Liberating Structures improves communication, and therefore a great cooporation

Reading Time: 120 minutes

Companies are more and more aware of the fact, that a healthy company culture is essential for business success and there are countless tools, framaworks and methods, which help to improve processes linechange, digital transformation and, as aresult, the value chains.

One of the best tools is communication. A transparent, respectful on eye-level communication throughout the entire company is of utmost importance. A silo mentality is poisson for successful business.

Although we are talking a lot, real communication is often a problem for us. But there is a solution for every problem 🙂 Smartpeople have designed and developed greatsolutions, to improve corporation. I am quite fondof this approach and I like to present some of them. In this post, I will write about Liberating Structures.

Liberating Structures – structures that liberate

Nowadays the way we work and cooperate is changing. In fact the whole world and our society is changing. Customers become more demanding and this also goes for employees. People want to be trusted (as a person and because of their skills), they want to be respected and valued because of their personality and mindset and to be regarded as an individual. To achieve this kind of save environment, the daily work has to be transformed.

But this is not always the case. Yet.

Never-ending meetings and PowerPoint presentations…

Everyone experiences them occasionally, some even often: meetings, PowerPoint presentations or brainstorming sessions in which the attention, energy and commitment of the participants tend towards zero after a short time. And this despite having been prepared with the best intentions.

The organisation hopes for an interactive meeting where participants can express their own goals and opinions on the topic. However, in practice, good intentions are often not enough to get the participants to make an active contribution.

The result is that only a few people actually get involved and influence the outcome of the meeting. These are then the ones with the loudest voice or the people who are higher up in the hierarchy (Hippo: Highest Paid Persons Opinion). Of course, the loudest voice does not necessarily announce the best ideas. Nor is the salary level an indicator of the quality of the concrete contribution that the recipient makes to the organisation or company.

It is therefore not always clear whether the best possible result was achieved with the meeting. In any case, it can usually be assumed that the creative and innovative potential of the group has not been optimally exploited. A pity for the invested time and energy. And also a missed opportunity to ensure that decisions really have strong support. Unity and innovation cannot be created in this way. The same applies to the realisation of changes in the organisation.

It is undisputed that a different approach is needed here. The fact that this is now possible without any problems is also. It does not even have to be difficult. Liberating Structures offer a good approach to this common problem.

While there will always be some justification for blaming leaders (or professors and administrators in education), the more compelling and useful explanation is not that people involved are bad, stupid or incompetent, but rather that the practices they have all learned are neither adapted to today’s realities nor designed to achieve the ideals listed above.

Conventional structures are either too inhibiting (presentations, status reports and managed discussions) or too loose and disorganized (open discussions and brainstorms) to creatively engage people in shaping their own future. They frequently generate feelings of frustration and/or exclusion and fail to provide space for good ideas to emerge and germinate. This means that huge amounts of time and money are spent working the wrong way. More time and money are then spent trying to fix the unintended consequences.

Let’s liberate!

A change of communication, is also a change of culture. As a nice side effect 😉 Let’s start exploring Liberating Structures!

The principles

A short introduction:

Liberating Structures are a selection of 33 alternative structures for facilitating meetings and conversations, curated by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless.

What’s the value in them?

There are five main conventional “microstructures” that we default to in organisations and groups:

Presentations
Managed discussions
Status reports
Open discussions
Brainstorms

The problem with these is they are either too constraining (in the case of presentations, managed discussions and status reports) or too loose (in the case of open discussions and brainstorms).

Liberating Structures, on the other hand, are designed to embrace distributed control and include a fairer, larger number of people in shaping the next steps. The benefits? Innovation, inclusion, participation, clarity, purpose, fun… you’ll see when you experience them 😉 These are also important values, when carrying out a digital transformation.

There are three ways to describe how Liberating Structures function and make a difference in the field. These include LS as:

An Innovation Tool Chest
Habits Which Reveal New Strategy
Catalysts For A Movement

Each lens draws out different attributes of the Liberating Structures palette. For each lens, several stories illuminate how positive change has unfolded in the field.

1. Innovation Tool Chest: LS are seriously playful methods that help novices become expert contributors in any innovation effort. From the grass roots up and the fringe in, everyone can be included and unleashed. The wise crowd can outperform experts on very complex challenges. LS spark innovation and better-than-expected results by tapping new voices and local know-how.

2. Habits that Reveal New Strategy: LS microstructures make it easy to shift everyday habits and interaction patterns in a way that the vast majority is included in shaping direction. Most change programs focus on developing strategies and values with the assumption that habits will follow. In our experience, knowing is not necessarily doing. LS focus on habits with the assumption that values and strategies will follow. The path forward is mutually shaped as planners and doers are reconnected.

3. Catalysts For a Movement: In contrast to managing a project, LS catalyze a broad movement. Leaders responsibly let go of over-control in a way that invites more local action and momentum. Leadership is more distributed: waiting for someone else or gaming the system is replaced by more freedom, self-organization, and mutual accountability. Guided by must-do and must-not-do principles (aka Min Specs), a movement spreads without central control. ALeader who responsibly let go and got better than expected results:

Consultant Neil McCarthy coaches a global corporation to coordinate IT engineering challenges in “Straight Up Business: You Are the Setter, Not the Spiker.” His approaches catch on via an informal grapevine.

Including More People in Coordinating Global Operations

This is absolutely according to my mindset. Cooporation and diversity lead to the best results.

Liberating Structures add 33 more options to the big five conventional approaches, named above:

Presentations
Managed discussions
Status reports
Open discussions
Brainstorms

Klick the item titles, to read. Source: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/ The texts below are not complete. It would make this article even longer,than it is already 🙂 Below the text of each accordion block, there is a link to the original source. But I am sure, that you will get a good first insight 🙂 Enjoy exploring.

I wouldn’t recommend to read them all at once, but to pick the title which triggers you. Most microstuctures have almost the same structure (funny sentence 🙂 )

What is made possible? You can immediately include everyone regardless of how large the group is. You can generate better ideas and more of them faster than ever before. You can tap the know-how and imagination that is distributed widely in places not known in advance. Open, generative conversation unfolds. Ideas and solutions are sifted in rapid fashion. Most importantly, participants own the ideas, so follow-up and implementation is simplified. No buy-in strategies needed! Simple and elegant!

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Ask a question in response to the presentation of an issue, or about a problem to resolve or a proposal put forward (e.g., What opportunities do YOU see for making progress on this challenge? How would you handle this situation? What ideas or actions do you recommend?)

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Unlimited number of groups
Space for participants to work face-to-face in pairs and foursomes
Chairs and tables optional
Paper for participants to record observations and insights

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone in the group is included (often not the facilitator)
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Start alone, then in pairs, then foursomes, and finally as a whole group

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Silent self-reflection by individuals on a shared challenge, framed as a question (e.g., What opportunities do YOU see for making progress on this challenge? How would you handle this situation? What ideas or actions do you recommend?) 1 min.
Generate ideas in pairs, building on ideas from self-reflection. 2 min.
Share and develop ideas from your pair in foursomes (notice similarities and differences). 4 min.
Ask, “What is one idea that stood out in your conversation?” Each group shares one important idea with all (repeat cycle as needed). 5 min.

Source: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/

WHY? Purposes

Engage every individual in searching for answers
Avoid overhelping and the overcontrol-dependency vicious cycle
Create safe spaces for expression, diminish power differentials
Express “silent” conversations and expand diversity of inputs
Enrich quality of observations and insights before expression
Build naturally toward consensus or shared understanding

Tips and Traps

Firmly facilitate quiet self-reflection before paired conversations
Ask everyone to jot down their ideas during the silent reflection
Use bells for announcing transitions
Stick to precise timing, do another round if needed
In a large group during “All,” limit the number of shared ideas to three or four
In a large group, use a facilitator or harvester to record output not shared
Invite each group to share one insight but not to repeat insights already shared
Separate and protect generation of ideas from the whole group discussion
Defer judgment; make ideas visual; go wild!
When you hit a plateau, jump to another form of expression (e.g., Improv, sketching, stories)
Maintain the rule of one conversation at a time in the whole group
Do a second round if you did not go deep enough!

Further details at http://www.liberatingstructures.com/1-1-2-4-all/

What is made possible? You can tap a deep well of curiosity and talent by helping a group focus attention on problems they want to solve. A productive pattern of engagement is established if used at the beginning of a working session. Loose yet powerful connections are formed in 20 minutes by asking engaging questions. Everyone contributes to shaping the work, noticing patterns together, and discovering local solutions.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Ask, “What big challenge do you bring to this gathering? What do you hope to get from and give this group or community?”

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Open space without obstructions so participants can stand in pairs and mill about to find partners

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everybody at once with the same amount of time (no limit on group size)
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Pairs
Invite people to find strangers or colleagues in groups/functions different from their own

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

In each round, 2 minutes per person to answer the questions. 4-5 min. per round
Three rounds

WHY? Purposes

Initiate participation immediately for everyone provided the questions are engaging
Attract deeper engagement around challenges
Invite stories to deepen as they are repeated
Help shy people warm up
Affirm individual contributions to solutions
Emphasize the power of loose and new connections
Suggest that little things can make a big difference

Tips and Traps

Use one challenge question and one give-and-take question
Ask questions that invite participants to shape the direction of their work together
Use Impromptu Networking before you begin meetings and conferences
Use bells (e.g., tingsha) to help you shift participants from first, to second, to third rounds
Ask questions that are open-ended but not too broad
Invite serious play
Have three rounds, not one or two
If you choose to share output, do it carefully and preserve confidentiality

Riffs and Variations

Play with different questions: What problem are you trying to solve? What challenge lingers from our last meeting? What hunch are you trying to confirm?
Taking a group outside a meeting room increases the fun factor
Link to Social Network Webbing
Invite participants to make a simple plan to follow up via 15% Solutions
Make it faster depending on your schedule
Try a lively variation called Liquid Courage (developed by Jamie Owens – Founder of More Than An Option, Inc. and Keith McCandless). Invite each person, in their pair, to finish these open sentences in 1 minute or less: If only…. They make me… I have to… … that’s just the way it is. If they would ____ then I could ______!

Further details at http://www.liberatingstructures.com/2-impromptu-networking/

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

What is made possible?

With breathtaking simplicity, you can rapidly clarify for individuals and a group what is essentially important in their work. You can quickly reveal when a compelling purpose is missing in a gathering and avoid moving forward without clarity. When a group discovers an unambiguous shared purpose, more freedom and more responsibility are unleashed. You have laid the foundation for spreading and scaling innovations with fidelity.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Ask, “What do you do when working on ______ (the subject matter or challenge at hand)? Please make a short list of activities.” Then ask, “Why is that important to you?” Keep asking, “Why? Why? Why?” up to nine times or until participants can go no deeper because they have reached the fundamental purpose for this work.

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Unlimited number of groups
Chairs for people to sit comfortably face-to-face; no tables or equipment needed.

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone has an equal opportunity to participate and contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

First pairs, then groups of four, then the whole group (2-4-All)

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Each person in a pair is interviewed by his or her partner for 5 minutes. Starting with “What do you do when working on ____?” the interviewer gently seeks a deeper answer by repeating the query: “Why is that important to you?” Switch roles after 5 minutes. 10 min.
Each pair shares the experience and insights with another pair in a foursome. 5 min.
Invite the whole group to reflect by asking, “How do our purposes influence the next steps we take?” 5 min.

WHY? Purposes

Discover what is truly important for the group members
Lay the groundwork for the design that will be employed
Ignite organizational momentum through the stories that emerge
Generating a small number of clear answers can help you move forward together with more velocity
Provide a basis for progressive evaluation
Generate criteria for deciding who will be included

Further details at http://www.liberatingstructures.com/3-nine-whys/

How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress.

Niels Bohr

What is made possible?

You can spark innovative action while diminishing “yes, but…” and “either-or” thinking. Wicked Questions engage everyone in sharper strategic thinking by revealing entangled challenges and possibilities that are not intuitively obvious. They bring to light paradoxical-yet-complementary forces that are constantly influencing behaviors and that are particularly important during change efforts. Wicked Questions make it possible to expose safely the tension between espoused strategies and on-the-ground circumstances and to discover the valuable strategies that lie deeply hidden in paradoxical waters.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Ask, “What opposing-yet-complementary strategies do we need to pursue simultaneously in order to be successful?”

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Groups of 4 to 6 chairs with or without small round tables
Paper for recording

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone involved in the work or topic is included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Individually
Small groups (6 people or smaller)
Whole group

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Introduce the concept of Wicked Questions and paradox. Illustrate with a couple of examples of Wicked Questions. Give the following template, “How is it that we are … and we are … simultaneously?” as the sentence to complete by inserting the two opposite strategies that are at play. 5 min.
First alone then in small groups, each participant generates pairs of opposites or paradoxes at play in his or her work using the Wicked Question format. 5 min.
Each group selects its most impactful and wicked Wicked Question. All selected Wicked Questions are shared with the whole group. 5 min.
Whole group picks out the most powerful ones and further refines the Wicked Questions. 10 min.

WHY? Purposes

Describe the messy reality of the situation while engaging collective imagination
Develop innovative strategies to move forward
Avoid wild or “bipolar” swings in policy and action
Evaluate decisions: Are we advancing one side or the other or attending to both?
Ignite creative tension, promoting more freedom and accountability as the discovery process unfolds

Tips and Traps

Make sure that participants express both sides of the paradox in an appreciative form: “How is it that we are ____ and we are ____ simultaneously?” and not in opposition of each other
Use a variety of examples to make the paradoxical attributes accessible
Work in quick cycles, failing forward as you make the questions perfectly wicked
Avoid nasty questions that appoint blame or are unbalanced on one side. Here is an example of a nasty question: “How can we focus on our customers when we are forced to spend more and more time on the headquarters’ bureaucracy?”
Avoid data questions that can be answered with more analysis
Invite participants to include others in making their questions more wicked
Draw on field experience; ask, “When have you noticed these two things to be true at the same time?”
There are no quick fixes to Wicked Questions and you may need to return to the challenge periodically with additional rounds of Wicked Questions
Often a handful of people are very skilled at generating Wicked Questions: let them shine and inspire the rest of the group!

Furhter details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/4-wicked-questions/

What is made possible

In less than one hour, a group of any size can generate the list of conditions that are essential for its success. You can liberate spontaneous momentum and insights for positive change from within the organization as “hidden” success stories are revealed. Positive movement is sparked by the search for what works now and by uncovering the root causes that make success possible. Groups are energized while sharing their success stories instead of the usual depressing talk about problems. Stories from the field offer social proof of local solutions, promising prototypes, and spread innovations while providing data for recognizing success patterns. You can overcome the tendency of organizations to underinvest in social supports that generate success while overemphasizing financial support, time, and technical assistance.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Ask, “Please tell a story about a time when you worked on a challenge with others and you are proud of what you accomplished. What is the story and what made the success possible? Pair up preferably with someone you don’t know well.”

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Unlimited number of groups
Chairs for people to sit in pairs face-to-face; no tables needed.
Paper for participants to take notes
Flip chart to record the stories and assets/conditions

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone is included
Everyone has equal time and opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

First pairs, then groups of 4.
Encourage groups to be diverse

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Describe the sequence of steps and specify a theme or what kind of story participants are expected to tell. 3 min.
In pairs, participants take turns conducting an interview and telling a success story, paying attention to what made the success possible. 7–10 min. each; 15–20 min. total.
In groups of 4, each person retells the story of his or her pair partner. Ask participants to listen for patterns in conditions/assets supporting success and to make note of them. 15 min. for groups of 4.
Collect insights and patterns for the whole group to see on a flip chart. Summarize if needed. 10-15 min.
Ask, “How are we investing in the assets and conditions that foster success?” and “What opportunities do you see to do more?” Use 1-2-4-All to discuss the questions. 10 min.

WHY? Purposes

Generate constructive energy by starting on a positive note.
Capture and spread tacit knowledge about successful field experience.
Reveal the path for achieving success for an entire group simultaneously
By expecting positive behaviors, you can bring them forth (Pygmalion effect)
Spark peer-to-peer learning, mutual respect, and community building.
Give permission to explore complex or messy challenges
Create a new exciting group narrative, e.g., “how we are making order out of chaos!”
Repeating interviews in rapid cycles may point to positively deviant local innovations

Tips and Traps

Flip malaise and negative themes to “When is it that we have succeeded, even in a modest way?”
Start with, “Tell me a story about a time when….”
Ask people to give a title to their partner’s story
Invite additional paired interviews before building up to patterns
Invite participants to notice when they form a judgment (about what is right or wrong) or an idea about how they can help, then to “let it go”
Make the stories and patterns visible to everyone
Learn more from Appreciative Inquiry practitioners at http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/

Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.

