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4/6/17

What will I learn


Liberating today?

All about the conventional structures that LS replaces

Structures and complements


Using the basic LS, 1-2-4-All

All about the principles that underlie LS


Including and unleashing everyone Using the handout & sharing our stories

Try one out!


Check out the Liberating Structures Menu

Available at your local library!

www.liberatingstructures.com
The Surprising
Power of
Liberating
Structures
by
Henri Lipmanowicz
& Keith McCandless

1
4/6/17

One Liberating Structure can If you want to build a ship,


transform a meeting, a dont drum up people to collect
classroom, or a conversation. wood and dont assign them tasks
Using many of them together, and work, but rather teach them
on a regular basis, can to long for the endless immensity
transform an organization, a of the sea.
community, or a life.
~from the book, The Surprising Power of Liberating

Structures by Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith McCandless


~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

There are two kinds of truth.


There are superficial truths, the
opposite of which are obviously
. . wrong. But there are also
profound truths, whose opposite
are equally right.
~ Niels Bohr
.

2
4/6/17

To be playful is to A vivid
allow for unlimited imagination
possibility. compels the whole
~James Carse
body to obey.
~Aristotle

3
The Principles of Liberating Structures

Principle Liberating Structures Liberating Structures


make it possible to: make it possible to:
When Liberating
START or AMPLIFY these STOP or REDUCE these
Structures are part practices that address autopilot practices that
of everyday opportunities and challenges
are encouraged by
interactions, it is with much more input and
conventional
possible to: support: microstructures:
1. Include and Invite everyone touched by a Separate deciders from doers.
Unleash challenge to share possible Appoint a few to design an
Everyone solutions or invent new elegant solution and then tell
approaches together. Actively all others to implement it after
reach across silos and levels, the fact. Force buy-in. Confront
beyond the usual suspects. resistance with hours of
PowerPoint presentations.
2. Practice Deep Engage the people doing the work Import best practices, drive buy-
Respect for and familiar with the local context. in, or assume people need more
People and Local Trust and unleash their collective training. Value experts and
Solutions expertise and inventiveness to computer systems over local
solve complex challenges. Let go people and know-how.
of
the compulsion to control.
3.Never Start Dig deep for what is important Maintain ambiguity by using
Without a Clear and meaningful to you and to jargon. Substitute a safe short-
Purpose others. Use Nine Whys routinely. term goal or cautious means-to-
Take time to include everyone in an-end statement for a deep
crafting an unambiguous need or a bold reason to exist.
statement of the deepest need for Impose your purpose on others.
your work.
4. Build Trust As Cultivate a trusting group climate Over-help or overcontrol the
You Go where speaking the truth is valued work of others. Respond to ideas
and shared ownership is the goal. from others with cynicism,
Sift ideas and make decisions ridicule, criticism, or
using input from everyone. punishment. Praise and then just
Practice nothing about me pretend to follow the ideas of
without me. Be a leader and a others.
follower.
5. Learn by Failing Debrief every step. Make it safe to Focus on doing and deciding.
Forward speak up. Discover positive Avoid difficult conversations and
variation. Include and unleash gloss over failures. Punish risk-
everyone as you innovate, takers when unknowable
including clients, customers, and surprises pop up.
suppliers. Take risks safely.
6. Practice Self- Engage groups to the maximum Impose solutions from the top.
Discovery degree in discovering solutions on Let experts educate and tell
Within a Group their own. Increase diversity to people what to do. Assume that
spur creativity, broaden potential people resist change no matter
solutions, and enrich peer-to-peer what. Substitute laminated signs
learning. Encourage experiments for conversation. Exclude
on multiple tracks. frontline people from innovating
and problem solving.
7. Amplify Specify minimum constraints and Allow people to work without
Freedom AND let go of overcontrol. Use the structure, such as a clear purpose
Responsibility power of invitation. Value fast or minimum specifications. Let
experiments over playing it safe. rules and procedures stifle
Track progress rigorously and feed initiative. Ignore the value of
back results to all. Expose and peoples understanding how
celebrate mistakes as sources of their work affects one another.
progress. Keep frontline staff in the dark
about performance data.
8. Emphasize Expose what is working well. Focus on whats wrong. Wait for
Possibilities: Focus on what can be all the barriers to come down or
Believe Before accomplished now with the for ideal conditions to emerge.
imagination and materials at hand. Work on changing the whole
You See
Take the next steps that lead to system all at once.
creativity and renewal.
9. Invite Creative Convene conversations about what Avoid or delay stopping the
Destruction to is keeping people from working on behaviors, practices, and policies
Enable the essence of their work. Remove that are revealed as barriers.
the barriers even when it feels like Assume obstacles dont matter
Innovation
heresy. Make it easy for people to or cant be removed.
deal with their fears.
10. Engage in Stir things upwith levity, Keep it simple by deciding in
Seriously paradoxical questions, and Improv advance what the solutions
Playful to spark a deep exploration of should be. Control all
current practices and latent conversations. Ask only closed
Curiosity
innovations. Make working yes or no questions. Make
together both demanding and working together feel like
inviting. drudgery.



