Andrée Piecq graduated from the Free University of Brussels in the faculty of psychology. During 20 years, she led a parallel career as a therapist, teacher, trainer and speaker in systems analysis. In 1975 she co-founded a center for marital and family promotion where she is still active. She has participated in several research, commissioned by the governement of the belgian french community in the development of criteria to guiding children to special education. She has conducted seminars of the Free University of Brussels, and she also worked there, as an expert in systemic, and to develop a model of school mediation .
From 1989 to 1992, as systemic’s expert, she participated at the experience of intercultural education subsidized by the EEC and at the experience of school mediation established in Brussels Capital Region. She has led and still leads missions in systemic interventions in different professional sectors (education, institution, business), such as restructuring, conflict between department, merger of groups and systemic choice of a collaborator. From 1983 to 1986 she was president of the French-speaking Belgian Federation of Psychologists. In 1984 she founded her first training systemic models and develops the “12 Managings Principles of Systems” and the “circular evaluation”. As a professor at the School of Ergologie of Belgium, she start the first courses in systemic organisation’s approach.
In 2000 she co-founded G.I.R.O.S. (Groupe d’Intervention et de Recherche en Organisation des Systèmes). And to this moment she devoted exclusively to the activities of interventions, training research and systemic therapy.
In 2006 she co-founded and be elected as President of Systems and Organizations ASBL (S & O)
In 2008 she was elected as President of the European Union for Systemic.
In 2009 she develops the treatment plan of a mental health center which she was elected to the presidency.
In 2011 she presided the 8the congress of the European Union for Systemic.
In 2012 she is General Secretary of The European Union for Systemic.
1. Can you briefly describe your field of research?
My research concerned human organizations and it fits in the transdisciplinaire current ; in agrees with the systemic approach.
Three levels are considered in my work : research, training and interventions in organizations.
a. The research concern the development of methods based on the concepts of a systemic approach to analyze organizations. It is based on “12 managing principles of systems” (organizations).” These managing principles are derived from concepts of the systemic epistemology. It studies how organizations operate and its develops working hypotheses to allow the emergence of a better functioning.
b. The Training has the objective to develop modules applied to the organizations starting from systemic analysis and with the research based on “12 guiding principles” and the “ circular evaluation”.
c. The objective of interventions in the organizations is the implementation of the models developed in research, to lead the organization to let emerge its own solutions.
These interventions permit us to refine the models and to compare them to reality, by allowing the round trip from theory to actions and vice versa. This is my way of think.
2. What fascinates you about cybernetics/systems research/system theory?
This is a powerful approach to understand the complexity of the world, of the cosmos, of living organisms, of human societies, of all artificial systems, as technical, organizational, or economic and social.
This way offer the possibilities to have simultaneously, a total and partial vision in a reciprocating motion. This is what we called a “helicopter regard”.
All the possibilities are open. All disciplines can study, to try to understand the meaning of their functioning, based on the same properties such as borders, interaction, emergences, context, totality, feedback, rules…
3. Where do you see or would like to see the field heading? What changes would you like to see?
I would like to see the systemic approach to go out of the expert cenacle without loosing its characteristics, and without become an empty theory.
I hope to find it in all societal aspect, to permit the emergence of hypothesis on the complexity of the world and of the life. After trying to test the hypothesis, to transform that in practices.
4. What impact does your field of research have on society? What practical application for society does it have? Do you see practical applications in your own life? Can you give examples?
The work based on my model has impact on all organizations. It permit to give them access to , their own creativity, their own forces, their own rules and their own power .
My team and I have worked to :
-restructure organizations ;
– permit the elaboration of processes to find the best person to the best post considering the particular management of a team
– make emergence of the fusion of departments without forget their different finality;
-help a society to find the way to manage a offshoring processes after understanding the different rules ; and how they practice the feedback
5. What’s a scholar/writer, whose work inspires you in your own work?
Von Bertalanffy, Watzlawcick, Bateson, Morin, Donnadieu, Prigogine, de Rosnay…….
Please answer the three questions regarding your responsibility with one of the influencing organizations within the systems movement.
1. What does the European Union for Systemics mean to you?
By providing a framework to put in synergy different disciplines ; the European Union for Systemic breaks down barriers between specialists in various disciplines by allowing them to confront their ideas and so it promotes scientific, social, economic and technical development.
2. Why should other people show interest in the European Union for Systemics? What will they experience or learn?
The European Union for Systemic through its transdisciplinary approach opens its doors to all the different fields and allows scientists to confront their views and theories. It has a relational function and a interface function with theoretical, methodological and practical systems
The EUS can also make the link with civil society because it supports training activities , congress, publications, summer universities ….
3. What is your current position or responsibility with the European Union for Systemics?
My actual position is General Secretary of EUS. Last three years I was the president and I was in charge with the 8th congress in Brussels about “Systemic approach of diversity: from knowledge to practice-from practice to knowledge”
