Season 6 Bonus Episode
The Observer Effect: How Awareness Shapes the Systems Coaching Process

In this conversation, Katie welcomes CRR Global co-founder Marita Fridjhon to the show to discuss the observer effect in systems coaching. Research in relational psychology and systems theory supports the idea that change arises in relationships, not in isolation. The observer effect reminds us that systems work- whether that be in a coaching session or group supervision- is a co-creative process. It is not just about analysing data, but about what becomes possible in the presence of mindful, attuned witnessing.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• In physics, the observer effect refers to how the act of observing a phenomenon can change its behavior. While the term originates in quantum mechanics, the concept is increasingly relevant to fields that rely on human presence, awareness, and relational engagement—including coaching supervision.
• The observer effect reflects a foundational truth: presence is not neutral. The supervisor is a co-participant in the relational field, actively shaping what unfolds. Observation becomes a force of change—not because of analysis, but because of mindful, attuned witnessing.
• Systems workers engaged in this model relational intelligence recognize that their tone, posture, silence, or intuitive nudge can shift the system. Whether through a well-timed pause or a single moment of spacious attention, their presence invites the supervisee to access greater awareness and possibility.
• When systems workers bring grounded, intentional presence, they create a field that is safe enough for emergence and brave enough for insight. This presence doesn’t seek to fix, but to facilitate a deepened seeing—one that includes the coach, the client, and the unseen patterns shaping the work.

Marita Fridjhon is co-founder of CRR Global and mentor to an ever-growing community of practitioners in the field of Relationship Systems work. She came to this work from an extensive background in clinical social work, community development, process work, family systems therapy, business consulting and alternative dispute resolution. Her primary focus in coaching is on systemic change, leveraging differences, creative communication, deep democracy in conflict management and the development of learning organizations.

For over 20 years, CRR Global has accompanied leaders, teams, and practitioners on their journey to build stronger relationships by focusing on the relationship itself, not only the individuals occupying it. This leads to a community of changemakers around the world. Supported by a global network of faculty and partners, we connect, inspire and equip change agents to shift systems, one relationship at a time.

We believe Relationship Matters, from humanity to nature, to the larger whole.

Season 6 Bonus Episode
Exploring Right Relationship with Grief

In this powerful conversation, I talk with coach supervisor and CRR faculty member Daphne Taylor about what it means to be in right relationship with death and dying. Whilst this may feel like a heavy topic, we hold it with lightness and love, and in many ways the discussion is as much about what it means to be in right relationship with life and living. This conversation feels important and hopeful, and our intention is to create a space for more conversations like this to happen.

What you’ll gain from this episode:

• Simple strategies for opening discussions around death and dying.
• An awareness of the complexity of the grief process.
• A systemic perspective on how to help someone in grief.
• Reflections on the nature of life through the lens of death.
• Appreciation of the importance of talking about death.

Daphne Taylor is CRR Global faculty and was Front of Room and Certification faculty over a period of 13 years. Now, she is part of the team producing CRR Global’s new systemic supervision program. Her husband, Paul, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2015 and given 12-18 months to live. They had been married for 34 years and had a strong, loving relationship and were just emerging from the years of childrearing to planning exciting adventures ahead. Paul lived for 18 months and died in a hospice just after his 60th birthday in 2017.

For over 20 years, CRR Global has accompanied leaders, teams, and practitioners on their journey to build stronger relationships by focusing on the relationship itself, not only the individuals occupying it. This leads to a community of changemakers around the world. Supported by a global network of faculty and partners, we connect, inspire, and equip change agents to shift systems, one relationship at a time.

We believe Relationship Matters, from humanity to nature, to the larger whole.

Season 6 Bonus Episode
Seeing That Frees: Shifting our perception from a world of objects to a web of relationship

In this podcast, Katie Churchman speaks with CRR Global faculty member Janet Frood and Systems worker Tom Mansfield about the Cards for Life project and its applications in coaching and organizational development. The project was designed to bridge personal development and environmental awareness, serving as "permission slips" or "portals" to shift perspectives, access emotions, and facilitate deeper conversations in team and organizational settings. Throughout this conversation, they explore ways to synthesise different concepts and experiences, leverage the wisdom of nature within systems coaching, and embody metaskills. This fascinating conversation invites us to connect our inner personal work with outer systemic concerns, offering coaches practical ways to shift emotional fields in their work. 

https://paleblueperspective.com/cards-for-life 

Janet Frood is an executive, leadership, and team coach and founder of Horizon Leadership Institute, based in Canada. She is a caring and provocative ally for leaders and organizations as they boldly transform. She is also a sought-after workshop facilitator on topics including change resilience, team trust, and courageous leadership. She is skilled in developing the relationship architecture of teams and fostering conditions for a healthy organizational culture. Janet recognizes the grounding and regenerative power of the natural world and weaves nature-based experiences and labyrinth facilitation work into team coaching and retreat offerings. These practices invite clients to engage in deeper reflection, somatic awareness, and holistic integration. 

