Liberating StructuresHenri LipmanowiczKeith McCandless

Plexus Institute, 2009

Our inventory of useful methods. Which of these methods are familiar to you? One point for each:

15. Smart Network Mapping16. Generative Relationships17. Purpose-To-Practice Design18. Scenario Planning Critical

Uncertainties19. Impromptu Speed Networking20. 1-2-4-Whole Group21. Troika Consulting22. Fishbowl Sessions – “What I

Need From You”23. Celebrity Interview24. 5 Whys & 10 Hows25. Storyboarding Agendas26. Positive Deviance

YOUR TOTAL SCORE IS: _____?

1. Appreciative Interviews2. Agreement / Uncertainty Matrix3. Creative Destruction via TRIZ4. Wicked Questions5. Min Specs6. Chunking via Rapid Prototyping7. Improv8. 15% Solutions9. Open Space Technology 10. Ecocycle Sifting & Gathering11. Panarchy: Cross-Scale Change12. Conversation Café Dialogue13. Discovery & Action Dialogue14. Wise Crowds Group

Consultation

Question 1

• How long have you used complexity-inspired methods -- such as the approaches in the last slide -- in your organization or consulting work?

A. > 10 years B. 3-10 yearsC. 1-3 years -D. in the last yearE. not started yet

The Story We Tell in Airplanes

“In one week we can have a transforming

impact on an organization!!!”

Power in Combining Elements!

Immersion in a large # of simple self-organizing methods

A mix of top, middle & front line participants (+ customers) Invitation to try many

simple methods to your challenges immediately

Focus on complex challenges that require diverse participation to make progress

Rapid cycles jointly shaping solutions & insights in-the-moment

One on one coaching to launch immediate use in local context

In organizations,patterns and results emerge from how people interact

with each other and affect each other’s

behaviors and ideas. ~ Simultaneous mutual shaping at play ~

Hope has never trickled down. It has always sprung up.

New Option to Affect a System

• Same people• Same structure• Same incentives

• Change processes & patterns of relating

Liberating

Structures

Culture eats strategy for lunch

PurposeLiberating Structures

Stimulate and unleash

innovation and productivity

at all levels

by using and inventing new ways

of working together

and interacting with

peers, clients, students,

and community members.

The Story We Tell in Airplanes“in one week we can have a transforming

impact on an organization!!!”

How? With a LS Workshop:

• Up to 120 participants, all levels• 20 to 25 LS• 2-3 days• 2 days 1-on-1 coaching

How we start the LS workshop:

• Impromptu Speed Networking (15 minutes)• Appreciative Interview (45 minutes)

Impromptu, Speed NetworkingPower of loose connections,

small things can make a big difference

What is YOUR biggest challenge right now?

What do you hope to get from

and contribute to the workshop?

Find a partner…3-5 minutes sharing… Then find another partner… then find another.

How to move from product to customer focus

I have no idea what will happen

here!

Our customers think we don’t

care

The frontline resists all change

How to maintain momentum in a rough downturn

Better ways to address chronic

problems

The merger! I have a new

team

I want to bust the

silos

Why start this way? What did you notice?

Liberates energy (no speech…) Invites deeper engagement with a

provocative or profound question Repetition deepens stories Listening quickly connects people Loose connections can be powerful Little things can make a big

difference

Brainstorm

Where and how could you use

Impromptu Speed Networking:• In Meetings?

• Events?

Why “Liberating Structures”?