Pablo Picasso

What is made possible?

You can clear space for innovation by helping a group let go of what it knows (but rarely admits) limits its success and by inviting creative destruction. TRIZ makes it possible to challenge sacred cows safely and encourages heretical thinking. The question “What must we stop doing to make progress on our deepest purpose?” induces seriously fun yet very courageous conversations. Since laughter often erupts, issues that are otherwise taboo get a chance to be aired and confronted. With creative destruction come opportunities for renewal as local action and innovation rush in to fill the vacuum. Whoosh!

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

In this three-step process, ask:

1. “Make a list of all you can do to make sure that you achieve the worst result imaginable with respect to your top strategy or objective.”
2. “Go down this list item by item and ask yourselves, ‘Is there anything that we are currently doing that in any way, shape, or form resembles this item?’ Be brutally honest to make a second list of all your counterproductive activities/programs/procedures.”
3. “Go through the items on your second list and decide what first steps will help you stop what you know creates undesirable results?”

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Unlimited number of small groups of 4 to 7 chairs, with or without small tables
Paper for participants to record

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everybody involved in the work is included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Groups with 4 to 7 participants
Established teams or mixed groups

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

After introduction, three segments, 10 minutes for each segment
Introduce the idea of TRIZ and identify an unwanted result. If needed, have the groups brainstorm and pick the most unwanted result. 5 min.
Each group uses 1-2-4-All to make a first list of all it can do to make sure that it achieves this most unwanted result. 10 min.
Each group uses 1-2-4-All to make a second list of all that it is currently doing that resembles items on their first list. 10 min.
Each group uses 1-2-4-All to determine for each item on its second list what first steps will help it stop this unwanted activity/program/procedure. 10 min.

Check out this video of Keith using TRIZ at CIMIT (the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovation Technology) in Boston. The focus is on improving primary care by making space for move innovation. Each seriously fun step in TRIZ is illustrated.

WHY? Purposes

Make it possible to speak the unspeakable and get skeletons out of the closet
Make space for innovation
Lay the ground for creative destruction by doing the hard work in a fun way
TRIZ may be used before or in place of visioning sessions
Build trust by acting all together to remove barriers

Tips and Traps

Enter into TRIZ with a spirit of serious fun
Don’t accept ideas for doing something new or additional: be sure suggestions are about stopping activities or behaviors, not about starting new things. It is worth the wait.
Begin with a VERY unwanted result, quickly confirm your suggestion with the group
Check in with groups that are laughing hard or look confused
Take time for groups to identify similarities to what they are doing now and explore how this is harmful
Include the people that will be involved in stopping the activities that come out and ask, “Who else needs to be included?”
Make real decisions about what will be stopped (number your decisions 1,2,3…) in the form of “I will stop” and “we will stop.”

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/6-making-space-with-triz/

You cannot cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.

R. Tagore

What is made possible?

You can reveal the actions, however small, that everyone can do immediately. At a minimum, these will create momentum, and that may make a BIG difference. 15% Solutions show that there is no reason to wait around, feel powerless, or fearful. They help people pick it up a level. They get individuals and the group to focus on what is within their discretion instead of what they cannot change. With a very simple question, you can flip the conversation to what can be done and find solutions to big problems that are often distributed widely in places not known in advance. Shifting a few grains of sand may trigger a landslide and change the whole landscape.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

In connection with their personal challenge or their group’s challenge, ask, “What is your 15 percent? Where do you have discretion and freedom to act? What can you do without more resources or authority?”

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Unlimited number of groups.
Chairs for people to sit in groups of 2-4; no tables required.

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone is included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

First alone
Then in pairs or small groups

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

First alone, each person generates his or her own list of 15% Solutions. 5 min.
Individuals share their ideas with a small group (2 to 4 members). 3 min. per person and one person at a time
Group members provide a consultation to one another (asking clarifying questions and offering advice). 5 to 7 min. per person and one person at a time

WHY? Purposes

Move away from blockage, negativism, and powerlessness
Have people discover their individual and collective power
Reveal bottom-up solutions
Share actionable ideas and help one another
Build trust
Remember unused capacity and resources (15 percent is always there for the taking)
Reduce waste
Close the knowing-doing gap

Tips and Traps

Check each item to assure that it is within the discretion of the individual
Be ready for BIG things to emerge via the butterfly effect
Reinventing the wheel is OK
Each 15% Solution adds to understanding of what is possible
Clear, common purpose and boundaries will generate coherence among many 15% Solutions
Make it a routine to ask for 15% Solutions in meetings (15% Solutions are otherwise commonly unnoticed and overlooked)
While introducing the idea, tell a story about a small change made by an individual that sparked a big result
Learn more from professor Gareth Morgan, who has popularized the concept at www.imaginiz.com/index.html under the tab Provocative Ideas

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/7-15-solutions/

To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, welcome, to accept.

Henri Nouwen

What is made possible?

You can help people gain insight on issues they face and unleash local wisdom for addressing them. In quick round-robin “consultations,” individuals ask for help and get advice immediately from two others. Peer-to-peer coaching helps with discovering everyday solutions, revealing patterns, and refining prototypes. This is a simple and effective way to extend coaching support for individuals beyond formal reporting relationships. Troika Consulting is always there for the asking for any individual who wishes to get help from colleagues or friends.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite the group to explore the questions “What is your challenge?” and “What kind of help do you need?”

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Any number of small groups of 3 chairs, knee-to-knee seating preferred. No table!

3. How Participation Is Distributed

In each round, one participant is the “client,” the others “consultants”
Everyone has an equal opportunity to receive and give coaching

4. How Groups Are Configured

Groups of 3
People with diverse backgrounds and perspectives are most helpf Tthis fits mymindset again. Diversity is a great source creative solutions)

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Invite participants to reflect on the consulting question (the challenge and the help needed) they plan to ask when they are the clients. 1 min.
Groups have first client share his or her question. 1-2 min.
Consultants ask the client clarifying questions. 1-2 min.
Client turns around with his or her back facing the consultants
Together, the consultants generate ideas, suggestions, coaching advice. 4-5 min.
Client turns around and shares what was most valuable about the experience. 1-2 min.
Groups switch to next person and repeat steps.

WHY? Purposes

Refine skills in asking for help
Learn to formulate problems and challenges clearly
Refine listening and consulting skills
Develop ability to work across disciplines and functional silos
Build trust within a group through mutual support
Build capacity to self-organize
Create conditions for unimagined solutions to emerge

Tips and Traps

Invite participants to form groups with mixed roles/functions
Suggest that participants critique themselves when they fall into traps (e.g., like jumping to conclusions)
Have the participants try to notice the pattern of support offered. The ideal is to respectfully provoke by telling the client “what you see that you think they do not see”
Tell participants to take risks while maintaining empathy
If the first round yields coaching that is not good enough, do a second round
Beware that two rounds of 10 minutes per client is more effective than one round of 20 minutes per client.
Keep the spaces safe: if you share anything, do it judiciously
Questions that spark self-understanding or self-correction may be more powerful than advice about what to do
Tell clients to try and stay focused on self-reflection by asking, “What is happening here? How am I experiencing what is happening?”
Make Troika Consulting routine in meetings and conferences

Further details on: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/8-troika-consulting/

What is made possible?

You can help groups reflect on a shared experience in a way that builds understanding and spurs coordinated action while avoiding unproductive conflict. It is possible for every voice to be heard while simultaneously sifting for insights and shaping new direction. Progressing in stages makes this practical—from collecting facts about What Happened to making sense of these facts with So What and finally to what actions logically follow with Now What. The shared progression eliminates most of the misunderstandings that otherwise fuel disagreements about what to do. Voila!

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

After a shared experience, ask, “WHAT? What happened? What did you notice, what facts or observations stood out?” Then, after all the salient observations have been collected, ask, “SO WHAT? Why is that important? What patterns or conclusions are emerging? What hypotheses can you make?” Then, after the sense making is over, ask, “NOW WHAT? What actions make sense?”

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Unlimited number of groups
Chairs for people to sit in small groups of 5-7; small tables are optional
Paper to make lists
Flip chart may be needed with a large group to collect answers
Talking object * (optional)

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone is included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute at each table
Small groups are more likely to give voice to everyone if one person facilitates and keeps everybody working on one question at a time

4. How Groups Are Configured

Individuals
Groups of 5-7
Whole group
Groups can be established teams or mixed groups

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

If needed, describe the sequence of steps and show the Ladder of Inference (see below). If the group is 10–12 people or smaller, conduct the debrief with the whole group. Otherwise, break the group into small groups.
First stage: WHAT? Individuals work 1 min. alone on “What happened? What did you notice, what facts or observations stood out?” then 2–7 min. in small group. 3–8 min. total.
Salient facts from small groups are shared with the whole group and collected. 2–3 min.
If needed, remind participants about what is included in the SO WHAT? question.
Second stage: SO WHAT? People work 1 min alone on “Why is that important? What patterns or conclusions are emerging? What hypotheses can I/we make?” then 2–7 min. in small group. 3–8 min. total.
Salient patterns, hypotheses, and conclusions from small groups are shared with the whole group and collected. 2–5 min.
Third stage: NOW WHAT? Participants work 1 min. alone on “Now what? What actions make sense?” then 2–7 min. in small group. 3–8 min. total.
Actions are shared with the whole group, discussed, and collected. Additional insights are invited. 2–10 min.

WHY? Purposes

Build shared understanding of how people develop different perspectives, ideas, and rationales for actions and decisions
Make sure that learning is generated from shared experiences: no feedback = no learning
Avoid repeating the same mistakes or dysfunctions over and over
Avoid arguments about actions based on lack of clarity about facts or their interpretation
Eliminate the tendency to jump prematurely to action, leaving people behind
Get all the data and observations out on the table first thing for everyone to start on the same page
Honor the history and the novelty of what is unfolding
Build trust and reduce fear by learning together at each step of a shared experience
Make sense of complex challenges in a way that unleashes action
Experience how questions are more powerful than answers because they invite active exploration

Tips and Traps

Practice, practice, practice … then What, So What, Now What? will feel like breathing
Check with small groups to clarify appropriate answers to each question (some groups get confused about what fits in each category) and share examples of answers with the whole group if needed
Note that the expression of emotions can be observed as a “What” (e.g., “many people were smiling and laughing” rather than suggesting people were “happy”)
When sharing with the whole group, collect one important answer at a time. Don’t try to collect answers from each group or invite a long repetitive list from a single group. Seek out unique anwsers that are full of meaning.
Intervene quickly and clearly when someone jumps up the Ladder of Inference
Don’t jump over the So What? stage too quickly. It can be challenging for people to link observations directly to patterns. It is the most difficult of the three Whats. Use the Ladder of Inference as a reminder of the logical steps “up the ladder” from observations to action.
Appreciate candid feedback and recognize it
Build in time for the debrief—don’t trivialize it, don’t rush it
Make it the norm to debrief with W³, however quickly, at the end of everything

Riffs and Variations

Use a talking object for each round. It slows and deepens the productivity of W³
For the What? question, spend time sifting items that arise into categories. For example, facts with evidence (e.g., every person in the group spoke) and feelings (e.g., I felt joy, people in my group were smiling and laughing, I moved through despair into hopefulness)
Add a What If? question between So What? and Now What?
For the So What? Question, sift items into patterns, conclusions, hypotheses/educated guesses, beliefs
Invite a small group of volunteers to debrief in front of the whole room. People with strong reactions and diverse roles should be invited to join in.

Examples

For drawing out the history and meaning of the events prior to your gathering, start a meeting with W³
For debriefing any meeting topic that generates complex or controversial responses
For groups with people who have strong opinions or individuals who dominate the conversation
For groups with people who have difficulty listening to others with different backgrounds
For use in place of a leader “telling” people what to think, what conclusions to draw, or what actions to take (often unintentionally)
As a standard discipline at the end of all meetings
Right after a shocking event
For providing feedback in academic settings (e.g., feedback from students to teachers), many thanks to Barish Golland.

Live the questions now and perhaps without knowing it you will live along someday into the answers.

Rainier Maria Rilke

What is made possible?

DADs make it easy for a group or community to discover practices and behaviors that enable some individuals (without access to special resources and facing the same constraints) to find better solutions than their peers to common problems. These are called positive deviant (PD) behaviors and practices. DADs make it possible for people in the group, unit, or community to discover by themselves these PD practices. DADs also create favorable conditions for stimulating participants’ creativity in spaces where they can feel safe to invent new and more effective practices. Resistance to change evaporates as participants are unleashed to choose freely which practices they will adopt or try and which problems they will tackle. DADs make it possible to achieve frontline ownership of solutions.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite people to uncover tacit or latent solutions to a shared challenge that are hidden among people in their working group, unit, or community. Ask anybody interested in solving the problem to join a small group and participate in a DAD. In the group, ask seven progressive questions:

How do you know when problem X is present?
How do you contribute effectively to solving problem X?
What prevents you from doing this or taking these actions all the time?
Do you know anybody who is able to frequently solve problem X and overcome barriers? What behaviors or practices made their success possible?
Do you have any ideas?
What needs to be done to make it happen? Any volunteers?
Who else needs to be involved?

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

DADs take place in a local setting or unit
Groups may be standing or sitting around a table
Paper, flip chart, or software/projection equipment needed to record insights and actions

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Facilitator introduces the questions
Everyone who is around is invited to join and be included
Everyone in the group has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Facilitator works with a partner to serve as a recorder
Group size can be 5–15 people
Diversity in roles and experience is an important asset

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

State the purpose of the initiative being discussed and the DAD and invite brief round-robin introductions. 5 min.
Ask the 7 questions one by one in the order given in the Invitation. Address them to the whole group and give everyone the opportunity to speak to each question. Make sure your recorder captures insights and action ideas as they emerge—big ones may emerge when you least expect it. 15–60 min.
Ask your recorder to recap insights, action ideas, and who else needs to be included. 5 min.

WHY? Purposes

Engage frontline people in finding solutions to thorny challenges
Discover tacit and latent behaviors and practices that are positively deviant from the norm
Spark the emergence of new solutions
Inspire rather than compel behaviors that solve complex problems
Generate changes that are sustained because they are discovered and invented by the people doing the work, rather than imported and imposed
Solve local problems locally and spread momentum across units
Build relationships between people in diverse functions and levels that otherwise don’t work together to solve problems

Tips and Traps

Question #2 often consists of two parts: how the problem affects the individual personally and how it affects others. For instance, “What do you do to protect yourself from infections and what do you do to prevent infection transmissions?” or “What do you do to keep your students engaged and what do you to keep yourself energized and enthusiastic?”
Hold the DADs where the participants work to minimize obstacles for participation
Make impromptu invitations for people to join in as you enter the area
Create an informal “climate,” starting with introductions and an anecdote if appropriate
Maintain eye contact and sit with the group (not higher or away from the group)
Be sure you talk much less than participants, encouraging everyone to share stories and “sift” for action opportunities
Dramatizing Behavior Change to Stop Infections” in Part Three: Stories from the Field
Notice when you form judgments in your head about what is right or wrong, then count to ten and “let it go” before you say anything (you may need to ask for the help of your recorder or a facilitator colleague)
Avoid statements like “that’s a good idea” and leave space for participants to make their own assessments
Demonstrate genuine curiosity in everyone’s contributions without answering the questions yourself: study at the feet of the people who do the work
Do not give or take assignments!
Don’t judge yourself too harshly: it takes practice to develop a high level of skill with this approach to facilitation. Be sure to ask your recorder for direct feedback.

Riffs and Variations

Use TRIZ-like questions instead of the first three, namely: (1) What can you do to make sure that problem X becomes much worse? (2) Is there anything you are doing that in any way, shape, or form looks like any of the practices you just listed? (3) What is preventing you from stopping these practices?
Use insights and barriers that surface to develop scripts for Improv Prototyping scenes and organize Improv sessions
Use the same sequence and type of questions to guide one-on-one conversations
With virtual groups, use the chat function to share answers to each question, then select powerful stories/behaviors/actions to be vocalized with the whole group

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/10-discovery-action-dialogue/

Below: Presentation materials to introduce DAD. Klick the images, to enlarge

What is made possible?