Tom Mansfield has developed the tool Cards for Life, which supports individuals and teams to bring living systems thinking into cultures and organizations. The cards work as a guidance system and a shared language to define regeneration in particular situations, sectors, and contexts. He's the founder of Pale Blue, where he offers coaching and consulting in service to planetary health and creates frameworks for regenerative practice in business and organizational design.

For over 20 years, CRR Global has accompanied leaders, teams, and practitioners on their journey to build stronger relationships by focusing on the relationship itself, not only the individuals occupying it. This leads to a community of changemakers around the world. Supported by a global network of Faculty and Partners, we connect, inspire, and equip change agents to shift systems, one relationship at a time.

We believe Relationship Matters, from humanity to nature, to the larger whole.

In this episode, Katie Churchman talks with CRR Global faculty member Stephen Burke about the importance of pre-framing. Pre-framing involves considering the lens through which we look before stepping into a conversation, meeting, or project. In this conversation, we explore how pre-framing can help systems workers and their clients navigate conflict, change, and uncertainty. Whether we are delivering difficult news or providing feedback, how might the way we frame the conversation help us to positively influence the emotional field.

What you’ll gain from this episode:

• Awareness around the power and importance of pre-framing in coaching
• Strategies for shifting the lenses we look through
• An understanding of the impact of unconscious energy
• Tools for consciously thinking about how you want to ‘BE’ in any given situation 
• Appreciation of the importance of metaskills and conscious and intentional impact

Stephen Burke is a teaching faculty member for CRR Global’s Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC) training. He combines deep corporate experience, knowledge of startup and innovation processes, and extensive global executive and team coaching and leadership development experience to develop leaders and startup teams globally. An Aerospace Engineer who also holds a master’s degree in Mindfulness studies and holds the ICFs PCC and ACTC certifications. British by birth, German by naturalization and a US permanent resident, Stephen considers himself a citizen of the world and has worked globally. 

For over 20 years, CRR Global has accompanied leaders, teams, and practitioners on their journey to build stronger relationships by focusing on the relationship itself, not only the individuals occupying it. This leads to a community of changemakers around the world. Supported by a global network of Faculty and Partners, we connect, inspire, and equip change agents to shift systems, one relationship at a time

We believe Relationship Matters, from humanity to nature, to the larger whole.

Energy Part 3: The impact of directing positive energy into the world

What you’ll gain from this episode:

• How to learn how to access different energies within ourselves that we’d like to experience more in the world.
• The power of broadcasting energy
• Ways to attune to the body’s intelligence and incorporate this wisdom into coaching.
• How energy awareness allows us to access the essence of the three levels of reality.
• The importance of attending to energetic fields, using sounds, smell, and movement.

Click here to listen to Part 1: The Importance of Energy Awareness in Systems Coaching and Part 2: Navigating and Managing Other People's Energy. 

Molly Flanagan has over 18 years of experience as a coach, facilitator, and organizational culture expert, bringing a unique blend of professional expertise and deep holistic practices to her work. Her global perspective as a United Nations international civil servant has shaped her approach, guiding clients through complex transitions with compassion, clarity, and vision. At the heart of her mission is the cultivation of intimacy, embodiment, and flourishing within human systems, while building a more vibrant, just future for all. Molly’s clients are purpose-driven leaders and organizations ready to expand their impact and redesign their lives and workplaces with courage, creativity, and care.

For over 20 years, CRR Global has accompanied leaders, teams, and practitioners on their journey to build stronger relationships by focusing on the relationship itself, not only the individuals occupying it. This leads to a community of changemakers around the world. Supported by a global network of Faculty and Partners, we connect, inspire, and equip change agents to shift systems, one relationship at a time

We believe Relationship Matters, from humanity to nature, to the larger whole.

Energy Part 2: Navigating and managing other people’s energy

What you’ll gain from this episode:

• Tips for creating more energy hygiene for yourself and your relationships.
• An understanding of energy dissonance and coherence in our relationships.
• Ways to bring more energy harmonization into your life
• The importance of revealing the emotional field to a system
• The power of rituals to clear our energy between meetings. 

Click here to listen to Part 1: The Importance of Energy Awareness in Systems Coaching.

Molly Flanagan has over 18 years of experience as a coach, facilitator, and organizational culture expert, bringing a unique blend of professional expertise and deep holistic practices to her work. Her global perspective as a United Nations international civil servant has shaped her approach, guiding clients through complex transitions with compassion, clarity, and vision. At the heart of her mission is the cultivation of intimacy, embodiment, and flourishing within human systems, while building a more vibrant, just future for all. Molly’s clients are purpose-driven leaders and organizations ready to expand their impact and redesign their lives and workplaces with courage, creativity, and care.

For over 20 years, CRR Global has accompanied leaders, teams, and practitioners on their journey to build stronger relationships by focusing on the relationship itself, not only the individuals occupying it. This leads to a community of changemakers around the world. Supported by a global network of Faculty and Partners, we connect, inspire, and equip change agents to shift systems, one relationship at a time

We believe Relationship Matters, from humanity to nature, to the larger whole.