Liberation/Freedom Maximum

Structure/Control Minimum

Appreciative InterviewsCreating Momentum by Building On and Designing With “What Works Right Now”

Find a partner you don’t know well and share a story about a

fabulous personal achievement…

(re a complex challenge)

Insights• Building on what works with an appreciative

approach (people are attracted to light!)• Storytelling versus PowerPoint• Pairs, then Quartets • Retelling and listening• Recognizing patterns• Collecting Whole Group wisdom• When you repeat appreciative interviews in

rapid cycles it can draw out more discovery & knowledge for innovation

1-2-4-Whole Group Progressive, Rapid Cycle Conversation

– Self-Reflection (no talking)– Pairs– Small Groups – Whole group

Brainstorm

Where and how can you use

Appreciative Interviews

Or 1-2-4-Whole group

Liberating Structures Defined

Processes and methods that make it easy and quick

for groups of people to liberate their energy, tap into their collective

intelligence, be creative, adaptable,

build on each other’s ideas, and get results

Question 2

• What is the degree to which your organization or your clients rely on the following practices to address complex challenges:

– Importing “evidence-based” best practices– Driving change & buy-in strategies– Extensive training or more personal development

A. never B. rarelyC. not sure D. frequently E. always

Are You Also ExperiencingThese Challenges?

 

Imported best practices spreading poorly or not at all in local settings

Buy-in which can't be achieved without painful, often futile arm-twisting (after the initial hoopla & charismatic messaging fade away)

Expensive efforts to train or educate people that fail to change behavior (or show only modest results)

Diagnosis

These are classic symptoms of ineffective or neglected methods for unleashing social invention.

For a large class of challenges, selecting whom to include and how they are best engaged in addressing the problem-at-hand is critical but overlooked. Technical mastery overshadows the subtle power of local wisdom in crowds.

Problems & Opportunities Awareness Iceberg

4% known to top leaders

9% known to middle managers

74% known to supervisors

100% known to the front line & customers

Adapted from study conducted by Sidney Yoshida, initially presented at the International Quality Symposium

Action unleashed @ the front line

Solution

Engaging more people at multiple levels, earlier and more strategically, can dramatically boost capacity for solutions that generate spectacular and unexpected results. Methods that shift patterns of interaction are most helpful.

Simple approaches like Liberating Structures will help you and others discover for themselves more productive and innovative solutions.

Question 3

• In your direct experience, is your organization getting better at using complexity-inspired methods to address complex challenges?

A. yes, definitely getting better organization-wide

B. making progress in pockets

C. getting worse, not better

D. no change

E. not sure

Question 4 • For participants with direct

experience, what is your self-assessment of how complexity methods are spreading across your organization (top-to-bottom-to-clients)?

A. Active, fully distributed spread B. Active use in units and pocketsC. Active use by champions within pocketsD. Isolated use only when facilitated by expertsE. Very limited or no spread

Early Design Flaws - Failing ForwardIn Spreading Complexity-Inspired Methods

Design Attributes• Science- and concept-

based learning sessions focusing on scientific advances & principles

• Learning sessions in far-away places with homogenous groups (e.g., leaders, trainers, change agents)

• Expert facilitation using one or two methods to address a single complex challenge

Hard Lessons• Only a few people really

cared and this did not prepare them to take action in local settings

• We assumed individuals could effectively share and spread methods “back home”

• This seemed to create “facilitator dependence.” Plus, only so much progress can be made in an offsite session.

Liberating Structures Workshop• 25+ different methods• Single organization: all

layers together, top to bottom

• Community with shared interests

• Ideal 2.5 days + 2 days of coaching sessions

• Experiential, “try it NOW”• Intense, rapid cycles• Fun, Seriously!• Complexity Theory – little or

none, adjustable to interests• Focus on real challenges,

mundane and sublime

Learning Approach

• Experiential learning with a minimal amount of “telling” and a maximum of self-discovery

• Methods are introduced and woven into interactions around key challenges selected by participants

• We draw out and build on the direct experience of you and everyone in the room

• We search for the minimum structure to liberate the maximum innovation

Liberating Structures An expanding, adaptable mash-up of open source methods

1. Appreciative Interviews2. Agreement / Uncertainty Matrix3. Creative Destruction via TRIZ4. Wicked Questions5. Min Spec s6. Chunking via Rapid Prototyping7. Improv8. 15% Solutions9. Open Space Technology 10. Ecocycle Sifting & Gathering11. Panarchy: Cross-Scale Change12. Conversation Café Dialogue13. Discovery & Action Dialogue14. Wise Crowds Group

