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 đ 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 todayâs 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. Â
Let’s liberate!

A change of communication, is also a change of culture. As a nice side effect đ 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.
Whatâs the value in them?
There are five main conventional âmicrostructuresâ 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⊠youâll see when you experience them đ 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 âStraight Up Business: You Are the Setter, Not the Spiker.â 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 đ 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 đ 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 đ )
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 â 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, âWhat is one idea that stood out in your conversation?â Each group shares one important idea with all (repeat cycle as needed). 5 min.

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 âsilentâ 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 âAll,â 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 â Min Specs
1. Structuring Invitation
- Ask, âWhat big challenge do you bring to this gathering? What do you hope to get from and give this group or community?â
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 onlyâŠ. They make me⊠I have to⊠⊠thatâs 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, donât drum up people to collect wood and donât 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 â Min Specs
1. Structuring Invitation
- Ask, âWhat do you do when working on ______ (the subject matter or challenge at hand)? Please make a short list of activities.â Then ask, âWhy is that important to you?â Keep asking, âWhy? Why? Why?â 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 âWhat do you do when working on ____?â the interviewer gently seeks a deeper answer by repeating the query: âWhy is that important to you?â 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, âHow do our purposes influence the next steps we take?â 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 âyes, butâŠâ and âeither-orâ 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 â Min Specs
1. Structuring Invitation
- Ask, âWhat opposing-yet-complementary strategies do we need to pursue simultaneously in order to be successful?â
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, âHow is it that we are ⊠and we are ⊠simultaneously?â 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 âbipolarâ 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: âHow is it that we are ____ and we are ____ simultaneously?â 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: âHow can we focus on our customers when we are forced to spend more and more time on the headquartersâ bureaucracy?â
- 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, âWhen have you noticed these two things to be true at the same time?â
- 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 âhiddenâ 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 â Min Specs
1. Structuring Invitation
- Ask, âPlease 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 donât know well.â
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. 7â10 min. each; 15â20 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, âHow are we investing in the assets and conditions that foster success?â and âWhat opportunities do you see to do more?â 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., âhow we are making order out of chaos!â
- Repeating interviews in rapid cycles may point to positively deviant local innovations
Tips and Traps
- Flip malaise and negative themes to âWhen is it that we have succeeded, even in a modest way?â
- Start with, âTell me a story about a time whenâŠ.â
- Ask people to give a title to their partnerâs 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 âlet it goâ
- 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 âWhat must we stop doing to make progress on our deepest purpose?â 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 â Min Specs
1. Structuring Invitation
In this three-step process, ask:
- 1. âMake 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.â
- 2. âGo down this list item by item and ask yourselves, âIs there anything that we are currently doing that in any way, shape, or form resembles this item?â Be brutally honest to make a second list of all your counterproductive activities/programs/procedures.â
- 3. âGo through the items on your second list and decide what first steps will help you stop what you know creates undesirable results?â
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
- Donât 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, âWho else needs to be included?â
- Make real decisions about what will be stopped (number your decisions 1,2,3âŠ) in the form of âI will stopâ and âwe will stop.â
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 â Min Specs
1. Structuring Invitation
- In connection with their personal challenge or their groupâs challenge, ask, âWhat is your 15 percent? Where do you have discretion and freedom to act? What can you do without more resources or authority?â
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 âconsultations,â 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 â Min Specs
1. Structuring Invitation
- Invite the group to explore the questions âWhat is your challenge?â and âWhat kind of help do you need?â
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 âclient,â the others âconsultantsâ
- 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 âwhat you see that you think they do not seeâ
- 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, âWhat is happening here? How am I experiencing what is happening?â
- 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 practicalâfrom 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 â Min Specs
1. Structuring Invitation
- After a shared experience, ask, âWHAT? What happened? What did you notice, what facts or observations stood out?â Then, after all the salient observations have been collected, ask, âSO WHAT? Why is that important? What patterns or conclusions are emerging? What hypotheses can you make?â Then, after the sense making is over, ask, âNOW WHAT? What actions make sense?â
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 10â12 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 âWhat happened? What did you notice, what facts or observations stood out?â then 2â7 min. in small group. 3â8 min. total.
- Salient facts from small groups are shared with the whole group and collected. 2â3 min.
- If needed, remind participants about what is included in the SO WHAT? question.
- Second stage: SO WHAT? People work 1 min alone on âWhy is that important? What patterns or conclusions are emerging? What hypotheses can I/we make?â then 2â7 min. in small group. 3â8 min. total.
- Salient patterns, hypotheses, and conclusions from small groups are shared with the whole group and collected. 2â5 min.