Energy Part 1: The Importance of Energy Awareness in Systems Coaching

What you’ll gain from this episode:

• An understanding of why energy awareness is essential in Relationship work.
• Strategies for tuning into energy, in yourself, and with others
• Awareness of why being aware of your energy is essential as a coach
• Using energy to create a certain impact 
• An awareness of the power of energy to shift emotional fields. 

Molly Flanagan has over 18 years of experience as a coach, facilitator, and organizational culture expert, bringing a unique blend of professional expertise and deep holistic practices to her work. Her global perspective as a United Nations international civil servant has shaped her approach, guiding clients through complex transitions with compassion, clarity, and vision. At the heart of her mission is the cultivation of intimacy, embodiment, and flourishing within human systems, while building a more vibrant, just future for all. Molly’s clients are purpose-driven leaders and organizations ready to expand their impact and redesign their lives and workplaces with courage, creativity, and care.

For over 20 years, CRR Global has accompanied leaders, teams, and practitioners on their journey to build stronger relationships by focusing on the relationship itself, not only the individuals occupying it. This leads to a community of changemakers around the world. Supported by a global network of Faculty and Partners, we connect, inspire, and equip change agents to shift systems, one relationship at a time

We believe Relationship Matters, from humanity to nature, to the larger whole.

What you’ll gain from this episode:

• An understanding of how to use reflective practice to update and reimagine the stories we tell ourselves
• An awareness of reflective practice as a powerful ally for crossing edges.
• Insight into how reflective practice can create space within our internal landscape.
• Using reflective practice as a tool for understanding the themes and patterns of our lives.
• Vulnerable examples from Alfred about how reflective practice has helped him to build relationship with different parts of himself.

Alfred De Pew  is a cultural worker, writer, painter and process facilitator who has taught a the Universities of Vermont & New Hampshire, the Maine Arts college, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. His writing workshops have been sponsored by The Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and various community programs throughout the United States and Canada. He served for several years on the faculty of CRR Global as an individual supervisor, certification cohort leader, front of room leader and director of supervision. He lives in Vancouver BC where he offers spiritual accompaniment, astrological consultation, energy work, support for community leader, clergy, writers, artists, intuitive and healing arts practitioners. 

For over 20 years, CRR Global has accompanied leaders, teams, and practitioners on their journey to build stronger relationships by focusing on the relationship itself, not only the individuals occupying it. This leads to a community of changemakers around the world. Supported by a global network of Faculty and Partners, we connect, inspire, and equip change agents to shift systems, one relationship at a time

We believe Relationship Matters, from humanity to nature, to the larger whole.

What you’ll gain from this episode:

• The significance of unfolding in the process of reflective practice.
• An understanding of the importance of slowing down and feeling into the body in reflective practice.
• Ways to enlist the help of the observer, as opposed to blocking them through interpretation and judgement.
• Techniques for deepening signals that show up in reflective practice so that we can amplify and understand them more deeply. 
• Examples from Alfred and Katie that demonstrate how inner work can impact our outer world.

Alfred De Pew is a cultural worker, writer, painter and process facilitator who has taught a the Universities of Vermont & New Hampshire, the Maine Arts college, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. His writing workshops have been sponsored by The Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and various community programs throughout the United States and Canada. He served for several years on the faculty of CRR Global as an individual supervisor, certification cohort leader, front of room leader and director of supervision. He lives in Vancouver BC where he offers spiritual accompaniment, astrological consultation, energy work, support for community leader, clergy, writers, artists, intuitive and healing arts practitioners. 

For over 20 years, CRR Global has accompanied leaders, teams, and practitioners on their journey to build stronger relationships by focusing on the relationship itself, not only the individuals occupying it. This leads to a community of changemakers around the world. Supported by a global network of Faculty and Partners, we connect, inspire, and equip change agents to shift systems, one relationship at a time

We believe Relationship Matters, from humanity to nature, to the larger whole.

What you’ll gain from this episode:

• An insight into the power of reflective practice as a tool for understanding ourselves better in relationship to the world.
• Awareness of how to build reflective practice into your life through journalling, free-writing and drawing.
• Ways to allow our authentic voice to emerge in reflective practice, without editing it out or blocking.
• Techniques that will help you to sit in the process rather than focus on the output or destination.
• Colourful examples from Alfred about the influential impact of journaling in his life as a teacher, coach and mentor.

Alfred De Pew is a cultural worker, writer, painter and process facilitator who has taught a the Universities of Vermont & New Hampshire, the Maine Arts college, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. His writing workshops have been sponsored by The Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and various community programs throughout the United States and Canada. He served for several years on the faculty of CRR Global as an individual supervisor, certification cohort leader, front of room leader and director of supervision. He lives in Vancouver BC where he offers spiritual accompaniment, astrological consultation, energy work, support for community leader, clergy, writers, artists, intuitive and healing arts practitioners. 

For over 20 years, CRR Global has accompanied leaders, teams, and practitioners on their journey to build stronger relationships by focusing on the relationship itself, not only the individuals occupying it. This leads to a community of changemakers around the world. Supported by a global network of Faculty and Partners, we connect, inspire, and equip change agents to shift systems, one relationship at a time

We believe Relationship Matters, from humanity to nature, to the larger whole.