Consultation

15. Smart Network Mapping16. Generative Relationships17. Purpose-To-Practice Design18. Scenario Planning Critical

Uncertainties19. Impromptu Speed

Networking20. 1-2-4-Whole Group21. Troika Consulting22. Fishbowl Sessions – “What I

Need From You”23. Celebrity Interview24. 5 Whys & 10 Hows25. Storyboarding Agendas26. Positive Deviance

We search for the minimum structure to liberate the maximum innovation

Typical Workshop AgendaDAY I – 8:30am-5:00pm DAY II – 8:30am-5:00pm DAY III – 8:30am-1:30pm

Welcome and Purpose[] Impromptu NetworkingQuick Rounds of Conversation With “Strangers” [20][] Introducing LS and Purpose[] Appreciative InterviewsCreating Momentum by Building On and Designing With “What Works Right Now” [45] twist: flip a problem into an appreciative search for solutions[] Agreement)(Certainty Matching MatrixMatching Simple, Complicated, & Complex Approaches to Specific Challenges [30] self-reflection, then pairs, then place challenges on BIG wall chart. Group review.[] Ecocycle PlanningEngaging Groups in Growing and Sifting Their Portfolio of Activities [60] What do you notice about the distribution? Any surprises in the Poverty or Rigidity Traps?[] 15% Solutions + Troika ConsultsNoticing and Using the Influence, Discretion and Power Individuals Have Right Now Twist: move one challenge (from the Ecocycle) forward with a 15% Solution, then Troika consult[] Lunch [] Making Space with TRIZDesigning a Perfectly Adverse System to Make Space [45-60] Themes: important customer or patient or peer interaction[] Flocking CAS [15] How do innovations spread?[] Wise Crowds Group Consultation Tapping the “Wisdom of Crowds” To Solve Problems Together [60] Possibilities: a big launch, coordination across silos or boundaries, a chronic/messy problem[] Design Party Debrief SessionReflecting on Your Design-In-Progress and Making Adjustments-As-You-Go (what? so what? now what? among a small group in the front of the room… link to ladder of inference)[] Social Time and Dinner Together

[] Conversation Café DialogueMaking Sense of and Forming Consensual Hunches about Big Challenges [60] Themes: using LS in your work…[] Graphic StoryBoardingIllustrating a Design Process for Key Meetings [10] [] Wicked Questions Framing a Paradoxical Challenge That Engages Everyone’s Imagination [30] Link to Café: how can we confidently use Liberating Structures without knowing what will unfold?[] Positive Deviance: Discovery & Action Dialogue Self-Discovering Solutions To Big Challenges Hidden Right Before Your Eyes [60-90] Theme: effective meetings or a chronic challenge[] Min SpecsUnleashing Innovation & Action by Specifying only “Must-do’s” & “Must-not-do’s” [30] Start with why, why, why… to clarify purpose, then sift activities. [] Smart Networks MappingWeaving Social Connections and Informal Networks To Develop & Advance Practice [20] draw personal maps by hand or review Smart Maps, then Webbing: who do you go to for expertise… inspiration… permission?...[] Lunch[] “What I Need From You” Fishbowl

Articulating Clear and Actionable Needs Across Functions [60] focus on a new strategic challenge that requires coordination to meet clients needs[] Chunking, User Research, PrototypingTapping Tacit and Latent Knowledge in Seriously-Playful Rapid Cycles [80] Improv theme: difficult conversation with key client or peer[] Design Party Debrief SessionsReflecting on Your Design-In-Progress and Making Adjustments-As-You-Go [20][] Social Time and Dinner Together