- Third stage: NOW WHAT? Participants work 1 min. alone on âNow what? What actions make sense?â then 2â7 min. in small group. 3â8 min. total.
- Actions are shared with the whole group, discussed, and collected. Additional insights are invited. 2â10 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 debriefâdonât trivialize it, donât 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 WÂł
- 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 âtellingâ 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 participantsâ 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 â 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 5â15 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 emergeâbig ones may emerge when you least expect it. 15â60 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 donât 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, âWhat do you do to protect yourself from infections and what do you do to prevent infection transmissions?â or âWhat do you do to keep your students engaged and what do you to keep yourself energized and enthusiastic?â
- 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 âclimate,â 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 âsiftâ for action opportunities
- Dramatizing Behavior Change to Stop Infectionsâ 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 âlet it goâ before you say anything (you may need to ask for the help of your recorder or a facilitator colleague)
- Avoid statements like âthatâs a good ideaâ and leave space for participants to make their own assessments
- Demonstrate genuine curiosity in everyoneâs contributions without answering the questions yourself: study at the feet of the people who do the work
- Do not give or take assignments!
- Donât 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 âstationsâ where they share in ten minutes the essence of their innovations that may be of value to others. As small groups move from one innovatorâs 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 â 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 wasnât 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 âsidesâ 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 âout and upâ 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 â Min Specs
1. Structuring Invitation
- Invite participants to think big and bold and discover the most attractive of their ideas together by asking, âIf you were ten times bolder, what big idea would you recommend? What first step would you take to get started?â
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, âWho has a 25?â Invite each participant, if any, holding a card scored 25 to read out the idea and action step. Continue with âWho has a 24?,â âWho has a 23ââŠ. Stop when the top ten ideas have been identified and shared. 5 min.
- End by asking, âWhat caught your attention about 25/10?â 2 min.
WHY? Purposes
- Develop a groupâs 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, âIf you could unmake one decision that is holding you back, what would it be? What is your first step to unmake it?â
- Instead of bold ideas, ask, âWhat courageous conversation are you not having? What first step could spark your courage?â
- Instead of bold ideas, ask, âWhat do you hope can happen in the future? What practical first step can you take now to tip the balance in this direction?â
Examples
- For prioritizing ideas and galvanizing the community after an Open SpaceTechnology or âUnconferenceâ (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 âDeveloping Competencies for Physician Educationâ 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 âclients,â 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 peopleâs 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 â Min Specs for Small Wise Crowds
1. Structuring Invitation
- Ask each participant when his or her turn comes to be the âclientâ to briefly describe his or her challenge and ask others for help.
- Ask the other participants to act as a group of âconsultantsâ whose task it is to help the âclientâ 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 âclient,â 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 âoutside expertiseâ
- 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?
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 âclients,â 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 peopleâs 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 â Min Specs for Small Wise Crowds
1. Structuring Invitation
- Ask each participant when his or her turn comes to be the âclientâ to briefly describe his or her challenge and ask others for help.
- Ask the other participants to act as a group of âconsultantsâ whose task it is to help the âclientâ 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 âclient,â 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 âoutside expertiseâ
- 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?
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 âclients,â 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 peopleâs 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 â Min Specs for Small Wise Crowds
1. Structuring Invitation
- Ask each participant when his or her turn comes to be the âclientâ to briefly describe his or her challenge and ask others for help.
- Ask the other participants to act as a group of âconsultantsâ whose task it is to help the âclientâ 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 âclient,â 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 âoutside expertiseâ
- 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 clientâs direct experience by asking, âWhat is happening here? How are you experiencing what is happening?â
- 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 groupâs 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 â 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 doâs and donâts 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, âIf we broke or ignored this rule, could we still achieve our purpose?â
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: donât allow max specs to creep in
- Do extra rounds as needed
- Make the Min Specs official! Live by them (no âyes butâ)
- 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 Lyndaâs story, âPassing Montana Senate Bill 29â 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 âTurning A Business Aroundâ 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 otherâs 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!

Five Structural Elements â 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 âplayersâ
- Everyone else acts as observers and evaluators, then co-creative players
4. How Groups Are Configured
- One small group of players on âthe stageâ
- 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. 3â5 min.
- Each small observer group debriefs with 1-2-4-All to identify successful and unsuccessful âchunksâ 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. 3â5 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 everyoneâs 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 âapplause-o-meterâ
- 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 âDramatizing Behavior Change to Stop Infectionsâ 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 â 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 1â2-minute improvised interactions. Groups choose one member to be a âclient,â another a âcoach,â with the third acting as âobserver.â 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 âQuiet Presenceâ: 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 âGuided Discoveryâ: 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 âLoving Provocationâ: 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 âProcess Mindfulnessâ: 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 groupâs intended purposeâfor 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 â 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 5â7 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). 20â40 min.
