Coaching and Consulting

Robert I. Mathis, PhD.


My work is grounded in Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST). It is a different way of viewing human interaction and provides eight concepts to guide the way. The conceptualization of BFST invites leaders to see what is happening inside and around them. It gives ways to develop awareness of the dynamics that influence the leader’s own decision-making. For a leader to recognize the source and nature of his/her emotion-driven decision making is a huge task, and one that provides a different than usual view of leadership. Over the long haul, the leader can learn to become more astute about human functioning, and more savvy about what is hidden to most people. The outcome is a more thoughtful leader.

Current leadership theory has the leader focusing on those he/she leads. "How can I get them to do follow my vision, to think more creatively, to quit complaining and get to the work of the organization, etc. Current leadership theory focuses on getting the right people to do the job, on articulating the vision of the organization in a way that motivates, and on helping others in the organization to work as a team. What is missing is the focus on the leader him or herself. The approach you will find in my work with you is one that helps the leader focus on self in a manner that offers internal clarity and strength of self. The leader will have an opportunity to apply concepts that lead to a more differentiated self.

Working in a coaching relationship, the BFST takes leaders beyond constructs that focus on behavior or organizational development. Rather than simply teaching a set of skills, it offers a method for long-term discover, and a transformation in thinking. When thinking changes at the deepest level; attitudes, emotional programming, and reactivity become less in-focus and substantive organizational change can take place. The theory, in this sense, is evolutionary and revolutionary.

Coaching in BFST is not therapy, though it is therapeutic. It’s not for the faint-hearted, since it does involve diving into one’s history and relating it to the present. It also requires huge doses of humility to acknowledge the extent to which personal decision-making is emotion-driven. For the leader, it requires an attitude of nonjudgmental curiosity.

The goal for the leader is to do his/her family of origin work, in light of the theoretical constructs, identify his/her automatic functioning, and keep the focus on thoughtful presence. Keeping the focus on self will, most likely, bring about queries regarding the change in the leader. At such time, the goal is the same, i.e., keep the focus on self and refuse to elucidate via explaining theory or trying to get others to do the same.

The leader’s work on his or her personal differentiation of self is fundamental to every aspect of the coaching experience. A multigenerational family history is vital to the process of change in self. The leader can learn to view him or herself as a part of interrelated systems. Coaching work in BFST functions like cross training for an athlete when they perform a subsidiary activity to enhance their focus in their primary sport. Leadership consultation concentrates on the maturity of the leader.

Tools and strategies traditionally employed in the name of team-building, can actually serve to work against differentiation, by inadvertently adding to systemic over-connectedness. Thus, a coach steeped in BFST will work with each leader’s ability to clarify his/her self in the presence of others, express those positions clearly and openly, and work for an open and honest relationship with others in the system.

Team building experiences, when conducted from the perspective of BFST, will steer clear of delving into emotion-driven processes that can lead away from efforts to think more clearly about self. The primary leader(s) will no longer focus on the functioning of those they lead but will continue to work on his/her own thinking.


Bowen Family Systems Theory Is

• A way of viewing human interaction,
• A view of human functioning in conjunction with the development of all living things,
• Grounded in natural systems theory, meaning, the constructs are found in all of nature,
• Based in neutrality,
• Objective and non-judgmental,
• Identifies responsibility for one’s own life,
• Consciously chosen interdependence,
• Self-awareness and other awareness,
• Respect for diversity,
• Applicable across culture,
• Dealing with reality and seeking truth,
• A view of the interdependence of all human beings with one another,
• A theory of human interaction that can enhance the ability of a leader to become more thoughtful and less reactive,
• An interlocking set of eight concepts or operating principles that serve as a means for understanding self and the systems in which one operates,
• A collection of strategies that have the proven potential to significantly reduce the level of anxiety a person experiences, and
• A collection of strategies that can significantly increase the impact of a leader in any system, be it a family or an organization.

What Bowen Family Systems Theory Is Not

• A diagnostic tool,
• A quick fix,
• A cause and effect way of looking at the life,
• A theory about faith,
• A way of getting other people to do something,
• A theory about leadership.

Coaching, from the perspective of BFST, is more "thinking alongside" a leader as the leader identifies what is happening in a current question, challenge, issue, or opportunity in the organization. The coaching relationship assists the leader(s) as he/she sorts out what is happening within the system. The coaching relationship provides the leader with a view that assists in keeping in-focus the leader’s participation in the system. More importantly, a good coach does not lose sight of his/her own functioning in the coaching process.