching. Leaders can make breakthrough once their view shifts from ME to WE with stakeholder engaging into coaching process. Coaches can make larger impact to the world with ecological mindset and the grounded process, methods and tools introduced in this book.Karen Wu, CEO, Co-wisdom Coaching Center, China Time to think again about coaching and our contract as coaches with the wider world, with this journey into the future, providing inspiration and challenge in equal measure. Warmly recommended. Erik de Haan, Director of Ashridge Centre for Coaching and Professor of Organisation Development, UKA book of awakening. Peter and Eve provoke us to redefine what success means in tomorrow’s world. They trigger our minds in search for the true meaning of "win-win-win" that we as leaders of our era should envision for the next generation and beyond. This book marvellously paves the way to lead traditional coaching mindset and leadership beings to go beyond single individual or organization level to the larger whole of the planet that we ought to take responsibility for. A must read for all coaches and leaders.Deana Peng, Executive Coach, Presence, JapanWith Peter as our guide and working with the principles and ideas outlined in this book, we have co-created a leadership development programme for our law firm partners. Taking a systemic approach, exploring future-back and outside-in perspectives, building collaborations and networks and empowering individuals to design and lead their own learning has created a real shift in our culture. More open. More collaborative, More innovation. More stretch in development.Trevor Comyn, Director of Knowledge, Learning and Development and Rachel Donath, Head of Learning and Development Team at Mills & Reeve, UKIn the years that I have known Peter, he is nothing if not thought-provoking. Peter has a unique ability, a prescience almost, to glimpse into future possibilities while connecting it to the present. And so it is with this new book with Eve Turner. Together, they provoke us with persuasive clarity, the challenges facing coaching in the future, spur us to a call for action and journey alongside us by sharing their research and experiences, together with illustrative case studies, tools, practical tips and a way forwards that is both compelling and inspiring. The warning signs are there -- that the practice of coaching needs to change to be fit-for-purpose for the challenges of the future. This book aptly sounds the warning not in a foreboding way but with optimism and vision. It is a powerfully informative and empowering book!Paul Lim, Managing Consultant, Phoenix Leadership Consulting, SingaporeWe’re almost daily alerted to the turbulent times of the digital age and influence of AI demanding rather than attracting change. Similarly, coaching has necessarily moved beyond the narrow margins of its origins in individual development. In a dynamic world with an ecologically threatened environment coaching must necessarily mature to survive, thrive and serve the constantly changing needs of all stakeholders. Coaching can contribute to the value chain of disrupters easing the transition into work that is yet to be named and supporting the reversal of inherited eco-disasters.Systemic Coaching - delivering value beyond the individual succinctly names just what this text delivers. The combination of chapters takes you on a progressive journey transporting coaching and coach supervision to be future-fit for tomorrow’s anticipated world of work. Refinements for practice combine with persuasive reasoning for co-creating synergistic systemic applications that strengthen coaching’s contribution ultimately for the benefit of society. The appendix of multi-cultural case studies from around the globe adds a further level of vibrancy to an already abundantly rich text.Dr Lise Lewis, EMCC International Special Ambassador, UKThis is a seminal book setting the ground for the next stage of coaching and coach training for future generations of coaches. Thoroughly researched it builds on the work of those "fellow travellers" who have developed aspects of Systemic Coaching. It addresses the ethical issues and doesn't shy away of challenging coaching on the environmental responsibility to the wider system.John Leary-Joyce, Founder & Chair AoEC, co-author of Systemic Team Coaching, UKThis is a radical, comprehensive, wide-ranging and pioneering investigation of individual and team systemic coaching. Peter Hawkins and Eve Turner argue that to think and be systemic, it is essential to bring in the challenges that come ‘future-back’ and ‘outside-in’. Systemic Coaching covers the breadth and depth of systemic coaching, from individual, executive, leadership, team and group coaching. It encompasses the matching and evaluation of coaches, systemic questions for client contracting and multi-party as well as multi-regional contracting. Systemic Coaching is accessible, scholarly and evidence based. Hawkins and Turner take a strategic look at coaching to help determine the role that coaching can play in an organization. This moves us away from individual and ad hoc coaching that does not satisfy what an organisation, its future and wider stakeholders will need from an integrated coaching intervention. The Authors’ original approach takes an innovative look at what coaching can effectively achieve for the organization, all its members, customers and stakeholders over a period of time that will impact the behaviour and performance of all stakeholders and so benefit the health of the organisation. What is made very clear is the importance of relationships. "In systemic coaching, as with any form of coaching, collaboration is the foundation of the working partnership and the heart of an effective contracting relationship". In this book, the practitioner will find a wide range of activities, processes, methods and case studies to use in individual and team coaching and in building collaborative relationships. There is an overview about how to supervise coaches, ethical considerations for coaching and supervision, and criteria for systemic coach training. The authors introduce the idea of eco-systemic team coaching which sees the team as "co-evolving in dynamic relationship with its ever-changing eco-system". What is different about this book, is that it asks the reader to take part in developing a comprehensive look at systemic coaching. Asking and answering questions is a role played by the reader as Hawkins and Turner deepen and widen their lens on every aspect of systemic coaching. This book is suitable not just for practitioners, but also for leaders who need to "develop We-Q" (collective and collaborative intelligence), and who wish to understand the nuts and bolts of an integrated systemic coaching approach that will help transform their organisational culture, behaviour and performance. It is a must read for anyone who wants coaching to make an impact on every aspect of an organisation’s success. Sunny Stout-Rostron, DProf, Faculty, University of Stellenbosch School of Business, Cape Town, South Africa"This book is exactly what coaching, and more to the point, what our world needs right now. Hawkins and Turner have produced an inspiring wake up call for coaching, leaders and organisations alike. They ask us to see the world from a bigger systems perspective and begin to take concrete action from that perspective. Some years ago I argued that coaching in the 21st century needed perspectives that incorporated much wider system boundaries, longer temporal frames and perspectives that really paid attention to the processes and interconnections that operate across the whole system. Hawkins and Turner have done this with thoughtfulness, practicality and excellence. This book should not be in every leader’s and every coaches library – it should be on their desks, dog-eared and falling apart with use." – Michael Cavanagh, Deputy Director, Coaching Psychology Unit, University of Sydney

• Preface; Acknowledgments; List of authors and contributors; Chapter 1: The need for a new approach to coaching; Chapter 2: A necessary revolution in coaching; Chapter 3: What is systemic coaching?; Chapter 4: Developing systemic coaching from the organization’s perspective; Chapter 5: Multi-stakeholder contracting; Chapter 6: The systemic coaching process; Chapter 7: The systemic coaching methods, approaches and tools; Chapter 8: Eco-systemic coaching towards developing ecologically conscious coaches; Chapter 9: Systemic group coaching, systemic team coaching and working with the wider system; Chapter 10: Systemic coaching supervision; Chapter 11: Systemic ethics – the door of compassion; Chapter 12: Systemic coaching evaluation – assessing delivering value beyond the individual; Chapter 13: Systemic coach training; Chapter 14: Bringing it all together and responding to the future; Appendix 1: Case studies of systemic coaching from around the world