My inner team

My inner team

The inner team – working with your inner voices instead of against them Do you know the feeling? Part of you wants to take on the new project, another part warns against it, a third just wants to call it a day. According to Friedemann Schulz von Thun, who developed the model of the inner team (“Innere Mannschaft”), this is not a sign of being torn apart but the normal state of affairs: our personality consists of several inner team members – such as the inner critic, the protector, the pleasure-seeker or the driver – each of whom represents their own concerns, values and fears. Problems do not arise because these voices exist, but when, unheard, they talk each other round, block each other or secretly take the helm. Working with the inner team starts exactly here: inner parts are made visible as concrete team members with a name, a figure and a voice. Who gets to speak today? What does the critic actually want to achieve – and what is it trying to protect against? Which parts have been passed over for a long time? As a rule, something astonishing happens: even seemingly disruptive members turn out to be loyal helpers with legitimate concerns. Once they are heard, they become cooperative. The aim is an inner team leader who maintains a clear stance, listens, facilitates – and then decides: consciously rather than torn back and forth. The tool is suitable for decision situations, inner conflicts and self-management – in coaching, in consulting or for self-coaching. And it combines very well with other methods: inner team members can be located on the lifeline, planted in the resource garden or placed on the systemic board.