Systemic Questioning in Collegial Case Consultation: A Qualitative Exploratory Study from a Systemic Constructivistic Perspective

Abstract

Contemporary organisations operate in environments characterised by increasing complexity, uncertainty and continuous transformation. Under such conditions, approaches based on linear problem-solving and expert-driven interventions are reaching their limits. Systemic coaching offers an alternative perspective by understanding organisations, teams and individuals as interconnected systems in which realities are continuously co-constructed through communication and interaction. Within this perspective, systemic questioning represents one of the central conversational practices for enabling reflection, perspective-taking and the emergence of new possibilities. Although collegial case consultation has become an established format for professional reflection across organisational contexts, little research has explored how systemic questioning is experienced within these collaborative settings. This study addresses this gap through an exploratory qualitative research design grounded in systemic constructivism. Data were generated through a semi-structured focus group involving experienced coaches, consultants and organisational leaders with practical expertise in collegial case consultation. Rather than seeking causal explanations, the study reconstructs participants' subjective experiences and shared interpretations regarding the use of systemic questioning during collegial consultation processes. The findings suggest that participants experienced systemic questions as creating dialogical spaces that encouraged perspective shifts, collective reflection and collaborative meaning-making. Instead of producing direct effects, systemic questioning appeared to facilitate conversational processes through which alternative interpretations, previously unnoticed relationships and new possibilities for action could emerge. Participants also described challenges related to maintaining a systemic stance, avoiding premature solution orientation and tolerating uncertainty throughout the consultation process. From a constructivist perspective, these findings are understood as context-dependent reconstructions rather than objective evidence of effectiveness. The study contributes to systemic coaching research by illuminating how systemic questioning supports collaborative reflection within collegial case consultation while reinforcing the importance of systemic attitudes such as curiosity, not-knowing, resource orientation and second-order observation. It further highlights the relevance of qualitative inquiry for understanding professional learning as a relational and co-constructed process in complex organisational environments