You can quickly and effectively share several innovations or useful programs that may lie hidden within a group, organization, or community. Shift & Share gets rid of long large-group presentations and replaces them with several concise descriptions made simultaneously to multiple small groups. A few individuals set up “stations” where they share in ten minutes the essence of their innovations that may be of value to others. As small groups move from one innovator’s station to another, their size makes it easy for people to connect with the innovator. They can quickly learn where and how new ideas are being used and how they might be adapted to their own situations. Innovators learn from the repetition, and groups can easily spot opportunities for creative mash-ups of ideas.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite participants to visit several innovators who will share something new or innovative they are doing and that may be of value to them

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

A large space where 5 to 8 stations can be set up far enough from each other to minimize interference with one another
A suitable number of chairs to accommodate the small groups at each station
Space for a display as needed by presenters

3. How Participation Is Distributed

A few members of the group, the presenters, share their work
Everyone else in the small groups has an equal opportunity to participate and contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Presenters set up their individual stations
The whole group is split into the same number of small groups as there are presenters, for instance, 7 small groups if there are 7 presenters
Groups stay together while they rotate through all the innovation stations

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Describe the process: explain that small groups will move from station to station for a 10-minute presentation and brief questions and feedback period. If it wasn’t done in advance, identify the 3 to 7 presenters for the innovation stations (can be people who volunteer in the moment). Form the same number of small groups as there are presenters. 5 min.
Each small group goes to a different station, where presenters conduct their sessions (repeated up to 7 times). 10 min. per station/session
Participants ask questions or provide feedback. 2 min. per station/session
Small groups move to the next station. 1 min. per move
Repeat until groups have visited all stations.
Total time for visiting 6 stations is approximately 90 minutes.

WHY? Purposes

Quickly share ideas and innovations
Enable people to recognize that they are innovating or have the potential to innovate
Build trust and a community of practice among members
Reveal how the formal technological hierarchy can obscure the hidden contributions of frontline innovators
Quickly give participants a sense of the innovation landscape
Explore and expose bottom-up and fringe-in innovations
Spark friendly competition, mash-ups, and collaboration

Tips and Traps

Pick presenters by digging deep into the informal social networks (presentation skills and charisma are less important than content for this approach)
Keep tightly to the schedule: use a loud sound or tingsha bells to signal the shift from one station to the next
When possible prepare the presenters: 10 minutes is much shorter than they are used to!
Invite presenters to tell stories that help the audience make the leap from understanding a small example of behavior change to seeing a broad change in values or a shift in resource allocation, or both
Invite presenters to supplement their presentations with examples and objects that participants can see and touch
Encourage presenters to entertain and engage the imagination of the audience
Trust that people will follow up to get more depth if they are interested

Riffs and Variations

Invite the roving groups to use What, So What, Now What? to debrief what they experienced
Like a PechaKucha Night presentation, add snacks and drinks at each station
Shorten the presentation time to 8 minutes
Do not establish set groups; instead mash up with Open Space (individuals use their two feet to go where they are most curious about and where they are learning something)
If you do a second round, leave a few stations open for impromptu presenters
Use with virtual groups by creating a series of chat rooms. The groups then select a handful of sessions they want to attend
String together with Improv Prototyping to generate variations on ideas presented

Examples

For orienting new members of a research consortium to the depth and breadth of innovations within the whole community
For introducing technology applications at a conference, mixing presenters from within the field with commercial vendors
For highlighting the programs and people from two “sides” of a newly merged organization

Firther details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/11-shift-share/

Below: Presentation materials we use to introduce Shift & Share

What is made possible?

You can help a large crowd generate and sort their bold ideas for action in 30 minutes or less! With 25/10 Crowd Sourcing, you can spread innovations “out and up” as everyone notices the patterns in what emerges. Though it is fun, fast, and casual, it is a serious and valid way to generate an uncensored set of bold ideas and then to tap the wisdom of the whole group to identify the top ten. Surprises are frequent!

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite participants to think big and bold and discover the most attractive of their ideas together by asking, “If you were ten times bolder, what big idea would you recommend? What first step would you take to get started?”

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Open space without chairs or tables
Participants will be standing and milling about
Index cards, one for each participant

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone is included and participates at the same time
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Individually to generate bold idea and first step and write on index card
Everyone standing to pass cards around
Pairs to exchange thoughts
Individually to score the card participants have in their hand
Whole group for sharing highest final scores and ideas

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Explain the process. First, every participant writes on an index card his or her bold idea and first step. Then people mill around and cards are passed from person to person. “Mill and Pass only. No reading.” When the bell rings, people stop passing cards and pair up to exchange thoughts on the cards in their hands. [Another good option is to read the card with no talking]. Then participants individually rate the idea/step on their card with a score of 1 to 5 (1 for low and 5 for high) and write it on the back of the card. This is called “Read and Score.” When the bell rings, cards are passed around a second time “Mill and Pass” until the bell rings and the “Read and Score” scoring cycle repeats. This is done for a total of five scoring rounds. At the end of cycle five, participants add the five scores on the back of the last card they are holding. Finally, the ideas with the top ten scores are identified and shared with the whole group. 3 min.
Demonstrate one exchange-and-scoring interaction using a sample index card to clarify what is expected during the milling, namely no reading of the cards, only passing the cards from person to person so that each person has one and only one card in hand. The process can be confusing for some people. 2 min.

Invite each participant to write a big idea and first step on his or her card. 5 min.
Conduct five 3-minute exchange-and-scoring rounds with time for milling (and laughing) in between. 15 min.
Ask participants to add the 5 scores on the back of the card they are holding
Find the best-scoring ideas with the whole group by conducting a countdown. Ask, “Who has a 25?” Invite each participant, if any, holding a card scored 25 to read out the idea and action step. Continue with “Who has a 24?,” “Who has a 23”…. Stop when the top ten ideas have been identified and shared. 5 min.
End by asking, “What caught your attention about 25/10?” 2 min.

WHY? Purposes

Develop a group’s ability to quickly tap their own very diverse sources of wisdom
Obtain results that are more likely to endure because they were generated transparently from within and without imported advice
Spark synergy among diverse views while building coherence
Encourage novice innovators to think boldly and come up with practical first steps and testable hypotheses
Create an environment in which good ideas and focused experiments can bubble up

Tips and Traps

Some of the scoring may be erratic. If a participant at the end of round five has a card with more or less than five scores, ask the participant to calculate the average of the scores and multiply this average by 5.
Invite the group to choose one big idea and first-action step and revise it so that it is expressed even more clearly and compellingly
Suggest a seriously fun but clear rating scale, for example: 1 = not your cup of tea to 5 = sends me over the moon. The crowd needs to understand and agree with the rating system if it is to be used for decisions.
As you start and demonstrate one exchange-and-scoring interaction, take your time and ask for feedback, particularly if it is a large group.
To make it hard to peek at scoring from earlier rounds, cover the back of the card with a Post-it note
Post all the cards on a wall or on tapestry paper, with the highest-scoring cards on the top

Riffs and Variations

Move to developing action plans or to Open Space with your Top 10
Give more scoring weight to ideas or experiments with testable hypotheses. What evidence would show your idea works? How will you test your idea?
25/10 Crowdsourcing put into play in Japan.
Do a second round of 25/10 Crowd Sourcing that includes others not in the present group (aka Cloud Sourcing!)
Include 25/10 Crowd Sourcing at the beginning and end of a meeting
Array your Top 10 in an Agreement-Certainty Matrix or in the Ecocycle
Instead of asking for bold ideas, ask, “If you could unmake one decision that is holding you back, what would it be? What is your first step to unmake it?”
Instead of bold ideas, ask, “What courageous conversation are you not having? What first step could spark your courage?”
Instead of bold ideas, ask, “What do you hope can happen in the future? What practical first step can you take now to tip the balance in this direction?”

Examples

For prioritizing ideas and galvanizing the community after an Open SpaceTechnology or “Unconference” (participant-driven) meeting
For illuminating bold ideas at the start of a conference or task-force meeting
For wrapping up an important meeting
For a closing circle to share ideas and reinforce bonds among group members. See “Developing Competencies for Physician Education” in Part Three: Stories from the Field.

Further Deatilas at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/12-2510-crowd-sourcing/

What is made possible?

Wise Crowds make it possible to instantly engage a small or large group of people in helping one another. You can set up a Wise Crowds consultation with one small group of four or five people or with many small groups simultaneously or, during a larger gathering, with a group as big as one hundred or more people. Individuals, referred to as “clients,” can ask for help and get it in a short time from all the other group members. Each individual consultation taps the expertise and inventiveness of everyone in the group simultaneously. Individuals gain more clarity and increase their capacity for self-correction and self-understanding. Wise Crowds develop people’s ability to ask for help. They deepen inquiry and consulting skills. Supportive relationships form very quickly. During a Wise Crowds session, the series of individual consultations makes the learning cumulative as each participant benefits not only from being a client but also from being a consultant several times in a row. Wise Crowds consultations make it easy to achieve transparency. Together, a group can outperform the expert!

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs for Small Wise Crowds

1. Structuring Invitation

Ask each participant when his or her turn comes to be the “client” to briefly describe his or her challenge and ask others for help.
Ask the other participants to act as a group of “consultants” whose task it is to help the “client” clarify his or her challenge and to offer advice or recommendations.

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Groups of 4 or 5 chairs arranged around small tables or in circles without tables
Paper for participants to take notes

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone is included
Everyone has an equal amount of time to ask for and get help
Everyone has an equal opportunity to offer help

4. How Groups Are Configured

Groups of 4 to 5 people
Mixed groups across functions, levels, and disciplines are ideal
The person asking for help, the “client,” turns his or her back on the consultants after the consultation question has been clarified.

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Each person requesting a consult (the client) gets fifteen minutes broken down as follows:

The client presents the challenge and request for help. 2 min.
The consultants ask the client clarifying questions. 3 min.
The client turns his or her back to the consultants and gets ready to take notes
The consultants ask questions and offer advice, and recommendations, working as a team, while the client has his or her back turned. 8 min.
The client provides feedback to the consultants: what was useful and what he or she takes away. 2 min.

WHY? Purposes

Generate results that are enduring because each individual and the group produced them together without “outside expertise”
Refine skills in giving, receiving, and asking for help
Tap the intelligence of a whole group without time-consuming up and sideways presentations
Liberate the wisdom and creativity that exists across disciplines and functional silos
Replace boring briefings and updates with an effective and useful alternative
Actively build trust through mutual support and peer connections
Practice listening without defending

What is made possible?

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs for Small Wise Crowds

1. Structuring Invitation

Ask each participant when his or her turn comes to be the “client” to briefly describe his or her challenge and ask others for help.
Ask the other participants to act as a group of “consultants” whose task it is to help the “client” clarify his or her challenge and to offer advice or recommendations.

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Groups of 4 or 5 chairs arranged around small tables or in circles without tables
Paper for participants to take notes

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone is included
Everyone has an equal amount of time to ask for and get help
Everyone has an equal opportunity to offer help

4. How Groups Are Configured

Groups of 4 to 5 people
Mixed groups across functions, levels, and disciplines are ideal
The person asking for help, the “client,” turns his or her back on the consultants after the consultation question has been clarified.

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Each person requesting a consult (the client) gets fifteen minutes broken down as follows:

The client presents the challenge and request for help. 2 min.
The consultants ask the client clarifying questions. 3 min.
The client turns his or her back to the consultants and gets ready to take notes
The consultants ask questions and offer advice, and recommendations, working as a team, while the client has his or her back turned. 8 min.
The client provides feedback to the consultants: what was useful and what he or she takes away. 2 min.

WHY? Purposes

Generate results that are enduring because each individual and the group produced them together without “outside expertise”
Refine skills in giving, receiving, and asking for help
Tap the intelligence of a whole group without time-consuming up and sideways presentations
Liberate the wisdom and creativity that exists across disciplines and functional silos
Replace boring briefings and updates with an effective and useful alternative
Actively build trust through mutual support and peer connections
Practice listening without defending

What is made possible?

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs for Small Wise Crowds

1. Structuring Invitation

Ask each participant when his or her turn comes to be the “client” to briefly describe his or her challenge and ask others for help.
Ask the other participants to act as a group of “consultants” whose task it is to help the “client” clarify his or her challenge and to offer advice or recommendations.

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Groups of 4 or 5 chairs arranged around small tables or in circles without tables
Paper for participants to take notes

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone is included
Everyone has an equal amount of time to ask for and get help
Everyone has an equal opportunity to offer help

4. How Groups Are Configured

Groups of 4 to 5 people
Mixed groups across functions, levels, and disciplines are ideal
The person asking for help, the “client,” turns his or her back on the consultants after the consultation question has been clarified.

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Each person requesting a consult (the client) gets fifteen minutes broken down as follows:

The client presents the challenge and request for help. 2 min.
The consultants ask the client clarifying questions. 3 min.
The client turns his or her back to the consultants and gets ready to take notes
The consultants ask questions and offer advice, and recommendations, working as a team, while the client has his or her back turned. 8 min.
The client provides feedback to the consultants: what was useful and what he or she takes away. 2 min.

WHY? Purposes

Generate results that are enduring because each individual and the group produced them together without “outside expertise”
Refine skills in giving, receiving, and asking for help
Tap the intelligence of a whole group without time-consuming up and sideways presentations
Liberate the wisdom and creativity that exists across disciplines and functional silos
Replace boring briefings and updates with an effective and useful alternative
Actively build trust through mutual support and peer connections
Practice listening without defending

Tips and Traps

Invite a very diverse crowd to help (not only the experts and leaders)
Invite participants to critique themselves when they fall into traps (e.g., jumping to action before clarifying the purpose or the problem). See Helping Heuristics for a complete list of unwanted patterns when helping or asking for help.
Remind participants to try to stay focused on the client’s direct experience by asking, “What is happening here? How are you experiencing what is happening?”
Advise the consultants to take risks while maintaining empathy
Avoid having some participants choosing not to be clients: everybody has at least one challenge!
If the first round is weak, try a second round
Invite participants not to shy away from presenting complex challenges without easy answers

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/13-wise-crowds/

What is made possible? By specifying only the minimum number of simple rules, the Min Specs that must ABSOLUTELY be respected, you can unleash a group to innovate freely. Respecting the Min Specs will ensure that innovations will be both purposeful and responsible. Like the Ten Commandments, Min Specs are enabling constraints: they detail only must dos and must not dos. You will eliminate the clutter of nonessential rules, the Max Specs that get in the way of innovation. Often two to five Min Specs are sufficient to boost performance by adding more freedom AND more responsibility to the group’s understanding of what it must do to make progress. Out of their experience in the field, participants shape and adapt Min Specs together, working as one. Following the rules makes it possible for the group to go wild!

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

In the context of a challenging activity, a new initiative, or a strategic bottleneck, invite the participants to first generate the entire list of all the do’s and don’ts that they should pay attention to in order to achieve a successful outcome. This is the list of maximum specifications (Max Specs).
After the list of Max Specs has been developed, ask the participants to reduce it to the absolute minimum needed to achieve their purpose. Invite them to sift through the list one item at a time and eliminate every rule that gets a positive answer to the question, “If we broke or ignored this rule, could we still achieve our purpose?”

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Groups of 4 to 7 chairs around small tables
Paper to record Max and Min Specs

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone involved in the activity or program can participate
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Start individually then small groups of 4 to 7
Whole group for sharing

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Generate the list of all must-do and must-not-do activities (Max Specs), at first alone for one minute then consolidate and expand in the small group for five minutes. Make list as complete as possible in a short time. 6 min.
Each small group tests each spec on its Max Spec list against the purpose statement. If the spec can be violated and the purpose still achieved, the spec is dropped from the list. 15 min.
Do a second round if needed. 15 min.
Compare across small groups and consolidate to the shortest list. 15 min.

WHY? Purposes

Evaluate and decide what is absolutely essential for success
Open space for new possibilities
Reduce frontline frustration and free people from micromanagement
Focus or redirect resources and energies where it matters
Help guide scaling up and spreading innovations with fidelity
Simplify strategy in fast moving markets

Tips and Traps

Focus attention on a tangible challenge, not a platitude
Start with a complete list of dos
Include as many players/stakeholders as possible
Be ruthless in dropping dos: don’t allow max specs to creep in
Do extra rounds as needed
Make the Min Specs official! Live by them (no “yes but”)
Give more weight to direct experience in the field rather than conceptual knowledge
Keep the Min Specs alive by adapting them based on field experiences and Simple Ethnography observations
If groups are having difficulty, you may need to circle back to clarify purpose and make sure that it is down to what is truly important.
Learn more in Edgeware and from Kathy Eisenhardt at Stanford [YouTube]

Below: Presentation materials we use to introduce Min Specs

Examples

Senator Lynda Bourque Moss used Min Specs to identify the must dos and must not dos for all the stakeholders to share responsibility for preventing the habit of driving while intoxicated and support new state legislation. Read Lynda’s story, “Passing Montana Senate Bill 29” in Part Three: Stories from the Field.
After a company-wide Open Space meeting, Alison Joslyn developed a set of Min Specs with the new project leaders of a corporate turnaround. See “Turning A Business Around” in Part Three.
Include Min Specs with any assignment given or received.
Examples from businesses, London Business School–Donald Sull [YouTube]

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/14-min-specs/

What is made possible?

