Systems Modeling in Coaching

Definition

Systems modeling in coaching is the use of systems thinking frameworks and mental models to understand how a coachee perceives their situation, how different elements (beliefs, experiences, behaviors, external constraints) connect and influence each other, and how to identify leverage points for change within that system.

In the Book

Dunbar develops systems thinking and modeling as a key Clean Coaching strategy in Chapter 10. Rather than treating each aspect of a coachee's situation as an isolated problem, systems thinking reveals the relationships and patterns that hold the whole together.

She contrasts two approaches: an objectivist coach might draw clear boundaries around a coachee's stated outcome and treat it as fixed and stable. A subjectivist coach using systems thinking recognizes that goals are not single, fixed objects but multiple, interconnected, and fluid—they evolve and change during coaching as the coachee's understanding deepens.

Dunbar illustrates systems modeling through an extended example: a coachee struggling with "time management." Rather than introducing a pre-existing time management model (like Covey's importance/urgency matrix), a Clean Coach using systems thinking asks Clean Language questions about the coachee's personal, symbolic representation of time: "Does your sense of time have a shape or a size?"

The coachee drew a triangle, which through continued exploration became a three-dimensional pyramid with each of the four pyramid points representing a different "pull" on her time from different people and priorities. Her free time was what remained in the middle—which turned out to be virtually nothing. This internally-generated model was far more revelatory than any externally-imposed framework because it emerged from her own mental model of how her time works.

Systems modeling also connects to listening to structure (see separate entry): by understanding the pattern of how a coachee organizes their thoughts and experiences, the coach can see the system. Patterns repeat because they are held in place by a structure, and changing the structure changes the pattern.

Why It Matters

Systems modeling shifts coaching from fixing isolated problems to understanding the whole. It reveals why a coachee's situation persists—not because they lack knowledge or willpower, but because the system holds them in place. It also ensures that solutions address the actual system rather than symptoms. A coachee who discovers their own system—how their time is actually organized, how their beliefs interconnect, how external pressures and internal commitments create their current reality—is far more equipped to find meaningful change than a coachee given an external framework.