LS Selection Matchmaker: What Serves Your Purpose?
~ Use with the LS Design Cards or the LS Menu on the next page~

1. Rapidly share challenges and 12. Specify only the absolute 23. Discover, spark and unleash
expectations while building Must dos & Must not dos local solutions to chronic
new connections for achieving a purpose problems
2. Make the purpose of your 13. Tap the wisdom of the whole 24. Move from either-or to
work together clear group in rapid cycles robust both-and solutions

3. Together, look back on 14. Articulate the paradoxical 25. Reveal and understand
progress to-date and decide challenges that a group must relationship patterns that create
what adjustments are needed confront to succeed value or dysfunctions

4. Stop counterproductive 15. Reveal insights and paths 26. Develop strategies for
activities & behaviors to make forward through successfully operating in a range
space for innovation non-verbal expression of plausible yet
unpredictable futures
5. Discover & build on the 16. Develop effective solutions 27. Define the 5 elements that
root causes of success to chronic challenges while are essential for a
having serious fun resilient & enduring initiative

6. Engage everyone 17. Sort challenges into simple, 28. Analyze the full portfolio of
simultaneously in generating complicated and complex activities & relationships to
questions/ideas/suggestions categories identify obstacles &
opportunities for progress
7. Share know-how gained from 18. Spread good ideas and make 29. Understand how embedded
experience with a informal connections systems interact, evolve,
larger community with innovators influence the spread of
innovation, and transform
8. Discover & focus on what 19. Practice deeper listening 30. Surface most essential needs
each person has the freedom and empathy with colleagues across functions and accept or
and resources to do now reject requests for support

9. Rapidly generate & sift a 20. Map informal connections 31. Reconnect the experience of
groups most powerful and decide how to strengthen leaders and experts with the
actionable ideas the network to people closest to the
achieve a purpose

challenge at hand
10. Get practical and imaginative 21. Define the step-by-step 32. Practice progressive
help from colleagues design elements for bringing methods for helping others,
immediately initiatives or meetings to receiving help and asking
productive endpoints for help
11. Engage everyone in making 22. Liberate inherent action 33. Observe and record actual
sense of profound challenges and leadership in large groups behaviors of users
in the field


Write two or three sentences about the challenge you have in mind. Then,
1. Put a checkmark next to each objective you wish to achieve. []
2. Group objectives in a logical sequence of beginning, middle and end.
3. Trim your list by taking out the less critical objectives; save those for later.
4. If you are down to between 3 and 7 objectives you have your first string. Voila!
5. Develop one or two alternative strings, shorter, longer or different.
6. Share with others, compare, modify and choose one that makes good sense.
7. Match your string of objectives with its string of LS and check timing.
8. Save alternative objectives for improvising as needed during implementation.




Liberating Structures Menu
~ Use when LS Design Cards are not available ~
Each LS in this table is designed to achieve the objective with the same number.
Cut along the table lines to make separate cards easy to manipulate and string together.

1. 12. 23.
Impromptu Networking Min Specs Discovery & Action
5-20 min. 20-50 min. Dialogue
25-70 min.
2. 13. 24.
9 Whys Wise Crowds Integrated~Autonomy
5-20 min. 10-60 min. per person 60-80 min.
3. 14. 25.
What, So What, Now What Wicked Questions Generative Relationships
15-45 min. 20 min. 25 min.
4. 15. 26.
TRIZ Drawing Together Critical Uncertainties
30-45 min. 30-40 min. 60-100 min.
5. 16. 27.
Appreciative Interviews Improv Prototyping Purpose-to-Practice
30-60 min. 15-20 min. per round 25-120 min.
6. 17. 28.
1-2-4-All Agreement-Certainty Ecocycle Planning
10-12 min. Matrix 60-95 min.
30-45 min.
7. 18. 29.
User Experience Fishbowl Shift & Share Panarchy
25-70 min. 35-90 min. 1-2 hr.
8. 19. 30.
15% Solutions Heard, Seen, Respected What I Need From You
15-20 min. 25 min. 45-70 min.
9. 20. 31.
25-to-10 Crowd Sourcing Social Network Webbing. Celebrity Interview
20-30 min. 45-60 min. 25-60 min.
10. 21. 32.
Troika Consulting Design Storyboards Helping Heuristics
15-30 min. 25-70 min. 15 min.
11. 22. 33.
Conversation Caf Open Space Simple Ethnography
35-60 min. 90 min. to 3 days 1-6 hr.

Keith McCandless & Henri Lipmanowicz www.liberatingstructures.com

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