You can engage a group to learn and improve rapidly from tapping three levels of knowledge simultaneously: (1) explicit knowledge shared by participants; (2) tacit knowledge discovered through observing each other’s performance; and (3) latent knowledge, i.e., new ideas that emerge and are jointly developed. This powerful combination can be the source of transformative experiences and, at the same time, it is seriously fun. Participants identify and act out solutions to chronic or daunting problems. A diverse mix of people is invited to dramatize simple elements that work to solve a problem. Innovations represented in the Improv sketches are assembled incrementally from pieces or chunks that can be used separately or together. It is a playful way to get very serious work done!

*Sources of Knowledge & Innovation, adapted from Alan Duncan, MD (Mayo Clinic), designed for VHA Health Foundation (2006).* Source: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite participants to identify a frustrating chronic challenge in their work, then to playfully experiment, invent, and discover better ways to address the challenge by acting out the situation and possible solutions.

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

An open space or stage at the front or in the middle of a room
If needed, props for the scene or scenes to be offered
Small clusters of chairs to accommodate all participants

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone is included either as players or observers
A few volunteers to be “players”
Everyone else acts as observers and evaluators, then co-creative players

4. How Groups Are Configured

One small group of players on “the stage”
All others, the observers, in small groups in front or around the stage

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Explain what will be done and describe the sequence of steps. 2 min.
Set the stage by describing the scenario that will be acted out and the various roles. 3 min.
Players on stage enact the scene. 3–5 min.
Each small observer group debriefs with 1-2-4-All to identify successful and unsuccessful “chunks” from the scene that they just observed. 5 min.
Each observer group then pieces together the successful chunks into a new prototype and volunteers from within the group act out the new prototype for their own group only. 5 min.
Participants from one of the observer groups who judge that they have an improved prototype volunteer to come on stage and enact their version in front of the whole group. 3–5 minutes.
Continue with as many rounds as necessary to arrive at one or more prototypes that are good enough to put into practice.

WHY? Purposes

Enable people to act their way into new thinking: Improv Prototyping is a rehearsal for real life
Break a task that seems daunting into smaller pieces
Engage and focus everyone’s imagination on solving messy challenges
Break through frozen or resistant behaviors
Create an engaging and fun alternative to dry or unproductive training
Work across functional and disciplinary barriers
Help people learn from peers that have behaviors that solve the problem

Tips and Traps

Be as inclusive as possible: invite everyone in different roles to join in
Draw meaningful themes and dramatic lines for each scene from Discovery & Action Dialogues and Simple Ethnography
Consider creating three supporting roles depending on the complexity of the scenario: stage manager, creative director, and facilitator.
Replay scenes that do not capture the imagination or generate new ideas
Invite people to let go of assumptions and biases by putting themselves in the shoes of others, e.g., doctor plays nurse and nurse plays doctor, student plays professor
Invite creative director to gently redirect the players as needed

Riffs and Variations

With the goal of discovering better (and worse) actions, invite the audience to replay the scene in small groups. Start with separate small groups staging their own impromptu Improvs, then invite face-off competitions judged by an “applause-o-meter”
Link to and string with Design StoryBoards, Shift & Share, and User Experience Fishbowl to help spread the innovations (specify what is and what could be)

Examples

Hospital trainers have substituted Improv Prototyping for conventional courses
For sales reps to invent new ways to interact with their customers
For managers to make their interactions with people who report to them more productive
For health-care providers to practice end-of-life and palliative-care conversations with patients and family members
For teachers to discover effective responses to disruptive classroom behaviors
For training young nurses to stand their ground on safety issues (see “Dramatizing Behavior Change to Stop Infections” in Part Three: Stories from the Field).

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/15-improv-prototyping/

What is made possible?

Participants can gain insight into their own pattern of interaction and habits. Helping Heuristics make it possible for them to experience how they can choose to change how they work with others by using a progression of practical methods. Heuristics are shortcuts that help people identify what is important when entering a new situation. They help them develop deeper insight into their own interaction patterns and make smarter decisions quickly. A series of short exchanges reveals heuristics or simple rules of thumb for productive helping. Try them out!

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite participants to view all human interactions as offers that are either accepted or blocked (e.g., Improv artists are trained to accept all offers)
Ask them to act, react, or observe four patterns of interaction
Invite them to reflect on their patterns as well as to consider shifting how they ask, offer, and receive help

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Any number of participants, standing
No tables in the way of people standing face-to-face!

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone has an equal opportunity to learn and to contribute
Participants switch into one of three possible roles as the activity progresses

4. How Groups Are Configured

Groups of 3: two participants interacting face-to-face in the roles of client and coach plus one observer
Whole group for the debrief

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Explain that there will be four rounds of 1–2-minute improvised interactions. Groups choose one member to be a “client,” another a “coach,” with the third acting as “observer.” Roles can stay the same or change from round to round. The fourth round will be followed by 5 minutes of debrief. 2 min.
During every round the person in the role of client shares a challenge he or she is passionate about. While the observer pays close attention, the coach responds in a sequence of patterns that is different for each round as follows.
During the first round, the response pattern is “Quiet Presence”: the coach accepts all offers with compassionate listening [see the Liberating Structure Heard, Seen, Respected (HSR)]. 2 min.
During the second round, the response pattern is “Guided Discovery”: the coach accepts all offers, guiding inquiry for mutual discoveries (see the Liberating Structure Appreciative Interview). 2 min.
During the third round, the response pattern is “Loving Provocation”: the coach interjects advice, accepting and blocking as needed when the coach sees something that the client does not see (see the Liberating Structure Troika Consulting). 2 min.
During the fourth round, the response pattern is “Process Mindfulness”: the coach and client accept all offers from each other, working at the top of their intelligence while noticing how novel possibilities are amplified. 2 min.
Debrief the impact of all four helping patterns as experienced by clients, coaches, and observers. 5 min.
Based on the debrief, repeat all rounds or only some for all participants to practice various response patterns.

WHY? Purposes

Reduce/eliminate common errors and traps when people are giving or asking for help
Change unwanted giving help patterns that include: premature solutions; unneeded advice; adding pressure to force use of advice; moving to next steps too quickly; trying too hard not to overhelp
Change unwanted asking for help patterns that include: mistrusting; not sharing real problem; accepting help without ownership; looking for validation, not help; resenting not getting enough

Tips and Traps

Encourage people to change roles in each round
Develop trust, inquire humbly, create climate of mutual discovery
Focus on patterns that will help the client finding his or her own solutions (self-discovery in a group)
Do not ignore status differences, the setting, body language, demeanor, subtle signals
The first cycle of four rounds can be used as preparation for deeper work on any single pattern
After initial cycle, let trios choose the patterns they want to focus on in their group

Examples

Used when Wise Crowds or What I Need From You does not achieve a group’s intended purpose—for example, when participants have fallen into one of the unwanted asking for or giving help patterns
For nurses, coaches, teachers, or anyone else in the helping professions to renew and learn new relational skills
For any group working to improve interprofessional coordination
For Liberating Structures facilitators to dig deeper into underlying patterns that cut across many Liberating Structures
For expanding options when frustrated with trying to help another person

Below: Presentation materials we use to introduce Helping Heuristics

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/16-helping-heuristics/

What is made possible?

You can include and engage any number of people in making sense of confusing or shocking events and laying the ground for new strategies to emerge. The format of the Conversation Café helps people have calm and profound conversations in which there is less debating and arguing, and more listening. Sitting in a circle with a simple set of agreements and a talking object, small groups will engage in rounds of dialogue with little or no unproductive conflict. As the meaning of their challenge pops into focus, a consensual hunch is formed that will release their capacity for new action.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite all the participants to gather in small groups to listen to one another’s thoughts and reflect together on a shared challenge

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Unlimited number of 5 to 7 chairs around small tables
Talking object (e.g., talking stick, stone, or art object)
Markers and one or two pieces of flip-chart paper per table optional

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone is included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Mixed, diverse groups of 5–7 participants

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

State the theme of the conversation, usually in the form of a question
Explain there will be four rounds of conversation at every table, two first rounds using a talking object, the third one as open conversation, and a final round with the talking object. Give the duration of each round.
Distribute the talking objects
Read the six Conversation Café agreements. See text in Collateral Material below.
Ask for someone at each table to volunteer as the host. The host is a full participant whose role is to gently intervene only when a participant visibly fails to observe one of the six agreements, most frequently talking on and on
First round with the talking object: each person shares what he or she is thinking, feeling, or doing about the theme or topic. 1 min. per person
Second round with the talking object: each person shares thoughts and feelings after having listened to everybody at the table. 1 min. per person
Third round: open conversation (option to use talking object). 20–40 min.
Fourth round with the talking object: each member shares “takeaways.” 5–10 min.

WHY? Purposes

Make sense of a complex, difficult, or painful situation and lay the ground for being able to move on
Generate new ideas and momentum for innovation
Build shared understanding of how people develop different perspectives and ideas
Avoid arguments based on lack of understanding
Build trust and reduce fear with an opportunity for catharsis
Help participants appreciate that conversation involves talking and listening

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/17-conversation-cafe/

What is made possible? A subset of people with direct field experience can quickly foster understanding, spark creativity, and facilitate adoption of new practices among members of a larger community. Fishbowl sessions have a small inside circle of people surrounded by a larger outside circle of participants. The inside group is formed with people who made concrete progress on a challenge of interest to those in the outside circle. The fishbowl design makes it easy for people in the inside circle to illuminate what they have done by sharing experiences while in conversation with each other. The informality breaks down the barriers with direct communication between the two groups of people and facilitates questions and answers flowing back and forth. This creates the best conditions for people to learn from each other by discovering answers to their concerns themselves within the context of their working groups. You can stop imposing someone else’s practices!

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Ask those in the fishbowl to describe their experience—the good, the bad, and the ugly—informally, concretely, and openly. Invite them to do it in conversation with each other as if the audience wasn’t there and they were sharing stories around a watering hole or stuck in a van on the way to the airport. Firmly, ask them to avoid presenting to the audience.
Invite the people outside the fishbowl to listen, observe nonverbal exchanges, and formulate questions within their small groups.

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Three to 7 chairs in a circle in the middle of a room
Microphones for inner circle if whole group is larger than 30 to 40
If possible, a low stage or bar stools make it possible for people in the outer circle to better see the interactions
As many chairs as needed in an outer circle around the inner circle, in clumps of 3 to 4 chairs
In large groups, have additional microphones ready for outside circle questions

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone in the inner circle has an equal opportunity to contribute
Everyone in the outer circle has an equal opportunity to ask questions

4. How Groups Are Configured

One inner circle group of 3–7 people
One outer circle in multiple small satellite groups of 3–4 people
1-2-4-All configuration for the debrief

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Explain the fishbowl configuration and steps. 2 min.
Inner circle conversation goes on until it ends on its own. 10 to 25 min.
Satellite groups in outer circle formulate observations and questions. 4 min.
Questions submitted to the inner circle are answered, and back-and-forth interaction between inner and outer circles goes on as needed until all the questions are answered. 10 to 25 min.
Debrief using W³ (What? So What? Now What?) and ask, “What seems possible now?” 10 to 15 min.

WHY? Purposes

Get down-to-earth field experience and all the questions and answers about new endeavors out on the table for everyone to understand at the same time
Create conditions for new ideas to emerge
Make space for every participant’s imagination and experience to show up
Build skills in listening, storytelling, pattern-finding, questioning, and observing
Celebrate early adopters and innovators who have gained field experience (often failing forward and vetting the prototype)

Tips and Traps

For inner circle, pick only people with direct personal experience (without regard to rank)
Pick people for the fishbowl (inner circle) who are representative of the distinct roles and functions that require coordination for success
Encourage inner-circle people to share concrete, very descriptive examples rather than opinions
Advise inner-circle people to imagine being in a car or a bar sharing stories and having a conversation
Encourage everyone to share both successes and failures, “the good, the bad, the ugly”
Enforce the “no speeches” and “talk to each other, not to the outer circle” rules!
Collect ALL the questions from the outside circle before the “fish” restart their conversation
Based on the overall pattern of questions, give the “fish” a choice of which questions to address
Have fun and encourage animated storytelling

What is made possible?

You can foster the empathetic capacity of participants to “walk in the shoes” of others. Many situations do not have immediate answers or clear resolutions. Recognizing these situations and responding with empathy can improve the “cultural climate” and build trust among group members. HSR helps individuals learn to respond in ways that do not overpromise or overcontrol. It helps members of a group notice unwanted patterns and work together on shifting to more productive interactions. Participants experience the practice of more compassion and the benefits it engenders.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite participants to tell a story to a partner about a time when they felt that they were not heard, seen, or respected.
Ask the listeners to avoid any interruptions other than asking questions like “What else?” or “What happened next?”

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Chairs facing each other, a few inches between knees
No tables

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone has an equal amount of time, in turn, to participate in each role, as a storyteller and a listener

4. How Groups Are Configured

In pairs for the storytelling
Then foursomes for reflecting on what happened

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Introduce the purpose of HSR: to practice listening without trying to fix anything or make any judgments. 3 min.
One at a time, each person has 7 minutes to share a story about NOT being heard, seen, or respected. 15 min.
Partners share with one another the experiences of listening and storytelling: “What did it feel like to tell my story; what did it feel like to listen to your story?” 5 min.
In a foursome, participants share reflections using 1-2-4, asking, “What patterns are revealed in the stories? What importance do you assign to the pattern?” 5 min.
As a whole group, participants reflect on the questions, “How could HSR be used to address challenges revealed by the patterns? What other Liberating Structures could be used?” 5 min.

WHY? Purposes

Reveal how common it is for people to experience not being heard, seen, or respected
Reveal how common it is for people to behave in a way that makes other people feel they are not being heard, seen, or respected
Improve listening, tuning, and empathy among group members
Notice how much can be accomplished simply by listening
Rely on each other more when facing confusing or new situations
Offer catharsis and healing after strains in relationships
Help managers discern when listening is more effective than trying to solve a problem

Tips and Traps (for introducing HSR)

Say, “Your partner may be ready before you. The first story that pops into mind is often the best.”
Make it safe by saying, “You may not want to pick the most painful story that comes to mind.”
Make it safe by saying, “Protect carefully the privacy of the storyteller. Ask what parts, if any, you can share with others.”
Suggest, “When you are the listener, notice when you form a judgment (about what is right or wrong) or when you get an idea about how you can help, then let it go.”

Examples

For regular meetings to improve the quality of listening and tuning in to each other
For transition periods when questions about the future are unanswerable (e.g., post-merger integration, market disruptions, social upheaval) and empathetic listening is what is needed
When individuals or groups have suffered a loss and need a forum to share their grief or despair
To improve one-on-one reporting relationships up and down in an organization

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/19-heard-seen-respected-hsr/

Siurce: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/

What is made possible?

You can help people access hidden knowledge such as feelings, attitudes, and patterns that are difficult to express with words. When people are tired, their brains are full, and they have reached the limits of logical thinking, you can help them evoke ideas that lie outside logical, step-by-step understanding of what is possible. Stories about individual or group transformations can be told with five easy-to-draw symbols that have universal meanings. The playful spirit of drawing together signals that more is possible and many new answers are expected. Drawing Together cuts through the culture of overreliance on what people say and write that constrains the emergence of novelty. It also provides a new avenue of expression for some people whose ideas would otherwise not surface.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite participants to tell a story about a challenge they face, or a common challenge, using only five symbols and no words

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

An open wall with tapestry paper or easels with blank pages in flip charts
Water-based markers; soft pastels if you are feeling colorful

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone is included since the five symbols are easy for everyone to draw
All participants make their individual drawings simultaneously

4. How Groups Are Configured

Individually to practice the drawing of the symbols
Individually to make first and second drafts of their drawings
Small groups of 1–4 others to interpret the drawings
Whole group for debrief (using 1-2-4-All for large groups)

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Introduce the idea of drawing together by drawing and describing the meaning of each symbol. 5 min.
- Circle = wholeness;
- Rectangle = support;
- Triangle = goal;
- Spiral = change;
- Star person [equidistant cross] = relationship
Invite participants to practice drawing the five symbols: circle, rectangle, triangle, spiral, star person. 5 min.
Invite participants to combine the symbols to create the first draft of a story, working individually and without words, about “the journey” of working on a challenge or an innovation. 10 min.
Invite participants to create a second draft, in which they refine their story by dramatizing the size, placement, and color of the symbols. 10 min.
Ask participants to invite another individual or their small group to interpret their drawings. Remind them that the person who has done the drawing does not speak. 5 min.
Ask the whole group, “Together, what do the drawings reveal?” Use 1-2-4-All with larger groups. 5 min.