[] Open Space TechnologyLiberating Inherent Creativity and Leadership In Large Groups with an Action-Orientation [120] Application of Liberating Structures to an important challenges for ABC organization[] Generative RelationshipsUnderstanding Patterns in Relationships that Create Surprising, New Sources of Value Pick a key group you are in right now and apply the STAR self-assessment… then action steps. [] Mad Tea Party or Webbing or “25”Paired Self-Reflection in Fast Cycles [20] in Spanish, English, Swedish, French and Portuguese. Use when energy gets low.[] Lunch Together and Closing

Optional “improv” activities & simulations: Flocking CAS Webbing or CoPs Leader / Follower F L O W Blocking / Accepting Offers~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Day IV and V One-to-One Coaching Sessions as requested Post Workshop design debrief

Workshop Objectives~ Experience how Liberating Structures transform interactions with your peers, students, patients~ Begin preparing next steps for ongoing use in everyday practice with customers, peers, and suppliers~ Discover how Liberating Structures are congruent with the emerging sciences of complex and/or biological systems

Attributes of LS MethodsWhat Other Methods Come To Mind?

• Simple & fast to learn• Requires very little

explanation or theory• Draws out insight from

interaction• Works with groups, units,

or the whole organization• Focuses attention on

relationship patterns• Minimally structured for

maximum liberation• Generates surprises &

novelty without central control (light coordination only)

• Invites seriously-playful participation

• Appeals to people in diverse roles

• Generates very short- and long-term results

• Illuminates an edge or paradoxical territory

• Identifies and builds on assets that exist now

• Invites inclusion & more diverse voices

• Works with internal and external customers

What Else? What other methods fit with Liberating

Structures? What comes to your mind?

• Use the Chat function to add your ideas.• You can control who you send to…

Go wild!

FAQ #1Why So Many, So Fast?

– Every person is likely to find two or three LS they like and want to start using. (A few people will find many)

– LS are modular. They can be mashed-up and spur new inventions very quickly.

– Participants see patterns across the LS and gain confidence with experience.

– Quickly using them demonstrates LS are forgiving. You can get great results without tight fidelity.

– Rapid cycles show that ideas/answers come from many sources and levels, not all from the top.

FAQ # 2Why Top & Front Line Together?

– Complex issues involve multiple functions, levels, & disciplines

– The front line knows more about the customers’ problems & opportunities

– Serious progress on tough issues can be made with all parties present

– Learning together helps launch LS use quickly– Confidence builds when everyone starts on an equal

footing– No waiting for permission– Everyone can simultaneously-and-mutually shape

innovations as they emerge

Outcomes

Forgiving

Early Successes

Easy to Implement,

Spreads Itself

Concrete Changes

Immediate Early

Adopters

Creative Relationship with Clients

EnergyUnleashed

Wow! Practicing Our Way Into New Thinking

Liberating Structures in Practice

Inspired by pioneering work with Plexus in the US. Launched in 2004 and developed in Latin America. Now, migrating to Europe and Asia.

What Is Unique or Special About Liberating Structures?

You have heard enough from us.

What do you think?– Chat with your neighbor– Share ideas in small groups– Share the most interesting or unusual with the

whole group

Question 5

• Sponsoring a workshop is a big commitment. How likely is it that your organization or an organization you work with will want to host a workshop?

A. very likelyB. likely C. not sure D. unlikely E. never

• Your suggestions for how to position this offering will be most appreciated.

Question 6

• Designing a LS workshop is fun, relatively simple, and rewarding. How likely is it that you will want to design something similar to this offering for your organization or your clients?