- Fourth round with the talking object: each member shares âtakeaways.â 5â10 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 elseâs practices!
Five Structural Elements â Min Specs
1. Structuring Invitation
- Ask those in the fishbowl to describe their experienceâthe good, the bad, and the uglyâinformally, concretely, and openly. Invite them to do it in conversation with each other as if the audience wasnât 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 3â7 people
- One outer circle in multiple small satellite groups of 3â4 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 WÂł (What? So What? Now What?) and ask, âWhat seems possible now?â 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 participantâs 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, âthe good, the bad, the uglyâ
- Enforce the âno speechesâ and âtalk to each other, not to the outer circleâ 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 âwalk in the shoesâ of others. Many situations do not have immediate answers or clear resolutions. Recognizing these situations and responding with empathy can improve the âcultural climateâ 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 â 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 âWhat else?â or âWhat happened next?â
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: âWhat did it feel like to tell my story; what did it feel like to listen to your story?â 5 min.
- In a foursome, participants share reflections using 1-2-4, asking, âWhat patterns are revealed in the stories? What importance do you assign to the pattern?â 5 min.
- As a whole group, participants reflect on the questions, âHow could HSR be used to address challenges revealed by the patterns? What other Liberating Structures could be used?â 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, âYour partner may be ready before you. The first story that pops into mind is often the best.â
- Make it safe by saying, âYou may not want to pick the most painful story that comes to mind.â
- Make it safe by saying, âProtect carefully the privacy of the storyteller. Ask what parts, if any, you can share with others.â
- Suggest, âWhen 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.â
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/
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 â 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 1â4 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 âthe journeyâ 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, âTogether, what do the drawings reveal?â 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, âRefined drawing skills are not requiredâget over your need for perfection! Childlike drawing looks playful and captures the imagination of others!â
- Donât 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 â 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 âFixing a Broken Child Welfare Systemâ in Part Three: Stories from the Field.
Attribution: Liberating Structure developed by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless.
Design StoryBoards â 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 StoryBoardsâBasic 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 â 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 usersâ 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 (donât 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 onâŠ
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 StoryBoardsâBasic 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 âTurning a Business Aroundâ in Part Three: Stories from the Field. Alison Joslynâs management team used Design StoryBoard to formulate strategy discussions and launch Liberating Structures âbasic trainingâ for product managers and sales reps.
- See examples in Chapter 7, âFrom Strings to Storyboardsâ
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 groupâs imagination and encourage cohesive action.
Five Structural Elements â 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 everyoneâs mind in a casual âtalk showâ 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). 15â30 min.
- Invite participants to generate additional questions in a 1-2-4 conversation and then on 3-by-5-inch cards. 5â10 min.
- Interviewer sifts the cards, looking for patterns and asking additional questions to the celebrity. 5â10 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 connectionsâeven your friendsâ friendsâare tapped in a way that can have a powerful influence on progress without detailed planning and big investments.
Five Structural Elements â 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 âweaveâ 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, âWhat people do you know that are active in this work?â Tell them to create a Post-it with each of their names. Ask them to arrange the Post-its based on each personâs degrees of separation from each design group member. 10 min.
- Ask all core group members, âWho else would you like to include in this work?â 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, âWho knows whom? Who has influence and expertise? Who can block progress? Who can boost progress?â Ask them to illustrate the answers with connecting lines. 15 min.
- Ask the group to devise strategies to: 1) invite, attract, and âweaveâ 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 boundariesâwithin and beyond the organization
- Develop more frontline ownership and leadership for change
- Help people see connections and âblack holesâ
- 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 âtranslatingâ 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 â 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: âWhat I need from you is _____.â Clusters reduce their lists to two top needs, write these down in their expected form, and select a spokesperson to represent the cluster. 5â15 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). 5â10 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 âGetting Commitment, Ownership, and Follow-Throughâ 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 â 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 10â1,000 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 organizersâ invitation is included
- Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute
- The âLaw of Two Feetâ governs the participation of all attendees in the various sessions. It says: âGo 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!â
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 doesnât happen
Examples
- For management meetings of all stripes
- Read âTurning a Business Aroundâ 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 âInventing Future Health-Care Practiceâ 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 â 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 âWhat first steps can we take right now?â 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 âdiagnosis and treatmentâ 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
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 âPin the Tail on the Donkey.â 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.