WHY? Purposes

Reveal insight or understanding not accessible with verbal or linear methods
Tap all the sources of knowledge for innovation (explicit, tacit, latent/emergent)
Signal that a quest or journey in search of new discoveries is under way
Develop and deepen shared understanding of a vision or complex dynamics
Create closer connections among group members

The journey developing LS as drawn by Henri Lipmanowicz

Tips and Traps

Remind participants that the drawing is not the object by saying, “Refined drawing skills are not required—get over your need for perfection! Childlike drawing looks playful and captures the imagination of others!”
Don’t help too much with drawing skills
Help participants accept whatever emerges in the drawings (there are often surprises)
Draw or present an example of a story that helps others make a leap of understanding
Record the participants drawing with cameras and video recorders
Return to the drawings when you reconvene as a group
Remember that drawing can be powerfully therapeutic; be prepared for emotional responses

Examples

For a refreshing change of pace in a long meeting when a creative burst is needed
When there are strong differences in perspective and the group is in a rut
For visual facilitation of a meeting or conference, where drawings are created as the conversation unfolds
For revealing obscure or hidden relationships when working on a complex project (e.g., one doctoral student had a eureka moment via Drawing Together)
For helping a vision statement come to life (particularly for visually oriented people)
For individual work, to visualize tacit or latent approaches to a challenge

Further details: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/20-drawing-together/

What is made possible?

The most common causes of dysfunctional meetings can be eliminated: unclear purpose or lack of a common one, time wasters, restrictive participation, absent voices, groupthink, and frustrated participants. The process of designing a storyboard draws out a purpose that becomes clearer as it is matched with congruent microstructures. It reveals who needs to be included for successful implementation. Storyboards invite design participants to carefully define all the micro-organizing elements needed to achieve their purpose: a structuring invitation, space, materials, participation, group configurations, and facilitation and time allocations. Storyboards prevent people from starting and running meetings without an explicit design. Good designs yield better-than-expected results by uncovering tacit and latent sources of innovation.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite a design team (a representative subset of the group) to create a detailed plan, including visual cues, for how participants will interact to achieve their purpose

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

An open wall with tapestry paper or flip-chart pages
2-by-4-inch Post-its and/or Liberating Structures Playing Cards
A blank storyboard (create a spreadsheet like the one illustrated above)

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone involved in the design and planning of the meeting has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

1-2-4-All or 1-All in rapid cycles for each step below

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Clarify the purpose of your work together (use Nine Whys if needed). 2 to 5 min.
Describe the standard approach or microstructure you would normally use for this session (including who is normally present) and assess how it succeeds and fails in achieving the stated purpose. 5 to 10 min.
Reexamine and strengthen the purpose statement if needed. 2 to 5 min.
Reexamine and decide who needs to participate or be involved. 2 to 5 min.

Brainstorm alternative microstructures (both conventional and Liberating Structures) that could achieve the purpose. Determine whether the purpose can be achieved in one step. If not, what must be the purpose of the first step? Continue with first step only. 5 to 10 min.

Determine which microstructures are best suited to achieving the purpose; choose one plus a backup. 2 to 10 min.
Decide who will be invited and who will facilitate the meeting. Enter all your decisions in the blank storyboard. 2 to 10 min.
Determine the questions and process you will use to evaluate your design (e.g., Did the design achieve desired outcomes? Did the group work together in a productive way? Does something new seem possible now? Use What, So What, Now What?) 2 to 5 min.
If multiple steps are needed, confer with the design team and arrange a meeting to work on an Advanced Design StoryBoard (see description below). 5 to 10 min.

WHY? Purposes

Evoke a purpose that is clear for all
Make the work in meetings productive and enjoyable for all
Give everyone a chance to make contributions
Foster synergy among participants
Help everyone find his or her role by making the design process visible
Reveal the weaknesses of the current practice and step up from it
Tap all the sources of knowledge for innovation (explicit, tacit, latent/emergent)

Examples

For management meetings of all stripes
Project reviews
Classroom sessions
Brainstorming sessions
One-on-one meetings
Planning a learning session for a conference. See “Fixing a Broken Child Welfare System” in Part Three: Stories from the Field.

Attribution: Liberating Structure developed by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless.

Design StoryBoards – Advanced | Define Step-by-Step Elements for Bringing Transformation and Innovation Initiatives to Productive Endpoints (18 hrs. and up to days/weeks)

What is made possible?

You can avoid many of the traps that turn transformation initiatives and innovation projects into failures: the lack of a clear and common purpose, overall and for every stage of the initiative; inadequate engagement and participation; voices that are essential but not included; frustrated participants and nonparticipants; resistance to change; groupthink; nightmarish implementation for a disproportionally small impact. A comprehensive design is a series of basic designs (see Design StoryBoards–Basic above) linked together over a period of time. The design unfolds iteratively over days, weeks, months, or sometimes years depending on the scale of the project. Small cycles of design operate within larger cycles, scaling up and out as the initiative proceeds. You can easily include more people and more diversity in the design group for larger-scale projects. You can reflect the twists and turns in a transformation or innovation effort by a careful and ad hoc selection of participants (including unusual suspects since they are often the source of novel approaches).

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite an initial design team to create a detailed plan, including visual cues, for how participants will interact to achieve their purpose

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

An open wall with tapestry paper or flip-chart pages
2-by-4-inch Post-its and/or Liberating Structures Playing Cards
A blank storyboard template (see Collateral Materials)

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone on the design team involved in the design and planning of the project has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

1-2-4-All or 1-All in rapid cycles for each step below

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Determine the composition of a design team that includes all relevant stakeholders and assemble the team (the composition can be adjusted ad hoc over time as the work progresses). 1 to 3 hrs.
Design team clarifies the overall purpose of the initiative (use Nine Whys or a more elaborate microstructure as needed). 1 to 6 hrs.
Describe in detail what happens when people use the current product, service, or approach that you wish to transform/improve. You may need to use a method like the Liberating Structure called Simple Ethnography to gather data for an accurate description of this current user experience. 6 hrs. to days or weeks.
Based on the users’ experience, assess how the current product, service, or approach succeeds and fails in achieving the stated purpose. 3 hrs. to days.
Reexamine and strengthen the purpose statement if needed. 1 to 6 hrs.
Reexamine and decide who needs to participate in the core design group and who needs to participate on the periphery to help with vetting or field testing. 1 to 3 hrs.
Brainstorm and outline alternative microstructures (both conventional and Liberating Structures) that help achieve the purpose. 3 hrs. to days.
Break up your outline into steps or chunks that can be designed and function independently (don’t try to put together a comprehensive design from the start). 1 to 6 hrs.
Determine a design for one step, selecting microstructures that are suited to achieving the purpose; choose one plus a backup. Repeat and continue with each step. 1 to 6 hrs.
Decide whether any testing or vetting of your design is feasible or desirable. Consider testing in waves and in different configurations. 1 to 6 hrs.
Implement the first step in a simulated or field setting. Continue testing in more extreme conditions.
Evaluate the first and then the subsequent steps of your design.
Repeat design cycle and refine the design for the next step, and so on…

WHY? Purposes

Make a significant and enduring advance by breaking away from current reality
Provide enough time for new behaviors to take shape and spread, expanding what others believe is possible to accomplish
See additional Purposes under Design StoryBoards–Basic above.

Examples

For redesigning the exchange of information and responsibilities at shift change
For transforming from a product-centric to a customer-focused market strategy
For reforming how academic training prepares students for practice in the field
Read “Turning a Business Around” in Part Three: Stories from the Field. Alison Joslyn’s management team used Design StoryBoard to formulate strategy discussions and launch Liberating Structures “basic training” for product managers and sales reps.
See examples in Chapter 7, “From Strings to Storyboards”

Further Details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/21-design-storyboards/

What is made possible?

You can enable a large group of people to connect with a leader or an expert (the celebrity) as a person and grasp the nuances of how that person is approaching a challenge. With a well-designed interview, you can turn what would otherwise be a passive, often boring presentation into a personal narrative that is entertaining, imparts valuable knowledge, and reveals the full range of rational, emotional, and ethical/moral dynamics at play. You can often turn the interview into an invitation to action, drawing out all the elements needed to spark the participant group’s imagination and encourage cohesive action.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite the celebrity to let go of his or her formal presentation or speech and answer the harder questions on everyone’s mind in a casual “talk show” format
Invite group members to listen, see the person behind the celebrity, and write down questions with colleagues

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Interviewer and celebrity in the front of the room where everyone can see and hear the interaction (lapel microphones, bar stools, or living-room furniture recommended)
Unlimited number of people in a space where they can sit to view the interview and later form small groups (theater-style seating is OK)
3-by-5-inch cards to collect questions generated via 1-2-4

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Part one, interview: everyone has an equal opportunity to listen
Part two, questions: everyone has an equal opportunity to engage with one another to formulate questions

How Groups Are Configured

Whole group for interview
Individuals, pairs, small groups for 1-2-4-All to generate questions

Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Interviewer welcomes and introduces the celebrity and topic to be discussed. 3 min.
Interviewer asks questions that the audience would be expected to ask (both humor and gravity are appropriate). 15–30 min.
Invite participants to generate additional questions in a 1-2-4 conversation and then on 3-by-5-inch cards. 5–10 min.
Interviewer sifts the cards, looking for patterns and asking additional questions to the celebrity. 5–10 min.
Interviewer makes closing comments, thanks the celebrity. 1 min.

WHY? Purposes

Create or boost a connection between an expert or leader and an audience
Give substance and depth to a topic
Avoid boring lectures and PowerPoint presentations
Engage every individual in generating questions for further exploration
Shed light on the person behind the position or expertise
Bring big concepts to life with stories that come out in the interview

Examples

For a leader or leaders to help launch a new initiative (i.e. Digital Transformation)
To welcome and get to know a new leader coming into the organization
To personalize and deepen the contributions of an expert
For debriefing the experience of a few participants in an important event
As an alternative to a case-study presentation: the interviewer helps to revive the story and the local context underneath the analysis

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/22-celebrity-interview/

What is made possible?

Social Network Webbing quickly illuminates for a whole group what resources are hidden within their existing network of relationships and what steps to take for tapping those resources. It also makes it easy to identify opportunities for building stronger connections as well as new ones. The inclusive approach makes the network visible and understandable to everybody in the group simultaneously. It encourages individuals to take the initiative for building a stronger network rather than receiving directions through top-down assignments. Informal or loose connections—even your friends’ friends—are tapped in a way that can have a powerful influence on progress without detailed planning and big investments.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite the members of a core working group with a shared purpose to create a map of their network and to decide how to expand and strengthen it
Ask them to name the people they are currently working with and those they would like to include in the future (i.e., people with influence or expertise they need to achieve their purpose)
Invite them to “weave” connections in the network web to advance their purpose

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

A long open wall with a tapestry paper or multiple flip-chart pages
2-by-2-inch Post-it notes in at least 8 colors
Bold-tip black pens (e.g., Sharpies)

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone involved in the core working or planning group is included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

1-2-4-All to generate the names of all the key groups
Everyone together to generate the names of people in the network and construct the map

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Create a legend of all the key groups in the network needed to achieve your purpose and assign a Post-it color or symbol for each. 5 min.
Every core group member prints clearly his or her name on a Post-it. Put the Post-its in a group in the center of the wall. 5 min.
Ask all core group members, “What people do you know that are active in this work?” Tell them to create a Post-it with each of their names. Ask them to arrange the Post-its based on each person’s degrees of separation from each design group member. 10 min.
Ask all core group members, “Who else would you like to include in this work?” Invite them to brainstorm and create Post-its for the other people they would like to include. Ask them to build the map of Post-its as a web with a core and periphery structure (mimicking the actual and desired spread of participation). Individuals is this group may your your friends’ friends. New legend categories and colors may be needed as the webbing expands. 10 min.
Tell the core group to step back and ask, “Who knows whom? Who has influence and expertise? Who can block progress? Who can boost progress?” Ask them to illustrate the answers with connecting lines. 15 min.
Ask the group to devise strategies to: 1) invite, attract, and “weave” new people into their work; 2) work around blockages; and 3) boost progress. 10 min.

WHY? Purposes

Tap the informal connections that have indirect yet powerful influence on behavior and results
Disseminate knowledge and innovation across scales and through boundaries—within and beyond the organization
Develop more frontline ownership and leadership for change
Help people see connections and “black holes”
Help people self-organize and develop groups that are more resilient and able to absorb disruptions
Tip the balance toward positive change
Operate without big budgets and extensive planning by tapping the informal social networks and inviting people to contribute.

Examples

For a group of Lean coaches to informally spread skills and methods among frontline staff
For middle managers in a financial organization to develop prototypes and launch new products in multiple markets
For provincial government leaders “translating” policy-to-practice initiatives across diverse settings
For expanding the use of a new technology, the early adopters gathered and mapped out their network to identify potential new users

Further Details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/23-social-network-webbing/

What is made possible?

People working in different functions and disciplines can quickly improve how they ask each other for what they need to be successful. You can mend misunderstandings or dissolve prejudices developed over time by demystifying what group members need in order to achieve common goals. Since participants articulate core needs to others and each person involved in the exchange is given the chance to respond, you boost clarity, integrity, and transparency while promoting cohesion and coordination across silos: you can put Humpty Dumpty back together again!

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite participants to ask for what they need from others (often in different functions or disciplines) to be successful in reaching a specific goal
Invite them also to respond unambiguously to the requests from others

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Large room to accommodate 3 to 7 functional clusters of participants in different sections
Chairs for a group of 3 to 7 people to sit in a circle in the middle of the room
Paper for participants to record needs and responses

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone is included in his or her functional cluster
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Three to 7 functional clusters (no limit on number of participants in each cluster)
One group of 3 to 7 spokespersons to speak on behalf of each functional cluster

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Explain the process by describing the steps below. Reiterate the goal or challenge being addressed to make sure that the context is the same for all. Emphasize that requests must be clear and specific if they are to receive an unambiguous yes or no response. Make it clear that no answers other than yes, no, I will try, and whatever will be allowed. Position the functional clusters around the room. 3 min.
Functional clusters use 1-2-4-All (or 1-2-All) to make a list of their top needs from each of the other functions in the room. Needs are expressed as requests that can be delivered with care and nuance in the following form: “What I need from you is _____.” Clusters reduce their lists to two top needs, write these down in their expected form, and select a spokesperson to represent the cluster. 5–15 min.
All spokespersons gather in a circle in the middle of the room.
One by one, spokespersons state their two needs to each of the other spokespersons around the circle. At this stage, spokespersons take notes of requests, but no one gives answers or responses. 15 min.
Working individually (or by conferring with others in their functional cluster), each spokesperson writes down one of four responses to each request: yes, no, I will try, or whatever (whatever means the request was too vague to provide a specific answer). 5–10 min.
Addressing one spokesperson in the group at a time, every spokesperson in the circle repeats the requests made by him or her, then shares his or her responses (yes, no, I will try, or whatever). No discussion! No elaboration! 10 min.
Debrief with What, So What, Now What? 15 min.

WHY? Purposes

Learn how to articulate functional and/or personal needs clearly
Practice asking for what functions and/or individuals need
Learn how to give clear answers to requests
Reestablish and/or improve communication inside functional clusters
Make progress across functional silos
Mend connections that have been broken
Get all the issues out on the table at the same time for everyone to see
Reduce frustration by eliminating preconceptions and rumors
Build trust so that group members can share accountability with integrity

Examples

For a global technical group (with members in multiple countries) facing the need to make decisions in a fast-changing market (see “Getting Commitment, Ownership, and Follow-Through” in Part Three: Stories from the Field).
For three top executives who are struggling to give consistent direction to the next level of leaders in the organization
For hospital executives and managers launching a patient-centered care initiative that requires multi-specialty collaboration
For helping one-on-one relationships become more generative

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/24-what-i-need-from-you-winfy/

Below: Presentation material we use to introduce WINFY

What is made possible? When people must tackle a common complex challenge, you can release their inherent creativity and leadership as well as their capacity to self-organize. Open Space makes it possible to include everybody in constructing agendas and addressing issues that are important to them. Having co-created the agenda and free to follow their passion, people will take responsibility very quickly for solving problems and moving into action. Letting go of central control (i.e., the agenda and assignments) and putting it in the hands of all the participants generates commitment, action, innovation, and follow-through. You can use Open Space with groups as large as a couple of thousand people!

