When the Encounter Itself Is the Method
sysTelios Transfer 2025 Annual Meeting – and What the Nervous System, Role Selection, and Resonance Have to Do with My Work
Every April, the same ritual: 80 people from all corners of the country come “up the mountain”—to Siedelsbrunn, in the heart of the Odenwald. Coaches, therapists, consultants. People who think, work, and operate hypnosystemically. Last year I was only there online—and yet: arriving at the weekend was easy. That says something about this network.
What makes it special? I believe it has to do with what we discussed there in terms of content.
The “Why”
Mechthild Reinhard has sparked discussion on the “why”—on the question of why connectedness is so important right now. And why it is so crucial to embrace not knowing.
In my work with leaders and teams, I experience this regularly: the pressure to provide quick answers is enormous. Those who can endure not knowing—and still remain capable of acting—have grasped something that no framework teaches. This is not a technique. It is an attitude. And attitude needs spaces of resonance where it can form and endure.
The Nervous System Comes First
During an Open Space session on the nervous system and embodiment, something was set in motion that I could still feel days later. Beyond the content itself, it was a very physical experience—and that is precisely the point.
I work hypnosystemically. Among other things, this means I’m interested in the state someone is in—not just what they think or plan. Because a tense nervous system leads to different decisions than one that feels safe and connected. The body reveals what the mind doesn’t yet know. And sometimes a small shift in the body is enough to make a change possible. This requires experience and lived experience, not just insights.
Who decides—and how
Very impressive: the advisory board election using the method of role selection from the circle. How people sense whether a role feels right. How the inner circle decides. How much trust this requires from the outer circle—and how much it generates at the same time.
This is self-organization, which I also experience in my consulting work: When decisions are made in a way that allows people to truly contribute—not just formally, but with their whole being—something changes. In the dynamics. In the trust. In the quality of collaboration. Team development and organizational development that takes this seriously looks different from classic role clarification via an organizational chart.
What I Take Away
These meetings also play a part in how I work. Because I myself am a living system—and systems need places where they can recharge, be challenged, and recalibrate.
I am grateful for that. For sysTelios Transfer and for the many good conversations in between.
What are your resonance spaces—the places or contexts where you recalibrate yourself?
