Ego view: seeing the system through the eyes of a figure

What is the ego view?

In a constellation, clients normally look at the system from outside, from a bird’s-eye view. The ego view reverses this: you select a figure and click the eye icon – the camera jumps into that figure’s field of view and you can move around in it. You see who stands in front of you, who behind you, who is near and who is far – as the figure experiences it from its position.

Why the change of viewpoint helps

The change of perspective is regarded as one of the strongest factors in systemic work (see Mechanisms of action). In a classic constellation it is achieved through representatives or imagination. With the ego view it becomes tangible: a conflict that looks abstract from above acquires a line of sight, a distance, a counterpart.

Use cases

• Inner team: every part – the driver, the critic, the protector – has its own figure. From each part’s ego view you can ask: what do I see from here, and what am I missing?
• Decision constellation: looking from the “I” position at the options, but also from an option back at the “I”.
• Team conflict and leadership: how does the manager experience the team, and the team the manager? Switching between both viewpoints makes misunderstandings tangible.
• Family and relationship topics: understanding the counterpart without claiming how they “really” are: the ego view shows a viewpoint, not a fact.

Tips for the session

• Ask rather than interpret: “What do you notice from this position?” is more helpful than explaining how the figure “feels”.
• A figure’s view is a hypothesis. It shows what is spatially laid out in the constellation, not what a person actually perceives (see Criticism and limits).
• In a shared live session every participant can switch to the ego view.

Availability of the ego view and of live sessions depends on the plan; the current overview is under Pricing.

Ego view in the digital constellation board

The ego view is one of several functions of the 3D digital constellation board SYSLIA. Because SYSLIA shows the constellation in three-dimensional space, the view really corresponds to the figure’s field of view and not merely to a rotated top view.