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite people to come and address a complex problem
Invite participants to co-construct the agenda by posting sessions that they will convene on topics they are passionate about
Invite participants to join any session that they care about

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Chairs in concentric circles for 10–1,000 people in a large room or open space
Microphones needed for groups larger than 40
Large blank agenda posted on easels and flip charts, long tapestry paper, or whiteboard
Agenda to include slots for enough concurrent sessions to accommodate what is likely to emerge given the challenge and the number of participants. (One rule of thumb is that 3 out of 10 participants will post a session, e.g., there will be 15 sessions posted from 50 participants.)

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone who cares about the challenge at hand and accepts the organizers’ invitation is included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute
The “Law of Two Feet” governs the participation of all attendees in the various sessions. It says: “Go and attend whichever session you want, but if you find yourself in a session where you are not learning or contributing, use your two feet!”

4. How Groups Are Configured

Start together in one large circle (or as many concentric circles as needed)
Continue with groups of various sizes self-organized around agenda topics

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

WHY? Purposes

Generate action and build energy, commitment, and shared leadership
Address intractable problems or conflicts by unleashing self-organization
Make sure that ALL of the issues that are most important to the participants are raised, included in the agenda, and addressed
Make it possible for participants to take responsibility for tackling the issues that they care about and for what does or doesn’t happen

Examples

For management meetings of all stripes
Read “Turning a Business Around” in Part Three: Stories from the Field. Alison Joslyn launched a business transformation by inviting all employees to a three-day Open Space meeting.
Read “Inventing Future Health-Care Practice” in Part Three. Chris McCarthy uses Open Space to set direction for collaboration among the creative members of the Innovation Learning Network.
Immediately after a merger, for bringing together all the employees of both companies to shape next steps and take action together.
To share IT innovation prototypes and unleash collaborative action among widely distributed grantees.

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/25-open-space-technology/

What is made possible?

You can help a group of people understand how they work together and identify changes that they can make to improve group performance. All members of the group diagnose current relationship patterns and decide how to follow up with action steps together, without intermediaries. The STAR compass tool helps group members understand what makes their relationships more or less generative. The compass used in the initial diagnosis can also be used later to evaluate progress in developing relationships that are more generative.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite participants to assess their working group or team in terms of four attributes:
- S Separateness: the amount of diversity in perspective, expertise, and background among group members
- T Tuning: the level of listening deeply, reflecting, and making sense of challenges together
- A Action: the number of opportunities to act on ideas or innovate with group members
- R Reason to work together: the benefits that are gained from working together
Invite them to jointly shape action steps to boost generative results

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Tables for small groups of 4, with a STAR compass graphic and pens for each individual
A STAR compass graphic on a flip-chart page for each small group
A STAR compass graphic on a flip-chart page for the whole group

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone in a working group or team is included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Individually to make initial assessments
Small groups
Whole group

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Participants individually assess where the team is in regard to each of the four elements (5 mins.):
- S How diverse are we as a group? Do we draw out our diverse perspectives among members?
- T How well are we in tune with one another?
- A How much do we act together?
- R How important is it that we work together? How clear is our purpose?
In small groups, participants place a dot along each compass point, then talk with their neighbors (1-2-4) about their placements, looking for consensus and differences. 5 min.
Small groups decide what type of results are generated by the pattern of interaction they have identified (e.g., high Tuning + no Action = we get along well but accomplish little, high Action + low Tuning = routine results with no innovation, high Tuning + high Separateness + high Action + low Reason = many false starts, etc.). 5 min.
In small groups, brainstorm action steps to boost elements that need attention. 5 min.
Whole group assembles list of action steps and decides “What first steps can we take right now?” 5 min.

WHY? Purposes

Improve the performance of a team
Help a team become more self-managing and autonomous
Sharpen the purpose and identity of the group
Help people step away from blaming individuals and move toward understanding their patterns of interaction
Combine “diagnosis and treatment” without separating the planners from the doers
Reduce frustration of people not happy with team dynamics and results

Examples

For a strategy retreat, focusing attention on group dynamics and results
For deciding the composition and purpose of a new team or task force to be formed
For two people to use in mending their relationship

Further detals at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/26-generative-relationships-st/

Below: presentation material we use to introduce Generative Relationships STAR

Source: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/26-generative-relationships-st/

What is made possible?

You can help individuals or groups avoid the frequent mistake of trying to solve a problem with methods that are not adapted to the nature of their challenge. The combination of two questions makes it possible to easily sort challenges into four categories: simple, complicated, complex, and chaotic. A problem is simple when it can be solved reliably with practices that are easy to duplicate. It is complicated when experts are required to devise a sophisticated solution that will yield the desired results predictably. A problem is complex when there are several valid ways to proceed but outcomes are not predictable in detail. Chaotic is when the context is too turbulent to identify a path forward. A loose analogy may be used to describe these differences: simple is like following a recipe, complicated like sending a rocket to the moon, complex like raising a child, and chaotic is like the game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” The Liberating Structures Matching Matrix in Chapter 5 can be used as the first step to clarify the nature of a challenge and avoid the mismatches between problems and solutions that are frequently at the root of chronic, recurring problems.

Source: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/ *Adapted from professors Brenda Zimmerman and Ralph Stacey*

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite participants to categorize their current challenges as simple, complicated, complex, or chaotic
Ask them to place every challenge in the matrix based on their answers to two questions: What is the degree of agreement among the participants regarding the challenge and the best way to address it? What is the degree of certainty and predictability about what results will be generated from the solutions proposed for addressing the challenge?
Ask them to think about the approaches they are using or considering to address each challenge, evaluate how well these fit, and determine where there are mismatches

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Chairs for people to sit in groups of 4–6, with or without small round tables
Long open wall with a large tapestry paper illustration of the matrix taped to the wall
One page with a blank matrix for every participant
Post-it notes and markers for everybody

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone involved in the work team or unit under discussion (not only leaders)
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Individually to make initial assessments
Small groups of 4 to 6
Whole group

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Ask participants to individually generate the list of challenges that take up their time. 5 min.
Still working individually, participants place challenges in their individual matrixes. 5 min.
Ask participants to discuss in pairs. 5 min.
Invite them to chat with others in a group of 4–6 to find points of agreement, difference, and where there are mismatches. 10 min.
Invite everyone to post their challenges on the large wall matrix. 5 min.
Ask participants to form small groups and step back to reflect on, “What pattern do we see? Do any mismatches stand out that we should address?” 5 min.
Invite whole group to share reflections and decide next steps. 10 min.

WHY? Purposes

Reduce wasted effort by matching challenges with methods
Identify where local experiments may help solve larger problems
Make visible to everyone the range and the nature of the challenges facing people in the organization
Reduce the frustration of people not making progress on key challenges by identifying mismatches
Share perspectives across functions and levels of the organization

Examples

For introducing managers trained only in linear cause-and-effect analysis to what is different about complex challenges
For selecting a mix of change methodologies at the start of a new improvement project
For helping a planning group move beyond “analysis paralysis” into an action phase
For organizing the projects of a department

Firther details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/27-agreement-certainty-matrix/

What is made possible?

You can enable participants to find novel approaches to challenges by immersing themselves in the activities of the people with local experience—often their colleagues on the front line or anyone who uses their product or service. You open the door to change and innovation by helping participants explore what people actually do and feel in creating, delivering, or using their offering. Their observations and experience can spur rapid performance improvements and expedite prototype development. The combined observations may make it easy to spot important patterns.

Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite participants to silently observe people with experience relevant to the challenge at hand and then follow up with interviews for more insight

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

In a local setting (workplace, client organization, neighborhood) with a convenient space for sharing findings, photos, and videos
Provide notebook, camera, video, permission (if needed)

3. How Participation Is Distributed

All core-group members working on a challenge are included as ethnographers
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

In 1s or 2s distributed among sites being observed
Whole group for debrief

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Explain the problem to be solved and the current understanding of the situation. 5 min.
Identify sites to observe and people to shadow that will reveal user experience in depth. 5 min.
Invite participants to visit sites and observe without speaking interactions and activities, recording details and internal reflections as they go. 10–180 min.
Ask participants to then select behaviors observed that address the challenge in a novel fashion (in part or in whole) and follow up by asking the individuals they observed what they were feeling and doing as they engaged in the behavior. 20–180 min.
Reconvene the group of ethnographers and use 1-2-4-All to compare notes and find patterns across observations or exceptional solutions. 15 min.
Write up observations or compose stories that highlight needs and opportunities. 10–20 min.
Feed insights into brainstorming and prototyping efforts. 10 min.
Repeat steps until the core-group members feel they have a particularly powerful new approach to prototype

WHY? Purposes

Help invisible routines become visible
Identify fundamental needs and innovative solutions
Reveal tacit and latent knowledge not accessible by asking users for explicit needs (e.g., with focus groups)
Show respect and trust by observing and interviewing people on the front line

Examples

For sales representatives to discover how some of their colleagues are getting better results without additional resources or privileges
For understanding how some clinicians are able to attend to the spiritual needs of patients and other are not
For understanding why patients wander out of hospital isolation-precaution rooms despite repeated warnings
For understanding how to reduce the patient falls in hospitals
For understanding the differences between effective and ineffective meetings

What is made possible?

You can help a group move from either-or conflicts to both-and strategies and solutions. You can engage everyone in sharper strategic thinking, mutual understanding, and collaborative action by surfacing the advantage of being both more integrated and more autonomous. Attending to paradox will reveal opportunities for profound leaps in performance by addressing questions such as: What mix of integrative control and autonomous freedom will advance our purpose? Where do our needs for global fidelity and consistency meet the needs for local customization and creative adaptability? This makes it possible to avoid bipolar swings in strategy that are frequently experienced by many organizations.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite your group to explore the questions, “Will our purpose be best served by increased local autonomy, customization, competition, and freedom among units/sites? Or, will our purpose be best served by increased integration, standardization, and control among units/sites? Or, both?”

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Chairs for people to sit in groups of 4, with or without small tables
An “Integrated Autonomy Worksheet” for each participant and a large one on the wall.
Paper for recording activities and action steps

3. How Participation Is Distributed

All central unit leaders and local unit leaders involved in the challenge at hand are included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Individually to generate topics
Small groups of 4
Whole group

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Introduce the idea of Integrated~Autonomy for the topic at hand by asking, “How is it that we can be more integrated and more autonomous at the same time?” Have examples from past experience ready for sharing. 5 min.
Use 1-2-4-All to generate a list of activities that require attention by asking, “Where is there tension between our desire to standardize and the request for more customizing or autonomy?” 10 min.
Ask participants to work in groups of four, and pick one activity from the list and ask, “What is the rationale for standardizing? What is the rationale for customizing?” 10 min.
Using 1-2-4 develop action steps that achieve standardization. Using 1-2-4, develop action steps that achieve customization. 10 min.
Ask, “Which actions boost both standardization (group A) and customization (group C)?” See worksheet below. 5 min.
Ask, “What modifications or creative ideas can be adopted to move some actions from group A to group B or from group C to group B?” See worksheet below. 15 min.
Using 1-2-4-All, prioritize the most promising actions that promote both integration and autonomy. 10 min.
Refine action steps by developing some effective Liberating Structures strings

Below: Presentation materials we use to introduce Integrated~Autonomy

WHY? Purposes

Develop innovative strategies to move forward.
Avoid wild or “bipolar” swings in policies, programs, or structures.
Identify the complementary-yet-paradoxical pairs that are important and manage the paradoxical decisions productively.
Evaluate decisions by asking, “Are we boosting or attending to both sides?”
Evaluate and launch new strategies

Examples

For hospital-system leaders to develop the contents of new management contracts for small hospitals in the same region
For a group of political leaders trying to formulate what should be legislated at the federal level and what should be decided locally
For infection-control experts trying to create hospital-wide policies that do not inhibit unit-based innovations

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/29-integrated-autonomy/

hat is made possible?

You can help a diverse group quickly test the viability of current strategies and build its capacity to respond quickly to future challenges. This Liberating Structure prepares a group for strategy making. It does not produce a plan to be implemented as designed but rather builds resilience: the capacity to actively shape the system and be prepared to respond to surprise. This means being better able to see different futures unfolding, better prepared to act in a distributed fashion, and more ready to absorb disruptions resiliently.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite the group to identify and explore the most critical and uncertain “realities” in their operating environment or market
Then invite them to formulate strategies that would help them operate successfully in those different situations

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Four groups of chairs around tables
Paper, Post-it notes, flip charts, or tapestry paper for each group

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone responsible for planning and executing strategy is included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Have a group large and diverse enough to break it up into four separate small groups to develop the four scenarios and related strategies
If not, make two small groups

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Describe the sequence of steps. 2 min.
Invite participants to make a list of uncertainties they face by asking, “In your/our operating environment, what factors are impossible to predict or control their direction?” 5 min.
Prioritize the most critical factors by asking, “Which factors threaten your/our ability to operate successfully?” 10 min.
Based on the group’s history and experience, select the two most critical and most uncertain (X and Y). 5 min.
Create a grid with two axes—X & Y—with a “more of <— —> less of” continuum for the factor to be represented on each axis. For example, for the X axis, if the number of new products is a critically uncertain factor, one end of the X axis is a large number of new products and the other is no new products. Repeat for the Y factor and axis. For instance, if patent protection is a critical factor, one end of the Y axis is strong patent protection and the other is no patent protection. Four quadrants are created. See example below. 5 min.
Each of the four groups creatively names and writes a thumbnail scenario for one of the quadrants. 10 min.
The four groups share their scenarios briefly. 2 min. each
Each group brainstorms three strategies that would help the group operate successfully in the scenario that it has described. 10 min.
The four groups share their strategies briefly. 2 min. each
The whole group sifts results to identify which strategies are robust (strategies that can succeed in multiple quadrants) and which are hedging (strategies that can succeed in only one scenario but protect you from a plausible calamity). The balance of strategies can succeed only in one scenario. 10 min.
Each small group debriefs with What, So What, Now What? 10 min.
The four groups share their debriefs and the whole group makes first-steps decisions about their Now What. 10 min.

WHY? Purposes

Test the viability of current strategies by exposing assumptions and uncertainties
Increase capacity of everyone to adapt quickly and absorb disruptions resiliently
Differentiate priorities in terms of robust and hedging strategies
Develop more organization-wide confidence in managing the unknowable future
Widen the range of strategic options

Examples

For exploring what features should be included in a product or service that will be launched
For national policy and operating leaders to shape next steps in a health-care reform initiative
For IT leaders preparing for implementation challenges across multiple countries in one region
For executives and operational leaders to create a 10-year strategic vision
For NGO executive directors responding to unexpected changes in funding and public perception
For counseling youth in unstable settings, likely to drop out of school or start living on the street

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/30-critical-uncertainties/

What is made possible?

You can eliminate or mitigate common bottlenecks that stifle performance by sifting your group’s portfolio of activities, identifying which elements are starving for resources and which ones are rigid and hampering progress. The Ecocycle makes it possible to sift, prioritize, and plan actions with everyone involved in the activities at the same time, as opposed to the conventional way of doing it behind closed doors with a small group of people. Additionally, the Ecocycle helps everyone see the forest AND the trees—they see where their activities fit in the larger context with others. Ecocycle Planning invites leaders to focus also on creative destruction and renewal in addition to typical themes regarding growth or efficiency. The Ecocycle makes it possible to spur agility, resilience, and sustained performance by including all four phases of development in the planning process.

Below: Presentation material we use to introduce Ecocycle Planning

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite the group to view, organize, and prioritize current activities using four developmental phases: birth, maturity, creative destruction, and renewal
Invite the group to formulate action steps linked to each phase: actions that accelerate growth during the birth phase, actions that extend life or increase efficiency during the maturity phase, actions that prune dead wood or compost rigid practices during the creative destruction phase, actions that connect creative people or prepare the ground for birth during the renewal phase. The leadership stance required for each phase can be characterized as entrepreneur, manager, heretic, and networker.