Five Structural Elements â 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 4â6, 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 4â6 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, âWhat pattern do we see? Do any mismatches stand out that we should address?â 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 âanalysis paralysisâ 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 experienceâoften 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 â 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. 10â180 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. 20â180 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. 10â20 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 â Min Specs
1. Structuring Invitation
- Invite your group to explore the questions, âWill 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?â
2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed
- Chairs for people to sit in groups of 4, with or without small tables
- An âIntegrated Autonomy Worksheetâ 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, âHow is it that we can be more integrated and more autonomous at the same time?â 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, âWhere is there tension between our desire to standardize and the request for more customizing or autonomy?â 10 min.
- Ask participants to work in groups of four, and pick one activity from the list and ask, âWhat is the rationale for standardizing? What is the rationale for customizing?â 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, âWhich actions boost both standardization (group A) and customization (group C)?â See worksheet below. 5 min.
- Ask, âWhat modifications or creative ideas can be adopted to move some actions from group A to group B or from group C to group B?â 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 âbipolarâ 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, âAre we boosting or attending to both sides?â
- 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 â Min Specs
1. Structuring Invitation
- Invite the group to identify and explore the most critical and uncertain ârealitiesâ 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, âIn your/our operating environment, what factors are impossible to predict or control their direction?â 5 min.
- Prioritize the most critical factors by asking, âWhich factors threaten your/our ability to operate successfully?â 10 min.
- Based on the groupâs history and experience, select the two most critical and most uncertain (X and Y). 5 min.
- Create a grid with two axesâX & Yâwith a âmore of <â â> less ofâ 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 groupâs 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 treesâthey 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 â 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: âFor your working group (e.g., department, function, or whole company), make a list of all the activities (projects, initiatives) that occupy your time.â 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, âWhat activities do we need to creatively destroy or stop to move forward? What activities do we need to expand or start to move forward?â 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 individualâs 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 âopportunity windowsâ for innovations to spread among levels and across boundaries.
Below: Presentation material we use to introduce Panarchy
Five Structural Elements â 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 â 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, âWhat are the smallest-to-the-largest factors influencing your/our chances for success?â 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 âtranslateâ the factors into levels and create labels for each level (4â7 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: âOn 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?â 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, âAt 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?â 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, âLooking 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?â 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, âWhat action can you take immediately to influence levels above and below you?â And, âWho do you know that has influence in more than one level simultaneously?â 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, âWhat are the smallest-to-the-largest factors influencing your/our chances for success?â 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 âtranslateâ the factors into levels and create labels for each level (4â7 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: âOn 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?â 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, âAt 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?â 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, âLooking 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?â 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, âWhat action can you take immediately to influence levels above and below you?â And, âWho do you know that has influence in more than one level simultaneously?â 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. â 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 âopportunity windowsâ for innovations to spread among levels and across boundaries.
Below: Presentation material we use to introduce Panarchy
Five Structural Elements â 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, âWhat are the smallest-to-the-largest factors influencing your/our chances for success?â 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 âtranslateâ the factors into levels and create labels for each level (4â7 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: âOn 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?â 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, âAt 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?â 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, âLooking 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?â 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, âWhat action can you take immediately to influence levels above and below you?â And, âWho do you know that has influence in more than one level simultaneously?â 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

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 elementsâprinciples, participants, structure, and practicesâare 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 â 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: âWhy is the work important to you and the larger community?â
- 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: âWhat rules must we absolutely obey to succeed in achieving our purpose?â
- Participants: âWho can contribute to achieving our purpose and must be included?â
- Structure: âHow must we organize (both macro- and microstructures) and distribute control to achieve our purpose?â
- Practices: âWhat are we going to do? What will we offer to our users/clients and how will we do it?â
- After each element, ask, âHas this element shed new light that suggests revisions to previous elements?â 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 everyoneâs imagination in designing the collective future of participants
- Avoid âdesignâ 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, itâs 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. Thatâs ok. Just experiment, and see if youâre able to achieve the purpose of the Daily Scrum. And if it takes longer than 15 minutes but youâre having a great conversation, well⊠thatâs valuable as well, right?
10 examples in a 2-week Sprint
- Use the Sprint Planning to make the Sprint Goal clear with âNine Whysâ. Sentences that help write clear purpose statements are âThis Sprint exists in order toâ, or âThis Sprint exists to stopâŠâ, or âWhen we achieve this Sprint Goal, what has clearly changed or improved from the perspective of stakeholders?â.
- Try âMin Specsâ 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 âMax Specsâ: all the work, currently known, necessary to achieve the Sprint Goal.
