This model (original name in German: Drei-Welten-Modell) was created by Bernd Schmid (1990/2002), one of the most famous systemic coaches said to be the founder of the systemic transactional analysis. It suggests that everyone holds different roles depending on the world (systems) they are in and that those roles are what shapes our personality and/or what let’s our personality „shine through“.
(Source of the picture: Wagner, 2014. Accessed 04.01.2021 – https://www.projektmagazin.de/artikel/klarer-kommunizieren-mit-dem-drei-welten-modell_1092131)
The three worlds that are differentiated are the private world, the organizational world and the professional world. „While the differentiation of the private and the business world makes immediately sense, the separation of organizational and professional world requires some explanation“ (Schmid, n.d., p.2).
Differentiation of Professional and Organizational World
When talking about the organizational world, we talk about the complex network within the organizational context. The position you have, the power relations that come with it, and the rules that need to be taken into account. On the other hand, the professional world is concerned with the qualifications you have, your ambitions and ideas of career development. It is concerned with your own perception of your competencies within your profession or the profession you would like to develop into.
Usage in Coaching
Now you may be wondering how this model can be used in coaching. When I use that model, I am looking for the coachee’s understanding of themselves within the systems. It tells me a lot about how they perceive themselves, which conflicts exist between roles, how they relate to other people within their system, and about themselves. For me, it’s especially helpful to understand the reality of the coachee so I tend to use it in the beginning if I consider it as beneficial.
These questions will help you reflect on the model for yourself:
> Which roles do I have within the different worlds?
> Which roles do people in my life have within those worlds?
> How do our roles interact?
> Which roles may have potential for conflict and in which way?
> How do I feel about the roles?
> Which rights and responsibilities come from them?
If you are having trouble grasping the concept of roles let me give you some examples:
In my private life, I have the role of ‚partner‘, ’sister‘, ‚daughter‘, ‚friend‘ and many more. These roles come with certain expectations which are usually defined within the relationship to the other person I am connected to in this role. My responsibility as ‚partner‘ might be to support my partner in case of need. This might conflict with my role as ’sister‘ having to support my sibling in case it’s required. In my professional world, I have the role of ‚coach‘ or ‚trainer‘ while in my organizational world there are additional options such as ‚colleague‘.
Literature:
Schmid, Bernd (n.d.): Das Drei-Welten-Modell der Persönlichkeit. ISB Wiesloch. Last accessed 04.01.2021 <https://bibliothek.isb-w.eu/alfresco/d/d/workspace/SpacesStore/601767f8-64fa-40fc-9fcd-459c9315293e/015_das_drei-welten-modell.pdf>.
Schmid, Bernd (1990/2002): Persönlichkeitscoaching – Beratung der Person in ihren Organisations-, Berufs- und Privatwelten. (Schrift Nr. 06) Band I der Handbuchreihe, Kap. 3.2.3.
Wagner, Elisabeth (2014): Klarer kommunizieren mit dem Drei-Welten-Modell. Rollenkonflikte erkennen und vermeiden. Projektmagazin [online]. Last accessed 04.01.2021 <https://www.projektmagazin.de/artikel/klarer-kommunizieren-mit-dem-drei-welten-modell_1092131>.
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