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

A room with an open flat wall and open space for participants to stand comfortably in front of the wall
Chairs for people to sit in groups of 4, with or without small round tables
A blank Ecocycle map worksheet for each participant and a large wall-poster version posted on the wall
Post-it notes for each activity

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everybody involved in the work is included, all levels and functions
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

1-2-4-All
Small groups for action steps

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Introduce the idea of the Ecocycle and hand out a blank map to each participant. 5 min.
Ask participants to generate their individual activity lists: “For your working group (e.g., department, function, or whole company), make a list of all the activities (projects, initiatives) that occupy your time.” 5 min.
Ask them to work in pairs to decide the placement of every activity in the Ecocycle. 10 min.
Invite them to form groups of four and finalize the placement of activities on the Ecocycle map. 15 min.
Ask each group to put its activities on Post-it notes and create a whole-room map by inviting the groups one by one to place their Post-its on the larger map. 15 min.
Ask each group to step back and digest the pattern of placements. Ask them to focus on all the activities on which there is consensus about their placement. Ask, “What activities do we need to creatively destroy or stop to move forward? What activities do we need to expand or start to move forward?” 15 min.
In small groups, for each activity that needs to be stopped (activities that are in the Rigidity Trap), create a first-action step. 10 min. or more depending on the number of activities and groups.
In small groups, for each activity that needs to start or get more resources (activities in the Poverty trap), create a first-action step. 10 min. or more as above.
Ask all the groups to focus on all the activities for which there is no consensus. Do a quick round of conversation to make sense of the differences in placement. When possible, create first-action steps to handle each one. 10 min.

WHY? Purposes

Set priorities
Balance a portfolio of strategies
Identify waste and opportunities to free up resources
Bring and hear all perspectives at once
Create resilience and absorb disruptions by reorganizing programs together
To reveal the whole picture, the forest AND the trees

Examples

For service portfolio review with an information technology department
For nursing executives and academics transforming their approach to education (evaluating the history as well as proposed change initiatives)
For planning changes in an individual’s personal life, sifting through activities and shaping next steps
For accelerating performance of an executive team in the midst of integrating a newly acquired company (sifting through a mixture of two product lines and research opportunities)

A blank Ecocycle worksheet/template (PDF created by Fisher Qua)

What is made possible?

You can help a large group of people identify obstacles and opportunities for spreading ideas or innovations at many levels. Panarchy enables people to visualize how systems are embedded in systems and helps them understand how these interdependencies influence the spread of change. Participants become more alert to small changes that can help spread ideas up to other system levels; they learn how shifts at larger or lower system levels may release resources to assist them at another level. With better appreciation of the Ecocycle dynamics at play, the group creates “opportunity windows” for innovations to spread among levels and across boundaries.

Below: Presentation material we use to introduce Panarchy

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite participants to identify what is contributing to the existence of a challenge at levels above and below them. Ask them also to specify different strategies and opportunities for change within each level and across multiple levels.

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

A room with an unobstructed flat wall and open space for participants to stand comfortably in front of the wall
A blank Panarchy chart handout
A large wall-poster or flip-chart version of the Panarchy chart
Post-it notes for each participant
Flip-chart pages for the Panarchy graphic

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone involved in spreading a transformation or innovation effort is included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite participants to identify what is contributing to the existence of a challenge at levels above and below them. Ask them also to specify different strategies and opportunities for change within each level and across multiple levels.

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

A room with an unobstructed flat wall and open space for participants to stand comfortably in front of the wall
A blank Panarchy chart handout
A large wall-poster or flip-chart version of the Panarchy chart
Post-it notes for each participant
Flip-chart pages for the Panarchy graphic

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone involved in spreading a transformation or innovation effort is included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Individuals, pairs, groups of 4, whole group: 1-2-4-All

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Introduce the idea of the Panarchy (and the Ecocycle if needed). Show an example, such as the MRSA infection Panarchy in Collateral Material below, and hand out a blank Panarchy chart to each participant. 5 min.
Invite participants to work individually to generate the set of system levels that influence the spread of their ideas/innovation in three steps.
First step alone to make a list of factors by asking, “What are the smallest-to-the-largest factors influencing your/our chances for success?” Include micro (particles, individual people, teams), meso (organizations, networks), and macro (culture, politics, myths) factors that contribute to the existence of the challenge being addressed. 5 min.
Second step in pairs to “translate” the factors into levels and create labels for each level (4–7 levels are sufficient). 10 min.
Third step in groups of four to compare their levels and finalize their chart with Post-its. 10 min.
If there are multiple groups of four, create a single chart, by inviting each group to place any levels not previously included on the larger chart. 10 min.
Invite participants to work in groups of four to reflect on the following questions: “On which levels have attention and resources been invested to date? Which levels have been neglected? What do I/we know about the status and dynamics in play at the different levels?” 10 min.
In the whole group, share reflections from a few groups. 5 min.
Ask groups of two or four to explore one level in depth with the Ecocycle. Each group should pick one of the 4-7 levels. Distribute people with experience at the different levels to those groups. Ask, “At this level, what is going on right now and what actions are being taken for the challenge that our innovation addresses? Is the response to the challenge in an entrepreneurial, bureaucratic/management, heretical, or renewal phase?” Create a rough draft of Ecocycle assessments for this level. 15 min.
Collect the Ecocycle assessments from the groups. Each group presents the Ecocycle assessment of their level briefly. 10 min.
In small groups, brainstorm a list of obstacles and opportunities in regard to efforts to spread ideas/innovations. Ask, “Looking up and down the levels, what opportunities and obstacles do you see for changes across the levels? What windows for new ideas are opening above? What resources are flowing downward from creative destruction unfolding above? What small-scale developments from below are disrupting the level above?” Encourage the groups to go wild and have fun. 15 min.
Prioritize the opportunities and obstacles that emerge. 10 min.
For each opportunity and obstacle on your list, create one first-action step using 1-2-4 by asking, “What action can you take immediately to influence levels above and below you?” And, “Who do you know that has influence in more than one level simultaneously?” 10 min.
Share action steps with the whole group by placing Post-it notes on each level of the large Panarchy chart. 15 min.
Invite the group to take a close look at the chart. Use What, So What, Now What? to make sense of and prioritize all of the possible next steps. 15 min.
Revisit and update the Panarchy chart periodically as the group continues work to spread its innovation.

WHY? Purposes

Identify a mix of strategies at multiple levels to move transformation efforts forward
Create an opportunity for people from many different levels to work together
Prepare for serendipity as opportunity windows open or close
Identify people that span levels and can help the group move forward
Help a whole group see the whole picture (forest AND the trees AND the bioregion)
Create resilience and absorb disruptions by reorganizing together

Individuals, pairs, groups of 4, whole group: 1-2-4-All

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Introduce the idea of the Panarchy (and the Ecocycle if needed). Show an example, such as the MRSA infection Panarchy in Collateral Material below, and hand out a blank Panarchy chart to each participant. 5 min.
Invite participants to work individually to generate the set of system levels that influence the spread of their ideas/innovation in three steps.
First step alone to make a list of factors by asking, “What are the smallest-to-the-largest factors influencing your/our chances for success?” Include micro (particles, individual people, teams), meso (organizations, networks), and macro (culture, politics, myths) factors that contribute to the existence of the challenge being addressed. 5 min.
Second step in pairs to “translate” the factors into levels and create labels for each level (4–7 levels are sufficient). 10 min.
Third step in groups of four to compare their levels and finalize their chart with Post-its. 10 min.
If there are multiple groups of four, create a single chart, by inviting each group to place any levels not previously included on the larger chart. 10 min.
Invite participants to work in groups of four to reflect on the following questions: “On which levels have attention and resources been invested to date? Which levels have been neglected? What do I/we know about the status and dynamics in play at the different levels?” 10 min.
In the whole group, share reflections from a few groups. 5 min.
Ask groups of two or four to explore one level in depth with the Ecocycle. Each group should pick one of the 4-7 levels. Distribute people with experience at the different levels to those groups. Ask, “At this level, what is going on right now and what actions are being taken for the challenge that our innovation addresses? Is the response to the challenge in an entrepreneurial, bureaucratic/management, heretical, or renewal phase?” Create a rough draft of Ecocycle assessments for this level. 15 min.
Collect the Ecocycle assessments from the groups. Each group presents the Ecocycle assessment of their level briefly. 10 min.
In small groups, brainstorm a list of obstacles and opportunities in regard to efforts to spread ideas/innovations. Ask, “Looking up and down the levels, what opportunities and obstacles do you see for changes across the levels? What windows for new ideas are opening above? What resources are flowing downward from creative destruction unfolding above? What small-scale developments from below are disrupting the level above?” Encourage the groups to go wild and have fun. 15 min.
Prioritize the opportunities and obstacles that emerge. 10 min.
For each opportunity and obstacle on your list, create one first-action step using 1-2-4 by asking, “What action can you take immediately to influence levels above and below you?” And, “Who do you know that has influence in more than one level simultaneously?” 10 min.
Share action steps with the whole group by placing Post-it notes on each level of the large Panarchy chart. 15 min.
Invite the group to take a close look at the chart. Use What, So What, Now What? to make sense of and prioritize all of the possible next steps. 15 min.
Revisit and update the Panarchy chart periodically as the group continues work to spread its innovation.

WHY? Purposes

Identify a mix of strategies at multiple levels to move transformation efforts forward
Create an opportunity for people from many different levels to work together
Prepare for serendipity as opportunity windows open or close
Identify people that span levels and can help the group move forward
Help a whole group see the whole picture (forest AND the trees AND the bioregion)
Create resilience and absorb disruptions by reorganizing together

Panarchy

Understand How Embedded Systems Interact, Evolve, Spread Innovation and Transform (2 hrs.)

If a living system is suffering from ill health, the remedy is to connect it with more of itself. – Francisco Varella

What is made possible? You can help a large group of people identify obstacles and opportunities for spreading ideas or innovations at many levels. Panarchy enables people to visualize how systems are embedded in systems and helps them understand how these interdependencies influence the spread of change. Participants become more alert to small changes that can help spread ideas up to other system levels; they learn how shifts at larger or lower system levels may release resources to assist them at another level. With better appreciation of the Ecocycle dynamics at play, the group creates “opportunity windows” for innovations to spread among levels and across boundaries.

Below: Presentation material we use to introduce Panarchy

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite participants to identify what is contributing to the existence of a challenge at levels above and below them. Ask them also to specify different strategies and opportunities for change within each level and across multiple levels.

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

A room with an unobstructed flat wall and open space for participants to stand comfortably in front of the wall
A blank Panarchy chart handout
A large wall-poster or flip-chart version of the Panarchy chart
Post-it notes for each participant
Flip-chart pages for the Panarchy graphic

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone involved in spreading a transformation or innovation effort is included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Individuals, pairs, groups of 4, whole group: 1-2-4-All

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Introduce the idea of the Panarchy (and the Ecocycle if needed). Show an example, such as the MRSA infection Panarchy in Collateral Material below, and hand out a blank Panarchy chart to each participant. 5 min.
Invite participants to work individually to generate the set of system levels that influence the spread of their ideas/innovation in three steps.
First step alone to make a list of factors by asking, “What are the smallest-to-the-largest factors influencing your/our chances for success?” Include micro (particles, individual people, teams), meso (organizations, networks), and macro (culture, politics, myths) factors that contribute to the existence of the challenge being addressed. 5 min.
Second step in pairs to “translate” the factors into levels and create labels for each level (4–7 levels are sufficient). 10 min.
Third step in groups of four to compare their levels and finalize their chart with Post-its. 10 min.
If there are multiple groups of four, create a single chart, by inviting each group to place any levels not previously included on the larger chart. 10 min.
Invite participants to work in groups of four to reflect on the following questions: “On which levels have attention and resources been invested to date? Which levels have been neglected? What do I/we know about the status and dynamics in play at the different levels?” 10 min.
In the whole group, share reflections from a few groups. 5 min.
Ask groups of two or four to explore one level in depth with the Ecocycle. Each group should pick one of the 4-7 levels. Distribute people with experience at the different levels to those groups. Ask, “At this level, what is going on right now and what actions are being taken for the challenge that our innovation addresses? Is the response to the challenge in an entrepreneurial, bureaucratic/management, heretical, or renewal phase?” Create a rough draft of Ecocycle assessments for this level. 15 min.
Collect the Ecocycle assessments from the groups. Each group presents the Ecocycle assessment of their level briefly. 10 min.
In small groups, brainstorm a list of obstacles and opportunities in regard to efforts to spread ideas/innovations. Ask, “Looking up and down the levels, what opportunities and obstacles do you see for changes across the levels? What windows for new ideas are opening above? What resources are flowing downward from creative destruction unfolding above? What small-scale developments from below are disrupting the level above?” Encourage the groups to go wild and have fun. 15 min.
Prioritize the opportunities and obstacles that emerge. 10 min.
For each opportunity and obstacle on your list, create one first-action step using 1-2-4 by asking, “What action can you take immediately to influence levels above and below you?” And, “Who do you know that has influence in more than one level simultaneously?” 10 min.
Share action steps with the whole group by placing Post-it notes on each level of the large Panarchy chart. 15 min.
Invite the group to take a close look at the chart. Use What, So What, Now What? to make sense of and prioritize all of the possible next steps. 15 min.
Revisit and update the Panarchy chart periodically as the group continues work to spread its innovation.

WHY? Purposes

Identify a mix of strategies at multiple levels to move transformation efforts forward
Create an opportunity for people from many different levels to work together
Prepare for serendipity as opportunity windows open or close
Identify people that span levels and can help the group move forward
Help a whole group see the whole picture (forest AND the trees AND the bioregion)
Create resilience and absorb disruptions by reorganizing together

Examples

Native American school administrators advanced education opportunities for their students with innovations ranging from individual student advising to dispelling social myths
Safety advocates in one hospital planned the spread of their innovations locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally
Foundation grantees planned dissemination of their disaster-preparedness innovations from prototype to national adoption
An individual artist sketched out how her work can influence change at different scales

*Liberating @ NASA. Researching how to shift patterns across scales with engineers, scientists, and innovation groups. Thinking up and down the Panarchy helps create enduring change.*

Further details at http://www.liberatingstructures.com/32-panarchy/

What is made possible?

By using P2P at the start of an initiative, the stakeholders can shape together all the elements that will determine the success of their initiative. The group begins by generating a shared purpose (i.e., why the work is important to each participant and the larger community). All additional elements—principles, participants, structure, and practices—are designed to help achieve the purpose. By shaping these five elements together, participants clarify how they can organize themselves to adapt creatively and scale up for success. For big initiatives, P2P makes it possible to include a large number of stakeholders in shaping their future initiative.

Below: Presentation material we use to introduce P2P

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Invite all or most stakeholders to participate in the design of their new initiative in order to specify its five essential elements: purpose, principles, participants, structure, and practices.

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Chairs and small tables for people to work in groups of 4
A large wall with poster paper for recording the P2P result for each element
For each participant five worksheets, one for each of the five elements

3. How Participation Is Distributed

All individuals who have a stake in launching the initiative are included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

1-2-4-All
Whole group for finalizing each element

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Introduce the idea of P2P, the five elements, and related questions, and hand out blank worksheets. 5 min.
To clarify the first element, Purpose, ask the question: “Why is the work important to you and the larger community?”
Use 1-2-4 to generate individual ideas and stories for Purpose. 10 min.
In groups of four, compare, sift, and amplify the top ideas. 10 min.
As a whole group, integrate themes and finalize ideas for Purpose. 10 min.
Move to the remaining P2P elements, in turn, repeating the three steps of 1-2-4-All. Be prepared to go back and revise previous elements as needed (expect some messy nonlinearity). Use the following questions to guide the development of the next four elements:
- Principles: “What rules must we absolutely obey to succeed in achieving our purpose?”
- Participants: “Who can contribute to achieving our purpose and must be included?”
- Structure: “How must we organize (both macro- and microstructures) and distribute control to achieve our purpose?”
- Practices: “What are we going to do? What will we offer to our users/clients and how will we do it?”
After each element, ask, “Has this element shed new light that suggests revisions to previous elements?” 5 min.
When all elements have been completed, ask participants to step back and take a close look at their draft of the five elements together. Ask them to use What, So What, Now What? in small groups to make sense of all of the possible next steps and prioritize them as a whole group. 15 min.
After the initiative has been launched, invite the participants to revisit their P2P design periodically and adapt elements based on their experience.

WHY? Purposes

Engage and focus everyone’s imagination in designing the collective future of participants
Avoid “design” by a small group of people or experts-only behind closed doors
Pull together all the elements needed to launch and sustain an effort, thereby avoiding a fragmented process
Develop innovative strategies that can be implemented and spread quickly because there is shared ownership
Increase resilience and the ability to absorb disruptions by distributing power fairly
Build the capacity to rapidly adapt any of the elements to changing circumstances

Examples

By the leaders of the Conversation Café dialogue movement
The Quality Commons, a group of researchers from eight health systems, used P2P to successfully create their consortium
Going through the first stage of the P2P, a management team discovered a much deeper purpose than it expected. The new purpose and shared experience inspired the team to rethink its business model.
To guide the launch of LS user groups
By the Latin American region of a corporation to launch a new customer-focused business strategy

Further details at: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/33-purpose-to-practice-p2p/

Liberating Structures & Scrum?

