What typical challenges can be better managed after attending the “Systemic Group Dynamics” seminar?

What will you better understand and be able to influence after the seminar?

• Status, roles, alliances: Who influences whom? Who is creating obstacles? And how can you effectively shape your own influence?
• Subgroup phenomena: How do informal groups form—and how do they affect the group as a whole?
• Hidden and “cold” conflicts: Dealing maturely with latent tensions and underlying resistance.
• Silent power in groups: Reading nonverbal signals and implicit social rules.
• Role and positional conflicts: Ambiguities regarding responsibilities or power struggles within the team can be identified early on and addressed.
• Your own impact in groups: How do I gain trust? How do I become effective and influential?
• Big-picture perspective: Understanding and influencing what happens beneath the surface in group dynamics.

What do participants experience that has a lasting impact?

1. Authentic group dynamics in the seminar

Participants directly experience how dynamics arise and unfold—not theoretically, but in the here and now.

• Situation: The seminar does not use case studies; instead, participants are themselves part of a real group system within the seminar.
• Challenge: Dynamics arise spontaneously—often unplanned and emotionally charged (e.g., power, belonging, conflicts)—and cannot simply be ignored or “moderated away.”
• Solution: Learning through experience and reflection. Participants observe themselves within the system, recognize patterns, and apply these directly to their day-to-day leadership roles.
• Analogy: Like being in a room full of mirrors—you don’t see yourself abstractly, but in real time from different perspectives.

2. Direct Feedback Within the System

Participants receive immediate feedback on their behavior and its impact within the group.

• Situation: Feedback arises directly within the group process through interaction with other participants.
• Challenge: Feedback is unfiltered and subjective. It can be surprising and challenge one’s self-image and how others perceive them. At the same time, differences and similarities in perception become apparent.
• Solution: Feedback provided in a safe environment facilitates learning about impact, relationships, and behavior within the system.
• Analogy: Like a navigation system—without continuous feedback, you don’t realize whether you’re on course or veering off track.

3. Reflection with High Personal Relevance

One’s own patterns, leadership styles, and “blind spots” become visible—making the learning process significantly more sustainable than mere theoretical instruction.

• Situation: One’s own perceptual filters, roles, and behavioral patterns become visible through feedback and experiences in the group process.
• Challenge: These blind spots are often deeply ingrained in everyday life and difficult to access—especially for experienced leaders.
• Solution: In-depth reflection in a group setting enables lasting insights and genuine behavioral change rather than merely acquiring knowledge.
• Analogy: Like an iceberg—what matters most lies beneath the surface. Only when it becomes visible can it be consciously shaped.

Co-authors

Dr. Roswita Königswieser
Partner at KÖNIGSWIESER & NETWORK, Vienna.

Ulrich Königswieser
Managing Director of KÖNIGSWIESER & NETWORK, Vienna.

Claudia Kucera
Management Trainer, KÖNIGSWIESER & NETWORK, Vienna.