About the Book
As a supervisor, collaborator or organizational coach, you sometimes find yourself in organizations where you intuitively feel that something is off. Proven methods to renew the company don’t have any effect. In that case we'd might speak of system trauma.
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We often link trauma to a person who has encountered an overwhelming event. But trauma can also manifest in the relational tissue of groups. This, for example, happens when an organization is confronted with painful redundancies, terrorism attacks, a natural disaster and all other kinds of overwhelming events. The effect of these can be so destructive that it can immobilize the organization like insidious poison.
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'Stuck? Dealing with organizational trauma' will offer you a wide view on this, until now, emerging field. The hands-on book will give you guidance and insights to track these trauma’s and heal them so the organization can revive.
WHAT HEATHER PLETT SAYS...
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Author of The Art of Holding Space: A Practice of Love, Liberation, and Leadership
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Co-founder of The Centre for Holding Space
This book should be in the toolkit of everyone who leads, supports, influences, and/or holds space for an organization. I wish that I’d had it back in the days when I worked in leadership in government and non-profit. I know that it would have helped me identify and work to heal trauma that I had little awareness of at the time. Recently, I co-founded a new organization, and I know that what I learned in this book will change the way I work with my people.
I especially appreciated the way that Philippe organizes his thoughts and provides helpful illustrations for even the most complex concepts. As a visual thinker, I found the way he explains trauma in an organization by mapping it on the Trauma Cube to be very useful in understanding the complexity and layers involved. I also really appreciated a simple illustration showing the rings of a tree which helps explain how trauma is not linear but that it stays with us, just as the inner rings of the tree continue to stay with the tree even in later years of life.
If you care about an organization and you sense that there may be some trauma that’s keeping your organization stuck, I’m confident that you’ll find something in this book that will help you.
About me
For more than 20 years I have been coaching organizations, teams and individuals. The co-development of individuals, organizations and society is a huge source of inspiration in my work. This has helped me to unravel some recurrent patterns about trauma which I absolutely wanted to share. I am utterly convinced that if organizations are willing to work from a systemic perspective and are willing to let go unhealthy habits, they will become Forces for Good.
For me, the starting point of working with systems and trauma was when I was working as an HR-officer at a Royal Airforce Base in Belgium. In 1996, a Belgian C-130 aircraft - the CH-06 - crashed in Eindhoven. None of the crew members and passengers survived. This overwhelming event was a true turning point in my career.
I wanted to learn more about dealing with these kinds of issues in organizations. After many hours of research, trainings, conversations, … I started working with organizations that were dealing with unhealed trauma. I have learned so much that I was triggered to write about it. I want as many organizations as possible to recognize trauma and give them ways to deal with it.
The Work
(Virtual) Keynotes or Webinars
You want your managers, team leaders, ... to become more trauma-informed?
Your company is recovering from challenging times?
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You are a group of consultants, coaches, ... bumping into organizational trauma and you want to feel more confident when working with this fringe phenomenon?
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You can invite Philippe to design and deliver a customized keynote or webinar about organizational trauma and renewal. You can run through some of his slide decks via this link.
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Philippe has contributed to several global summits:
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Awakening the Field - the Netherlands - Organized by Jan Jacob Stam
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Systemic Leadership Summit - the Netherlands - Organized by Jennifer Campbell - via this link you can listen to my contribution.
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International Systemic Constellation Conference - Australia - Organized by Jonine Lee Gabay
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Oxygen 4 Leaders - Belgium - Organized by Helena Demuynck
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...
(Virtual) Constellations & Supervision
Part of your company is getting stuck in the Trauma Trap? You're looking for an experienced facilitator to monitor what is going on or you'd like to deal with it? You'd like to build a more resilient organization?
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A central method in the work of Philippe is 'organizational constellations'. It's still a big step for a lot of corporate people to open up for this way of working but step by step it's happening. Philippe has been working with constellations for more than 15 years. From time to time he is organizing open workshops for mixed groups or can be invited to facilitate organizational constellations in-company or in a virtual way.
A constellation can also be a great support as a 'navigating tool' for organizational coaches. Are you looking for a sounding board because you're bumping in system trauma, feel free to reach out for supervision.
So, same here, contact Philippe if you're interested in how constellations could support the development of your company or the company you're facilitating.
Training for Professionals
At this moment Philippe is training organizational coaches and leaders to become more trauma-informed. Most of those live training sessions are organized in Belgium or The Netherlands.
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You'd like to organize a workshop or training on organizational trauma for coaches or leaders, feel free to discuss this with Philippe. He's open to travel and used to work in English.
Reviews
Jan Jacob Stam
Bert Hellinger Institute
You’re holding a remarkable book in your hands on a delicate subject.
Trauma in Organizations.
I only can recommend to read it... from your common sense, from your heart, from your soul and for the love of the organization you are contributing to.
Erik de Soir
Military Associate Professor in crisis psychology
'Dealing with organizational trauma’ explores the various aspects of organizational trauma; ways an organization may become traumatized, characteristics of organizational trauma, and ways to intervene in traumatized systems or event preventing systems to get stuck in trauma.
Catherine Carton
Organization Coach
It is partly because of my personal story, but also my business experience, that I am aware of trauma in organizations. This book – which I read while it was being written – has given me much insight. Philippe has managed to give words to my experience. I hope it will inspire you as much as it has me.