For being a certified Professional Scrum Master I & II and also a certified Professional Product Owner I, I always try to improve the communication during Scrum Events (daily Scrum/Stand-up, sprint planning, review and retrospective).

So I had a look if Liberating Structures could be implemented in a Scrum project. Mixing the structures of Scrum with the microstructures of LS. I also wanted to know, if LS can be executed in a remote team. But that’s a subject for later. Let’s stick to a common Scrum routine.

Scrum knows four,so called, events:

Sprint planing
Daily Scrum/Stand-up
Sprint review
Retrospective

All the facts about Scrum, can be found in the official Scrum guide at Scrum.org

The Scrum Guide has been updated in 2020 and you can find this guide as a download here. The 2017 version can be downloaded here.

The sprint planning

Imagine being in a sprint planning event, everyone is virtual. The product owner welcomes everyone and shares his/her power point or a tool like Jira in a screenshare. Each candidate product backlog item is evaluated by each team member and the scrum team together have a discussion on each one of them and they go through the what and how of sprint planning. What can possibly go wrong?? Are you sure every member of the team is fully engaged? Are all cameras turned on? Does every team member get an opportunity to provide their input? How long will the entire meeting take? Will the product owner be engaged and available for the entire duration? Are we going to have a marathon planning event? Will the team be able to collaborate on creating a sprint goal?

Continuing our exploration of Liberating Structures (LS), what if we use a string of LS to facilitate a sprint planning event? I like to share one possible design, but before that we should revisit the purpose of sprint planning and what happens in the two topics, the what and the how.

Purpose:

The sprint planning event is the first event in a sprint, and the entire Scrum team attends. The output is a sprint backlog (containing a forecast and a plan) and a sprint goal that the team can self-organize around.

There are two topics in the discussion

The What: What are we building? – The product owner presents candidate product backlog items (PBIs) with an objective in mind to the development team. the The scrum team collaborates on what to build using past performance and capacity as inputs and crafting a sprint goal
The How: How are we going to build it? – As the development team forms the sprint backlog, they discuss approaches to the how they will build each of the PBIs. This helps them to create a forecast and a plan that can achieve meeting the sprint goal.

So what could be a flow we can consider for a two week sprint?

Flow to facilitate a virtual sprint planning session:

The product owner shares candidate PBIs using a collaborative visual whiteboard which every one can collaborate and add their input. The PBIs have been refined in the past by the scrum team and are ready. The product owner shares any changes to the PBIs between the last refinement and now. Assuming sprint planning – timebox – 10-15 minutes
The scrum team uses Impromptu Networking to share what they know about each PBI and uncover any new unknowns. If a PBI has to be re-estimated they consider that in the various groups. The groups are in pairs and then in groups of 4 – timebox – 30 minutes
The development team discusses the PBIs, estimates and evaluates past performance and capacity to pick the PBIs they believe they can deliver in this sprint. Every team member shares their 15% solutions using the 1-2-4-All micro structure while sharing their solutions on the whiteboard for each PBI for it to be visually available for all. Together they decide which PBIs they will add to the sprint backlog and the scrum team craft a Sprint Goal – timebox – 60 minutes
In the How, the development has a set of product backlog items (PBIs) which they use What? So What? and Now What? micro structure to go over each PBI to decide how will they build each PBI and create a forecast and plan that can achieve the sprint goal – timebox – 60 minutes

Preparations:

1. Use a collaborative whiteboard to share the ready candidate PBIs which can be edited or added to by the entire scrum team

2. Create a video conferencing solution like zoom with breakout room functionality for the event to create the various space and group configurations

Flow in detail:

1. Product Owner welcomes everyone in the virtual call and shares the candidate PBIs – (10 – 15 minutes)

2. Impromptu Networking: In three to five rounds, team members pair up to review each PBI and take 5 minutes to respond to the following invitation – (30 minutes)

Invitation: “What can you share what you know about the PBI? What questions, considerations and estimations come to mind?”

3. Each development team member share their 15% solutions if each PBI can be included in the sprint backlog in a 1-2-4-All micro structure using past performance and capacity as input and discuss a possible sprint goal. When the team come together they craft a sprint goal and pick a set of the candidate PBIs for their sprint backlog – (60 minutes)

Invitation: “Based on the Sprint Goal, past performance and capacity can the PBI be be included in the sprint backlog?”

4. The development team engages in What?, So What?, Now What? rounds for each PBI to evaluate how each can be built? – (60 minutes)

Invitation: Round 1: What have you observed in the discussions you have had that stood out for you to build the PBI?

Round 2: So what tasks will be required to build the PBI?

Round 3: Now what can we do to plan this PBI?

Closing: Once the forecast and plan is constructed the team closes sprint plannings and starts working on the PBIs in the sprint backlog

Daily Scrum

Many Scrum Teams have a love/hate relationship with the Daily Scrum. Obviously, it’s the most conducted Scrum event. When using the same format every single day, it quickly becomes the most boring one as well. So we always recommend experimenting with different approaches. In our own experience, the use of Liberating Structures makes a real difference. To make this statement tangible, we share 10 examples of how to use Liberating Structures during and after the Daily Scrum. One example for each day, randomly ordered.

Fitting in Liberating Structures in the 15-minute timebox of the Daily Scrum is challenging. It will sometimes require you to tweak the original steps of Liberating Structures. That’s ok. Just experiment, and see if you’re able to achieve the purpose of the Daily Scrum. And if it takes longer than 15 minutes but you’re having a great conversation, well… that’s valuable as well, right?

10 examples in a 2-week Sprint

Use the Sprint Planning to make the Sprint Goal clear with “Nine Whys”. Sentences that help write clear purpose statements are “This Sprint exists in order to”, or “This Sprint exists to stop…”, or “When we achieve this Sprint Goal, what has clearly changed or improved from the perspective of stakeholders?”.
Try “Min Specs” to help the team discover the essential work for this first day of the new Sprint. The Sprint Backlog, as defined during Sprint Planning, can be considered as the ‘Max Specs’: all the work, currently known, necessary to achieve the Sprint Goal.
Use a “1–2–4-ALL” to have the group define the ‘Min Specs’ by asking “What is essential work we need to do today to make progress in achieving the Sprint Goal?”. Based on the outcome, reorder the Sprint Backlog, consider removing items, and create a plan for the upcoming day.

Start the second Daily Scrum with a 3-minute “Gallery Walk” in which everyone silently studies the Scrum Board. Ideally, this board contains the Sprint Goal, Sprint Backlog, metrics, and other relevant important information for the Developers.
Next, kickstart an “Impromptu Networking” in which every round is focused on one of the questions of “What, So What, Now What”. Each question is discussed in pairs for only 2 minutes.
Round 1, in pairs, discuss: “Based on the Gallery Walk, what have you noticed? What facts or observations stand out?”. Round 2, in new pairs: “Why are those observations important? What patterns do you see? What conclusions can we draw?”. Round 3, again in new pairs: What next steps make sense based on the conclusions? What should we invest in based on what we know now?
Share key-insights with the entire Scrum Team, and update the Sprint Backlog accordingly

On day 3, give “Spiral Journal” a try. This punctuation activity encourages Developers with an individual reflection on what happened so far, before determining how to move forward.
This exercise is started with the drawing of a spiral, which encourages everyone to calm down, focus, and forget any distracting thoughts. Next, one by one, present four prompts to complete. After each prompt, pause to give everyone time to write down their answers.
Examples of prompts are: “Something I noticed yesterday was ….”, “Something I yesterday was ….”, “A question that is emerging is ….” “Something we should definitely do today is….”.
After about 5–7 minutes, invite the Developers to share what they wrote down by using the Liberating Structure “1–2–4-ALL” and as a final step, update the Scrum board when needed.

Start the 4th day by using “TRIZ” to determine what counterproductive activities and behaviors of the Developers should be stopped. Given the 15-minute timebox of the Daily Scrum, it becomes a ‘TRIZ-on-steroids’.
In pairs, invite the Developers to list all they can do to ensure the most unwanted result for the upcoming day will be achieved. Or ask “Which items from our Sprint Backlog should we definitely do in order to achieve the worst possible outcome?”. Invite everyone to be creative while making sure to keep it realistic. Have them share the result with another pair and extend the list. It’s ok to have some fun!
Next, in pairs, make a second listof the activities that the team is already doing that resemble or are closely related to items on the first list. Challenge the pairs by asking: “If you’re brutally honest, which activities from the first list do you recognize how we already work?”;
Make a third list of all the activities or behaviors from the second list that the pairs want to stop. Identify the first steps to help stop these activities. Frame these next steps as “15 Solutions”, something everyone, individually can start doing immediately after the Daily Scrum.

Day 5 is started with an “Impromptu Networking” in which the standard (optional) questions for the Daily Scrum are asked: “What did I do yesterday that helped the Developers meet the Sprint Goal?”, “What will I do today to help the team meet the Sprint Goal?” “Do I see any impediment that prevents me or the other Developers from meeting the Sprint Goal?”.
In total, Impromptu Networking takes about 10–12 minutes. While discussing the impediments, one Developer mentions having a problem she doesn’t know how to fix. Together with the team, you decide to wrap-up the Daily Scrum and start a 30-minute “Wise Crowds” session.
Wise Crowds creates a space where people can both get help on a persistent challenge and work with others to develop and practice helping behaviors that help overcome other challenges. Therefore, Wise Crowds is ideally suited to use the knowledge of the entire team to help someone with a tough challenge. Check the link to this blog post for a step-by-step explanation on how to facilitate Wise Crowds.

On day 6, initiate another “Gallery Walk” during which the Developers silently walk around and inspect the Scrum board with the Sprint Goal, metrics, Sprint Backlog, etc. This only takes 2 minutes in total.
Next, form groups with 5–7 participants each. If you have a large Scrum Team, from two groups. You can stand or sit. Briefly explain the structure of the “Conversation Cafe”: three rounds in total, the two first rounds using a talking object (each person has an equal opportunity to contribute), the third one as an open conversation.
Round 1: Given your inspection of the Scrum board and how the Sprint is going so far: What have you seen, heard, or observed? What do you notice? What facts stand out the most? Round 2: So, what do these observations mean to you?, What seems to be important? What patterns and conclusions are emerging? Round 3: Now what actions make sense? What is a good next step?
If you have two groups, briefly have them share the key takeaways and update the Sprint Backlog with the outcome of the Conversation Cafe.

The 7th day of the Sprint is started with a reversed 1–2–4-ALL, which is called 4–2–1-SNAP. This is a Liberating Structure that is all about reflecting and going deeper and deeper into your own thinking.
Ask the Developers to form groups of four. Offer the small group an invitation to have a brief conversation about, e.g. “What did you notice about the progress we made yesterday?”.
Invite the small groups to break up into pairs. Give the pair a new invitation, for example, “What do you want to achieve today?”.
Next, ask the pairs to break up. Individually, reflect on what actions make sense for you, personally. Optionally, have everyone briefly share what they wrote down with someone else.
Finally, invite everyone to count down with you (3–2–1) and SNAP their fingers (while saying SNAP) to delineate the reflection. Update the Sprint Backlog accordingly, and get started with the first item. Or grab a coffee first 🙂

Day 8 is started with a “Mad Tea” in which the Developers form two concentric circles and pair up with the person standing directly across them.
As the facilitator, you offer the pairs a prompt to complete and discuss. In total, they have 1 minute. It’s up to the pairs to distribute the time equally. After 1 minute, the outer circle moves one step to the right and as such forms a new pair. Repeat, until everyone has arrived again with the person they started.
Prompts to consider are: “An uncertainty we must creatively adapt to is…”, “What I find challenging is…”, “Something we should stop doing is…”, “A big opportunity I see for us is…”, “A courageous conversation we are not having is…”, or “An action or practice helping us move forward is…”.
While reflecting on the outcome of Mad Tea, you learn that one developer faces a tough challenge and would like to get support. This seems an ideal opportunity to try “Discovery and Action Dialogue”, which exists to help groups invent local solutions to the problems they face. As a team, you decide to wrap-up the Daily Scrum and conduct a 30-minute Discovery and Action Dialogue session to help the Developer.
A step-by-step explanation is covered in this blog post; in short, this Liberating Structure is about exploring the following 7 questions:
“How do you know when the problem is present?”
“How do you contribute effectively to solving the problem?”
“What prevents you from doing this or taking these actions all the time?”
“Do you know anybody who is able to frequently solve this problem and overcome barriers? What behaviors or practices made their success possible?”
“Do you have any ideas?”
“What needs to be done to make it happen? Any volunteers?”
“Who else needs to be involved?”

Together, the Developers discuss these questions and collect ideas on how to move forward. As a team, they update the Sprint Backlog when new or other work is required.

During the end of the Sprint, conduct another “Min Specs” to determine the absolutely essential work that needs to be done to achieve the Sprint Goal.
First, ask the Developers to individually write down as many must-do- and must-not-do activities as they can in a couple of minutes. Form small groups, and have them consolidate their individual lists, and expand them to be as complete as possible (Max Specs).
Ask everyone to test all the items on their lists against the Sprint Goal. Can it still be achieved without this item? If so, remove it. Compare across the small groups and consolidate together to the shortest list possible (Min Specs).
Discuss the final list with the entire team and update the Sprint Backlog accordingly.

tart the final day of this Sprint with 10×10 writing, another priming activity that sparks individual reflection. Invite everyone to get a notebook and a pen.
Introduce the first sentence and ask everyone to write it down on the top of their page. It’s completely up to you to select the sentences. This Trello card contains many examples. To help you get started, consider using these sentences…

- - Something unexpected that happened yesterday was …
  - I don’t like that I’m feeling X about Y …
  - An amazing thought I have is…
  - What I wish I’d done differently yesterday is…
  - A thought I can’t get rid of is …
  - A person I’m thinking about is …
  - This Sprint, I’m grateful for …
  - What I would like to see happen today is…
  - What would make this Sprint our best one so far is…
  - My personal goal for today is to…

Invite the Developers to complete the first sentence in 10 different ways (1 min). Encourage them to write without thinking too hard about their responses. It’s not a problem if they can’t come up with 10 different ways — it’s about generating as many options as possible.
Introduce the second prompt and invite everyone to again generate 10 separate responses to this new sentence.
Repeat until you have moved through all 10 sentences.
Invite everyone to read through everything they have written and circle items on their lists that stand out. You might ask: “Did you write anything that surprised you or that you find curious/unusual?”.
So far, this will take about 10–12 minutes. You can close the Daily Scrum by updating the Sprint Backlog together, or use a 1–2–4-ALL to have everyone share the outcome first and afterward update the Sprint Backlog. This will however take another 15 minutes (which is definitely worth considering!).

Scrum Retrospective & Liberated Structures

Refresh your retro with a liberating structure.

Agile gives you twelve principles and four core values. Scrum adds a framework, but conciously leaves room for additional practices. How to hold a retrospective is entirely up to the team. Liberating structures are a great way to change things up. Even sailboats can get a boring after a while. A nice thing about liberating structures is that you can string them together so one structure provides input for the next. Like this for example:

1-2-4-All

At the start of the retrospective, employ 1-2-4-All to gather ideas. Use a suitable core question for gathering input. For instance ‘how can we deliver more value?’. In the final phase of gathering ‘All’ ideas, write them on index cards for the next phase.

25/10 Crowd Sourcing

With the index cards ready, run a 25/10 Crowd Sourcing structure. Basically, attendees vote on ideas. With these scores, the most important ideas to the group can surface by ordering the index cards with the total vote score. Agree beforehand to address the top x ideas; three or five for instance.

What, So What, Now What? W³

The What, So What, Now What? W³ structure provides a way to dive deeper into the selected ideas. In the words of the Liberating Structures website:

After a shared experience, ask, “WHAT? What happened? What did you notice, what facts or observations stood out?” Then, after all the salient observations have been collected, ask, “SO WHAT? Why is that important? What patterns or conclusions are emerging? What hypotheses can you make?” Then, after the sense making is over, ask, “NOW WHAT? What actions make sense?”

This is the part where we connect observations with actions to take, experiments that can be run.

15% solutions

On many occassion, we can feel like we’re not in control. This is totally true. Life for a large part consists of things we can’t control. However, there’s always something we can do. When ideas arise that appear out the groups control or circle of influence, 15% solutions is a great structure for focussing on what options are available.

There are many, many options available. The chain above is but a simple example. Dive into the available structures to taylor a string of Liberating structures that suit your needs. Above all: have fun!