Glossary of our language

Because language shapes how we think and work together, we’re intentional about the words we use.

This page gives definitions and explanations of some of the words and phrases we use, and what we mean by them.

Stewardship is an ethical practice that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources. The concepts of stewardship can be applied to the environment and nature,  economics, health, places, property information, and cultural resources.

Wider ways of knowing refers to the idea that true understanding comes not just from facts and figures, but from engaging all our senses and perspectives too. It means combining intellectual analysis with somatic (body-based) awareness, emotional insight, intuitive grasp and relational attunement to the people and systems around us. By tapping into these multiple modes of knowing—what we think, feel, sense and intuit—we gain a richer, more grounded view of complex challenges and can respond in ways that are both creative and deeply rooted in the realities of our teams and communities.

Kincentric comes from the English word ‘kin’ (meaning relatives) and essentially means "related by kin" or "in relationship." It describes a worldview in which people are not seen as separate from nature but as part of a living network of reciprocal connectedness with all beings—plants, animals, landscapes, and spiritual forces.

Sense-making refers to how individuals or organisations create meaning from complex, ambiguous, or rapidly changing information. It involves intentionally gathering cues from the environment, questioning assumptions, and engaging in reflective dialogue to build a coherent understanding of events or data. This process is critical in helping people navigate uncertainty, align their perspectives, and make informed and shared decisions.

Synonyms and related terms for sense-making include: meaning-making, interpretation, comprehension, understanding, and cognizing.

In the context of leadership and organizational development, sense-making might also be referred to as sense-giving, where leaders help shape the narratives that guide how teams interpret change. Each of these terms underscores the same core idea: transforming raw information into insights that drive action and clarity.

Coherence refers to the quality of being connected within all parts of a system, project or process and working and aligning to allow health and well-being for all involved.

In a social or collective context, rather than insisting that all members align strictly with the same values or opinions, coherence emerges through respecting and accepting one another, acknowledging differences as an enriching rather than a dividing force, and strengthening the shared common ground. Acknowledging the subtle, the invisible, and the more-than-human contributions is equally important for fostering and maintaining coherence. 

Working on societal transformation is highly challenging because of the extreme complexities which requires groups to avoid repeating or unintendedly perpetuating the patterns that created the issues they are trying to address.

Coherence can offer a solution to help stabilise and build more resilience in teams and groups that engage in societal transformation - creating healthy ripples across the wider system and illuminating the words of Ilya Prigogine, who said:

“…small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order”.

System Constellations is a process of creating a model of a particular system in order to reveal and transform its hidden dynamics. The practice of Systemic Constellations allows us to visualise the patterns of interaction and interdependent relationships of a system. By making these dynamics visible, we widen our understanding and obtain a greater variety of choices in how we respond. By revealing what often goes unsaid or challenges that may lie hidden, Systemic Constellations can support leadership to identify leverage points for greater collaboration, as well as create and maintain greater coherence within complex systems.

Developed by Bert Hellinger, a German psychotherapist, and strongly informed by his experience with the Zulu people of Southern Africa, this methodology originally focused on family systems. It was used to probe the deeper forces and patterns that influence an individual’s thoughts, behaviors, and emotional experiences, many of which are influenced by forces acting through multiple generations.

Over time this approach has been applied to other human systems, including organizations,  communities, and the world. We believe this is an essential practice for navigating complexity and creating conditions for healing.

In creating a constellation, we learn to more fully use our bodies as instruments of perception. Through this practice, we tap into our inherent capacities as human beings to pick up signals as information from the field. In this way, the practice offers a bridge between our capacity to sense and feel and our storytelling mind. 

Understanding the Practice of Systemic Constellations

Primer on Systemic Constellation (20 min video)

Systemic Constellations is a powerful tool for navigating complexity and helping teams, leaders, activists, and change-makers who are working at the forefront of societal transformation to move through multifaceted dynamics with greater ease, efficiency, and alignment.

The practice of Systemic Constellations allows us to visualise the patterns of interaction and interdependent relationships within a system. By making these dynamics visible, we broaden our understanding and therefore have a greater variety of choices available to us in how we respond. By revealing what often goes unsaid or lies hidden, Systemic Constellations can support leadership to identify leverage points for greater collaboration, as well as create and maintain greater coherence within complex systems.

