Systemic Thinking as a Foundation for Coaching and Leadership

What is Systemic Thinking?

How we perceive the world shapes how we act within it – in coaching, leadership and personal development alike. Systemic thinking challenges linear problem-solving and shifts attention to perception, responsibility and mental models. In this article, Timm Richter coach in HHL student coaching New Leipzig Talents, shares his perspective on systemic thinking in coaching and leadership development. Discover how changing the way we see situations can open up new possibilities for action.

Systemic vs. Systematic Thinking – Understanding the Difference

Systemic thinking and systematic thinking operate on different levels. While systematic thinking is primarily tactical and method-driven, systemic thinking addresses the way reality itself is perceived. It focuses on complexity, interconnectedness and feedback loops that challenge linear cause-and-effect logic. From this perspective, the world is not simply observed but actively constructed through perception. As Timm Richter puts it: “We do not see the world as it is; rather, the world is as we perceive it.”

How Mental Models Shape Leadership and Decision-Making

This view places responsibility with the observer. Individuals are accountable for how they interpret the world and for the actions that result from these interpretations. While our understanding of the world is constructed internally, some mental models are more viable and helpful than others when it comes to decision-making, communication and collaboration. Personal development is understood as a continuous process of updating these models, shaped by experience, social context and the physical realities of body and brain. Coherence is a meaningful goal in the ongoing process of development: coherence with one’s potential as well as the needs and demands of society and our own body.

Systemic Thinking as a Foundation for Coaching

Within coaching, systemic thinking provides a framework for supporting people in developing their mental models and self-perceptions. A coach contributes an external perspective that can stimulate, challenge or inspire the coachee’s thinking and feeling, without imposing solutions. Responsibility for change remains with the coachee.

In practice, systemic coaching begins with clarifying the goal of the coaching process. Many coachees are initially unclear about what they want to achieve or how they would recognize progress. This clarification alone is frequently experienced as valuable. Coaching then focuses on how the coachee perceives the problem and which solution attempts have already been made. By shifting attention to different aspects of the situation, exploring alternative explanations and re-evaluating existing interpretations, coaching opens up new ways of constructing a worldview and fosters greater flexibility in trying new approaches when established ones no longer seem to work.

Coaching, Leadership and Systemic Practice

Among NLT students, coaching topics have remained largely consistent over time. Highly self-reflective and consciously engaged in their personal development, students often focus on how they relate to peers and navigate expectations within group settings. These situations frequently mirror the group dynamics found in organizational contexts.

In leadership settings, coaching takes on a different character. While personal and business coaching focus solely on enabling individual development, leadership coaching often involves formal power and accountability. Leaders may support individual growth, but they are also responsible for strategic direction and overall performance. This dual role can create tension, as what benefits an individual does not always serve the collective.

From a systemic perspective, leadership involves three core tasks: supporting people’s growth, providing clear strategic direction, and ensuring organizational effectiveness through functioning structures and processes. Systemic coaching techniques support these tasks by helping individuals distinguish between descriptions, explanations and valuations, which are often mixed in everyday thinking. Tools such as circular questions or the miracle question encourage perspective shifts and make alternative interpretations visible. To further develop systemic thinking skills, Timm Richter recommends engaging with systemic literature, particularly the works of Fritz B. Simon.

Conclusion: Why Systemic Thinking Matters for Modern Leadership

Systemic thinking does not offer quick solutions, but it sharpens awareness of how problems, roles and realities are constructed. In coaching, it creates space for clarifying goals, questioning established interpretations and developing greater flexibility in action. In leadership contexts, it helps distinguish between supporting individual growth, setting direction and ensuring organizational effectiveness. Ultimately, systemic thinking invites continuous reflection on perception, responsibility and the consequences that follow from both.