Liberating Structures Henri Lipmanowicz Keith McCandless

1. Liberating StructuresHenri LipmanowiczKeith McCandless Plexus Institute, 2009

2. 15. Smart Network Mapping 16. Generative Relationships 17. Purpose-To-Practice Design 18. Scenario Planning Critical Uncertainties 19. Impromptu Speed Networking 20. 1-2-4-Whole Group 21. Troika Consulting 22. Fishbowl Sessions – “What I Need From You” 23. Celebrity Interview 24. 5 Whys & 10 Hows 25. Storyboarding Agendas 26. Positive Deviance Appreciative Interviews Agreement / Uncertainty Matrix Creative Destruction via TRIZ Wicked Questions Min Specs Chunking via Rapid Prototyping Improv 15% Solutions Open Space Technology Ecocycle Sifting & Gathering Panarchy: Cross-Scale Change Conversation Café Dialogue Discovery & Action Dialogue Wise Crowds Group Consultation Our inventory of useful methods. Which of these methods are familiar to you? One point for each: YOUR TOTAL SCORE IS: _____?

3. Question 1 How long have you used complexity-inspired methods -- such as the approaches in the last slide -- in your organization or consulting work? > 10 years 3-10 years 1-3 years - in the last year not started yet

4. The Story We Tell in Airplanes“In one week we can have a transforming impact on an organization!!!”

5. Power in Combining Elements! A mix of top, middle & front line participants (+ customers) Invitation to try many simple methods to your challenges immediately Immersion in a large # of simple self-organizing methods Focus on complex challenges that require diverse participation to make progress One on one coaching to launch immediate use in local context Rapid cycles jointly shaping solutions & insights in-the-moment

6. In organizations,patterns and results emerge from how people interactwith 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.

7. New Option to Affect a System Liberating Structures Culture eats strategy for lunch Same people Same structure Same incentives Change processes & patterns of relating

8. 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.

9. 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)

10. Impromptu, Speed NetworkingPower of loose connections, small things can make a big difference

11. 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. I have no idea what will happen here! Better ways to address chronic problems I want to bust the silos How to maintain momentum in a rough downturn How to move from product to customer focus Our customers think we don’t care The frontline resists all change The merger! I have a new team

12. 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

13. Brainstorm Where and how could you use Impromptu Speed Networking: In Meetings? Events?

14. Why “Liberating Structures”? Structure/Control Minimum Liberation/Freedom Maximum

15. 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)

16. 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

17. 1-2-4-Whole GroupProgressive, Rapid Cycle Conversation • Self-Reflection (no talking) • Pairs • Small Groups • Whole group

18. Brainstorm Where and how can you use Appreciative Interviews Or 1-2-4-Whole group

19. 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

20. 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 never rarely not sure frequently always

21. 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)

22. 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.

23. Problems & OpportunitiesAwareness Iceberg 4% known to top leaders 9% known to middle managers 74% known to supervisors 100% known to the front line & customers Action unleashed @ the front line Adapted from study conducted by Sidney Yoshida, initially presented at the International Quality Symposium

24. 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.

25. Question 3 In your direct experience, is your organization getting better at using complexity-inspired methods to address complex challenges? yes, definitely getting better organization-wide making progress in pockets getting worse, not better no change not sure

26. 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)? Active, fully distributed spread Active use in units and pockets Active use by champions within pockets Isolated use only when facilitated by experts Very limited or no spread

27. 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. Early Design Flaws - Failing ForwardIn Spreading Complexity-Inspired Methods

28. 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

29. 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

30. Appreciative Interviews Agreement / Uncertainty Matrix Creative Destruction via TRIZ Wicked Questions Min Spec s Chunking via Rapid Prototyping Improv 15% Solutions Open Space Technology Ecocycle Sifting & Gathering Panarchy: Cross-Scale Change Conversation Café Dialogue Discovery & Action Dialogue Wise Crowds Group Consultation 15. Smart Network Mapping 16. Generative Relationships 17. Purpose-To-Practice Design 18. Scenario Planning Critical Uncertainties 19. Impromptu Speed Networking 20. 1-2-4-Whole Group 21. Troika Consulting 22. Fishbowl Sessions – “What I Need From You” 23. Celebrity Interview 24. 5 Whys & 10 Hows 25. Storyboarding Agendas 26. Positive Deviance Liberating StructuresAn expanding, adaptable mash-up of open source methods We search for the minimum structure to liberate the maximum innovation

31. Typical Workshop Agenda

32. 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 Attributes of LS MethodsWhat Other Methods Come To Mind?

33. 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!

34. FAQ #1 Why 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.

35. FAQ # 2 Why 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

36. Outcomes Forgiving Practicing Our Way Into New Thinking Wow! Easy to Implement, Spreads Itself Concrete Changes Energy Unleashed Creative Relationship with Clients Immediate Early Adopters Early Successes

37. 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.

38. What Is Unique or SpecialAbout 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

39. 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? very likely likely not sure unlikely never Your suggestions for how to position this offering will be most appreciated.

40. 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? very likely likely not sure unlikely very unlikely

41. 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

42. Rapid learning & prototyping cycles Feedback loops Network weaving Posting information with colorful graphics Natural environment Movement, fun Social elements, mixing participants 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

43. 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 networksand 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.

44. 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 Attributes of LS MethodsWhat Other Methods Come To Mind?

45. Shifting Behaviors & CultureSelf-Reinforcing Patterns Control Focus on Tasks & Alignment Letting Go Focus on Engaging People & Purpose Liberating Structures A Personal and Organizational Journey Self- Organization Dependency Adapted in part from Bob Anderson, “From Patriarchy to Partnership”

46. Behaviors Linked To Methods Removing Barriers to Innovation Listening & Asking for Help Relying on “Local” Discovery Taking on More Responsibility Seeking Expertise, Not Rank Sharing Information Freely Seeking Multiple Interpretations; Risking Multiple Actions

47. Sources of Knowledge & Innovation LS ++ LS +++ LS tap tacit and latent-emergent knowledge Adapted from Alan Duncan, MD (Mayo Clinic)

48. Liberating StructuresHelp 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 • …

49. More about Liberating Structures @ www.socialinvention.net & www.plexusinstitute.org Keith McCandless, Co-Founder Social Invention Group P: +1 206.324.9332 keithmccandless@earthlink.net www.socialinvention.net Henri Lipmanowicz, Chair Plexus Institute www.henrilip@mac.com www.plexusinstitute.org Lisa Kimball, President, Plexus Institute 1025 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20036 P: +1 202.857.9797 lisa@plexusinstitute.org http://www.plexusinstitute.org