When adapting and getting ready for societal change, we often look at the potential of a system and what is required from it in its transition from its current state into a possible future one. This might include a better understanding of what resources are required to balance the system, or what conditions or movements could reconcile underlying issues or tensions. 

A table-top constellation refers to a systemic constellation that uses small objects instead of people as a stand in for these representatives.

Objects used include: pebbles, shells, paper, toys, art supplies, or any available object about palm size or smaller.

At the beginning of the process, objects will be intuitively selected to act as representatives. The choice of an object can sometimes be significant information and may offer a hint or suggestion as to how that representative is perceived, for example: is it heavy, soft in texture, colourful, bigger than other elements? During the table-top constellation one or several people sense into the objects representing the different elements by either touching, holding or standing on them.

A table-top constellation is an especially convenient form if there are not enough people present to represent the entire constellation. For a one-on-one coaching session, or when a group is doing constellation work virtually, using objects as a visual representation in a shared screen format can be very helpful. 

A table-top constellation invites our creativity to become an active force which co-shapes the constellation process whilst also engaging with our wider ways of knowing.

Systems Thinking is an aid in understanding and addressing complex problems by focusing on the interactions and relationships among the components of a whole system, rather than analysing parts of the system in isolation. It considers how various elements—whether in an organization, community, or ecosystem—affect one another. This method reveals the underlying structure and dynamics of a system, enabling more effective and sustainable solutions by recognising patterns, feedback loops, and emergent behaviours.

System Sensing builds on Systems Thinking by adding an embodied or felt approach to help understand a system or a visual map of elements. 

Systems Sensing is a form of being in relation with, and listening deeply to, any given system and its different elements. This includes any patterns, events or challenges that are explicitly experienced.

Systems Sensing expands the notion of understanding a system through an embodied and felt-sense approach.

“We can’t control systems or figure them out. But we can dance with them.” ~ Donella Meadows

To sense a system, we enter into a dialogue with the less visible layers and dynamics of it by activating and widening our senses and wider ways of knowing. This allows us to explore its movements and relational patterns to better understand the possible root causes of things.  The process can enable us to experience and acknowledge each aspect within a system with compassion, care and respect.

Systems Sensing calls on our humility and asks us to let go of what we beleive to be the reality or truth, and to engage instead with the deeper wisdom and information of the system which is often sheilded from our veiw. With this expanded sense of understanding, more meaningful and wiser interventions can take place.

See also: Understanding the Practice of Systemic Constellations and System Sensing

A calling question provides orientation. It focuses collective attention on what needs to be seen, acknowledged, and brought into right relationship, so that different elements of a system can find their place and sense of belonging.

Taking time to craft a powerful, generative and life-affirming question is an important part of the process. The question defines the territory of the Systemic Constellation: it sets a healthy boundary, clarifies purpose, and ensures that scope and intention are realistic for the context in which the work takes place.

The way a question is framed also reveals the mindset from which we are approaching the system. Does it centre problems, scarcity, and separation, or does it open towards resources, potential, and care for the whole? As such, the calling question becomes a mirror and a shared point of alignment. It helps a group sense what is truly at stake and where attention and responsibility are needed.

Often, the act of crafting the question already begins to shift the system toward greater clarity, coherence, and alignment.

Based on the calling question, the relevant elements of the system are identified. These may include key people, roles, places, qualities, or forces that are directly connected to the situation the Systemic Constellation is dedicated to. Elements are represented either by people acting as representatives or by objects placed in the space.

By attuning to the quality of each element, we explore how it experiences itself within the system and how it relates to the other elements present. Through this relational inquiry, dynamics become visible that are often implicit, hidden, or unspoken. These insights help clarify what is influencing the system and what meaningful next steps may support movement and alignment.

In the context of socio-ecological change, we often include land and place as essential elements, recognizing their shaping influence on systems. We also work with an element for the “yet-unknown” and one or more resources. Every system holds supportive qualities that can help stabilise, replenish, and bring new vitality during phases of tension, transition, or stuckness. Becoming aware of these resources is often a healing and re-orienting movement in itself.

As the constellation unfolds, additional elements may reveal themselves—elements that were not named initially but prove to be important for understanding the situation and supporting the system’s next unfolding.