A. very likely

B. likely

C. not sure

D. unlikely

E. very unlikely

Bonus Material

• Based on what emerges, we will dig deeper into the most interesting questions that pop up.– More on methods– What is different– Shifting behavior &

culture– Sources of knowledge

for innovation– Learning more

Methods that shift interactions

• Stories versus PPT• Listening, silence• Big questions• Improvising• Diversity of formats: pairs,

small groups, large groups• Focus on purpose• Inviting participation,

minimizing status differences

• Rapid learning & prototyping cycles

• Feedback loops• Network weaving• Posting information with

colorful graphics• Natural environment• Movement, fun• Social elements, mixing

participants

What Is Different?Self-sustaining attributes include…

 

• more participatory, engaging diverse stakeholders in substantive co-design rather than the select few formal leaders;

• more unit-based and local, with solutions worked out by front-line groups instead of imported “best practices;”

• more informal, building on social networks and decentralized communities-of-practice rather than the organizational chart via “buy in” initiatives; and,

• more practical, ready to be adapted in everyday settings without additional education, training or certification.

 

These attributes help make Liberating Structures self-sustaining and self-spreading. We find people learn best when they discover solutions themselves, among peers in their local context.

Attributes of LS MethodsWhat Other Methods Come To Mind?

• Simple & fast to learn• Requires very little

explanation or theory• Draws out insight from

interaction• Works with groups, units,

or the whole organization• Focuses attention on

relationship patterns• Minimally structured for

maximum liberation• Generates surprises &

novelty without central control (light coordination only)

• Invites seriously-playful participation

• Appeals to people in diverse roles

• Generates very short- and long-term results

• Illuminates an edge or paradoxical territory

• Identifies and builds on assets that exist now

• Invites inclusion & more diverse voices

• Works with internal and external customers

Shifting Behaviors & CultureSelf-Reinforcing Patterns

Control Focus on

Tasks & Alignment

Dependency

Letting Go Focus on

Engaging People & Purpose

Self-Organization

Liberating StructuresA Personal and Organizational

Journey

Adapted in part from Bob Anderson,“From Patriarchy to Partnership”

Behaviors Linked To MethodsRemoving Barriers to Innovation

Listening & Asking for Help

Relying on “Local” Discovery

Seeking Multiple Interpretations;Risking Multiple Actions

Sharing Information Freely

Seeking Expertise, Not Rank

Taking on More Responsibility

1-2-4-Whole Group Wise Crowds

Purpose-To-Practice Design Agreement/Certainty Matrix

Conversation Café Dialogue

Generative Relationships

Appreciative Interviews

Graphic StoryBoarding

Smart Networks + CoP

Group Consultation

Min Specs

TRIZ

15% Solutions

Ecocycle Planning

Positive Deviance

Scenario Planning

Wicked Questions

Design Party Debriefs

Open Space Technology

Chunking – Rapid Prototyping

Fishbowls & Celebrity Interviews

Sources of Knowledge & Innovation

Explicit Tacit Latent / EmergentASK

What your clients or peers tell you they need when you ask (e.g., focus groups)

OBSERVE

What behaviors you see in their local context (e.g., ethnographic

observation)

CO-CREATE EXPERIENCE

What you jointly discover & develop with peers & clients

(e.g., rapid prototyping)

LS ++

LS +++

Adapted from Alan Duncan, MD (Mayo Clinic)

LS tap tacit and latent-emergent

knowledge

Liberating Structures

Help People and Organizations…

Attract people with diverse skills to solve problems Invite, build and amplify a community-of-practice Expand scarce resources Work with the imagination & resources at hand Adapt quickly, creatively to emerging problems Create new markets, products, and services in

partnership with unusual suspects Work across silos, redrawing boundaries Bounce back from disruptions …

More about Liberating Structures @ www.socialinvention.net & www.plexusinstitute.org

Keith McCandless, Co-FounderSocial Invention GroupP: +1 206.324.9332keithmccandless@earthlink.netwww.socialinvention.net

Henri Lipmanowicz, Chair Plexus Institutewww.henrilip@mac.comwww.plexusinstitute.org

Lisa Kimball, President, Plexus Institute1025 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 1000Washington, DC 20036P: +1 202.857.9797 lisa@plexusinstitute.orghttp://www.plexusinstitute.org