- Use a â1â2â4-ALLâ to have the group define the âMin Specsâ by asking âWhat is essential work we need to do today to make progress in achieving the Sprint Goal?â. 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 âGallery Walkâ 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 âImpromptu Networkingâ in which every round is focused on one of the questions of âWhat, So What, Now Whatâ. Each question is discussed in pairs for only 2 minutes.
- Round 1, in pairs, discuss: âBased on the Gallery Walk, what have you noticed? What facts or observations stand out?â. Round 2, in new pairs: âWhy are those observations important? What patterns do you see? What conclusions can we draw?â. 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 âSpiral Journalâ 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: âSomething I noticed yesterday was âŠ.â, âSomething I yesterday was âŠ.â, âA question that is emerging is âŠ.â âSomething we should definitely do today isâŠ.â.
- After about 5â7 minutes, invite the Developers to share what they wrote down by using the Liberating Structure â1â2â4-ALLâ and as a final step, update the Scrum board when needed.
- Start the 4th day by using âTRIZâ 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 âTRIZ-on-steroidsâ.
- 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 âWhich items from our Sprint Backlog should we definitely do in order to achieve the worst possible outcome?â. Invite everyone to be creative while making sure to keep it realistic. Have them share the result with another pair and extend the list. Itâs 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: âIf youâre brutally honest, which activities from the first list do you recognize how we already work?â;
- 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 â15 Solutionsâ, something everyone, individually can start doing immediately after the Daily Scrum.
- Day 5 is started with an âImpromptu Networkingâ in which the standard (optional) questions for the Daily Scrum are asked: âWhat did I do yesterday that helped the Developers meet the Sprint Goal?â, âWhat will I do today to help the team meet the Sprint Goal?â âDo I see any impediment that prevents me or the other Developers from meeting the Sprint Goal?â.
- In total, Impromptu Networking takes about 10â12 minutes. While discussing the impediments, one Developer mentions having a problem she doesnât know how to fix. Together with the team, you decide to wrap-up the Daily Scrum and start a 30-minute âWise Crowdsâ 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 âGallery Walkâ 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 5â7 participants each. If you have a large Scrum Team, from two groups. You can stand or sit. Briefly explain the structure of the âConversation Cafeâ: 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 1â2â4-ALL, which is called 4â2â1-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. âWhat did you notice about the progress we made yesterday?â.
- Invite the small groups to break up into pairs. Give the pair a new invitation, for example, âWhat do you want to achieve today?â.
- 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 (3â2â1) 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 đ
- Day 8 is started with a âMad Teaâ 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. Itâs 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: âAn uncertainty we must creatively adapt to isâŠâ, âWhat I find challenging isâŠâ, âSomething we should stop doing isâŠâ, âA big opportunity I see for us isâŠâ, âA courageous conversation we are not having isâŠâ, or âAn action or practice helping us move forward isâŠâ.
- 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 âDiscovery and Action Dialogueâ, 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:
- âHow do you know when the problem is present?â
- âHow do you contribute effectively to solving the problem?â
- âWhat prevents you from doing this or taking these actions all the time?â
- âDo you know anybody who is able to frequently solve this problem and overcome barriers? What behaviors or practices made their success possible?â
- âDo you have any ideas?â
- âWhat needs to be done to make it happen? Any volunteers?â
- âWho else needs to be involved?â
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 âMin Specsâ 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. Itâs completely up to you to select the sentences. This Trello card contains many examples. To help you get started, consider using these sentencesâŠ
- Something unexpected that happened yesterday was âŠ
- I donât like that Iâm feeling X about Y âŠ
- An amazing thought I have isâŠ
- What I wish Iâd done differently yesterday isâŠ
- A thought I canât get rid of is âŠ
- A person Iâm thinking about is âŠ
- This Sprint, Iâm grateful for âŠ
- What I would like to see happen today isâŠ
- What would make this Sprint our best one so far isâŠ
- My personal goal for today is toâŠ
- 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 canât come up with 10 different waysâââit’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: âDid you write anything that surprised you or that you find curious/unusual?â.
- So far, this will take about 10â12 minutes. You can close the Daily Scrum by updating the Sprint Backlog together, or use a 1â2â4-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 âhow can we deliver more value?â. In the final phase of gathering âAllâ 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? WÂł
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, âWHAT? What happened? What did you notice, what facts or observations stood out?â Then, after all the salient observations have been collected, ask, âSO WHAT? Why is that important? What patterns or conclusions are emerging? What hypotheses can you make?â Then, after the sense making is over, ask, âNOW WHAT? What actions make sense?â
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 weâre not in control. This is totally true. Life for a large part consists of things we canât control. However, thereâs 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!