Preparing an organisational constellation: what do you agree beforehand?
An organisational constellation does not begin with who stands where. Preparation is about the business situation, the people involved, and what you want to do with the outcome.
A sharp question prevents a session from turning into a broad conversation about everything. Clear agreements help you use the method carefully and know, afterwards, which follow-up step fits.
This preparation is also useful for an ordinary organisational conversation. If the question becomes clear along the way, a constellation may not be needed at all.
Describe the situation before you explain it
Write down what is happening. Use a recent example and note which agreement or expectation was attached to it.
"Our marketing isn't working because the team has no direction" already contains an explanation. "We've chosen three target audiences, but there's no agreement on how to divide time and budget" describes a situation you can investigate.
Also note what you want to achieve. Which decision needs to become possible? What would be different in day-to-day work? That helps keep the focus on the business assignment.
Make the question researchable
A question like "why isn't our organisation working?" is too broad for focused research. A question like "which responsibility is missing in the launch of our new offer?" is more concrete.
Watch for questions that already contain the desired conclusion. "How do we finally get sales to cooperate?" assumes sales is the problem. "What do marketing and sales need to carry out the same customer agreements?" leaves more room for different explanations.
You don't need to arrive with the perfect question. Sharpening it can be part of the preparation with the facilitator.
Determine who the client and decision-maker are
Who is bringing the question? Who holds responsibility for the topic? And who can actually change the agreements that come out of it?
An employee may have valuable observations without being able to decide on the whole organisation. It then needs to be clear which follow-up step falls within their influence. Avoid burdening someone with solving a question that requires a decision elsewhere.
For a group session, discuss which roles are relevant. More participants doesn't automatically make the research better. Absence is likewise not a reason to draw far-reaching conclusions about someone.
Agree the boundaries of participation
Make clear in advance how the method works, what is asked of participants, and that someone may decline a role or exercise. Agree that a participant can pause or stop.
An organisational question does not automatically grant a mandate to share personal experiences. Discuss what information belongs within the business assignment and what should not end up in a group report.
The facilitator must leave room for doubt and other interpretations. A participant does not need to adopt a conclusion just because others find it recognisable.
Choose a fitting form
An organisational constellation can be done with representatives, objects or floor markers. A tabletop constellation, for example, is one possible form for a conversation with a small group. The choice depends on the question, the context and the facilitator's experience.
Discuss beforehand what you practically need. Duration, group size and location are not fixed properties of the method. Make agreements about these that fit the specific session.
For a commercial question, offer and target audience can be central. Then a marketing constellation can be a fitting application.
Record how you will use the outcome
Distinguish between an observation, an interpretation and a decision. "The customer's role came up rarely" is different from "our team isn't customer-focused".
Agree who receives a short business summary. It doesn't need to include every statement or personal experience. What matters is the research question, useful observations, open questions and agreed follow-up steps.
Don't let a constellation stand alone as evidence for a personnel measure or a conclusion about an absent colleague.
A one-page preparation
Use the following six questions as a discussion sheet. You don't need to answer them all definitively; unknown points are precisely what's useful to discuss beforehand.
- 1.Which recent situation do we want to examine?
- 2.What do we know, and which explanation are we currently assuming?
- 3.Which business choice or change do we want to make possible?
- 4.Who is involved, and who can decide on a follow-up?
- 5.What agreements do we make about participation and sharing information?
- 6.How will we determine afterwards what we test, try or organise differently?
This preparation doesn't need to contain a convincing theory. A concrete question, fitting involvement and clear boundaries give more to go on than an explanation that is already fixed.