Organisational constellations for collaboration, choices and growth
A direction has been agreed, but little changes in day-to-day work. Marketing and sales point at each other. Or an entrepreneur wants to distribute responsibility, while almost every decision still ends up on the same desk.
An organisational constellation is a method for exploring such business questions spatially. You might, for example, give teams, roles, goals or responsibilities a place using people, objects or markers. From that constellation you explore relationships, different perspectives and possible next steps.
At upMention we connect this exploration to a concrete organisational question. What does it mean for the direction, the collaboration and the work that needs to get done?
What is an organisational constellation?
In an organisational constellation you create a simplified representation of a business situation. The whole company does not need to be included. You choose the parts that are relevant to the question, such as management, a commercial team, a new role and the customer.
A participant can represent a role. Such a person is called a representative. You can also work with objects on a table or markers on the floor. The spatial image offers a different way into the conversation than a discussion around the meeting table alone.
Participants describe what they notice or experience from their position. That can raise new questions. Why does one role stay out of the conversation? Which responsibility is picked up by two teams? Which interest is missing from our description of the situation?
A representative cannot determine, on behalf of an absent colleague, what that person truly thinks. Nor is the distance between two objects a measurement of the collaboration. The constellation is a way of exploring, not an objective picture of the company.
Which questions can this method suit?
A decision is not being carried out
Management has chosen a direction, but departments keep following old priorities. First check whether the choice has been translated into time, budget and decision-making authority. A constellation can also be used to explore which interests, expectations or responsibilities have not yet been sufficiently discussed.
Responsibilities overlap
An employee is responsible for a result but is not allowed to decide on the resources. Or two teams both assume the other is following up with the customer. The question then is not only who needs to work harder, but how the collaboration is organised. Read also about the undercurrent in organisations.
The organisation is entering a new phase
A new manager, a growing team or a different offer calls for new agreements. You can explore what remains valuable from the existing way of working and what needs to be organised differently. This does not need to be preceded by conflict or crisis.
The entrepreneur stays involved in everything
Sometimes an owner's direct involvement moves the work forward. Sometimes that same involvement becomes a condition for almost every decision. Explore how decision-making authority and ownership are actually divided, before explaining the situation solely through someone's personality.
How does an organisational constellation unfold?
First we sharpen the business question
We discuss what is happening, what you have already tried and what change is needed. "The team needs to show more ownership" is still broad. "Which decisions can the team make without the owner's prior approval?" gives more to work with.
We also discuss who the client is, who can decide on a follow-up, and which information is missing. A constellation does not have to be the outcome of that preparation. Sometimes a conversation or process analysis is enough.
Then we choose a fitting method
The question determines which roles or elements we include and who is involved. That could be a conversation with a single person bringing the question, or a session with several people involved. The choice for people, objects or floor markers is made clear beforehand or during preparation.
The whole team does not automatically need to be present. Absent people should also not become the subject of conclusions without testing. The article on preparation explains which agreements matter here.
We examine what stands out
We look at the constellation, ask about different observations, and explore other ways of looking at the situation. Participants do not need to agree on a single explanation. A difference in what people see or expect can, in fact, produce a useful research question.
We translate this into the work
At the end we discuss what seems useful, what remains uncertain and what a fitting next step could be. Not every insight needs to become a reorganisation or decision straight away. Sometimes the first step is having a missing conversation or checking an assumption.
An example: responsible, but not authorised
This is an illustrative example, not a description of a client case.
A commercial team is tasked with selling a new offer. The team may approach customers, but the owner must approve any deviation from standard agreements. The owner expects initiative; the team waits for clarity.
In a constellation you can examine the roles of owner, commercial team, offer and customer. One possible research question is whether the agreed responsibility actually matches the available decision-making authority. That is a hypothesis, not a finding drawn from the spatial image.
A follow-up could be agreeing concrete boundaries: which customer agreements can the team decide on independently, when is consultation needed, and what information does the owner receive afterwards? After an agreed period, you discuss, based on real decisions, whether the work flows better.
What can it produce?
The intended result is a clearer question and a targeted next step. For example, a sharper division of roles, a more explicit decision, a conversation between departments, or an assumption you go on to test in practice.
We record what counts as an observation, which interpretation belongs to it, and which facts are still missing. We then determine who takes which step and when you will review what has changed. In a broader engagement this can become part of the 30, 90 and 365-day growth plan. That makes the value discussable without promising that a single session resolves a pattern.
When do we prefer a different approach?
A constellation is not a fitting substitute for missing customer data, a clear brief, or a necessary conversation about working agreements. Nor is it fitting when someone wants to use the method to confirm a conclusion about a colleague that has already been decided in advance.
If those involved cannot participate voluntarily, or feel insufficient room to say anything other than what the manager expects, that needs attention first. Personal treatment or diagnostics has no place in this business assignment.
Organisational constellations at upMention
We place organisational constellations within our research into organisation, customers and market. The method is not a mandatory gateway to marketing or software development. A commercial question can equally lead to a marketing constellation, in which offer and target audience take a more central role.
Want to discuss what fits your question? Tell us what is happening now, what you want to achieve and what you have already tried. We will then determine which approach makes sense.