Liberating Structures Lighting talk & Workshop - Romain Vailleux OCTO Technology

OCTO Part of Accenture Digital © 2019 - All rights reserved
Liberating Structures
twitter: @octodownunder
@rvailleux
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An overview of powerful workshop formats

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๏ Father of 2
๏ Climbing & Sailing
๏ Organisation coach &
consultant
๏ In Sydney since 3 months!
3
SPEAKER’s BACKGROUNG
Romain Vailleux
Senior Consultant / Coach
Email: rva@octo.com
Mobile: +61 468 532 665

OCTO Part of Accenture Digital © 2019 - All rights reserved 4
CULTURE OF CHANGE
How change can still happen in large
and complex organisations
● Part 1 – Once upon a time, a leader who had an
intention...
● Part 2 – Experiment to learn
● Part 3 – How to scale up
● Part 4 – Sustain: making a transformation durable
● Part 5 – And then, what? Understand the future
Weekly release on Medium
follow
https://medium.com/@octoz
Keep updated on twitter @octodownunder
A GUIDE TO TONING UP
YOUR ORGANISATION WITH AGILITY
OF

The complexity shot up

Following the HighestPaidPerson’sOpinion
Is Not The Best Solution Anymore

A set of complementary expertises
to tackle complex problems

Liberating structures
LIBERATING
STRUCTURES

Keith McCandless & Henri Lipmanowicz, authors of
“The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures”
http://www.liberatingstructures.com
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33 LIBERATING STRUCTURES TO REACH
A DIVERSITY OF OBJECTIVES

Parameters:
๏ Invitation
๏ Space
๏ Participation
๏ Group configuration
๏ Steps & time allocation
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WHAT IS A MICROSTRUCTURE?
“Consciously or not, microstructures are
the way you organize all your routine
interactions. They guide and control how
groups work together. They shape your
conversations and meetings.”

Rules are set, let the
players to play the
game with their own
style.
Players have the control over the
output (the content) of the
workshop.
13
PASS THE BALL

WHAT
HOW
WHY
14
GOLDEN CIRCLE
Liberating Structures are mostly about the ‘How’.
by Simon Sinek

Let
it
go

Under-
Controled
Over-
Controled

๏ Rely on the most knowledgeable people to get the best solutions
๏ Increase the motivation and commitment of people by making
them stakeholders
๏ Make the different parties to converge instantly
๏ Build human to human relationship by avoiding process and
reducing the distance among people
๏ Start the change during the design phase, as everyone agrees on
the same strategy
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WHY IS IT BETTER?
“More productive meetings”

1. Stop thinking, just give it a try!
2. Prepare, prepare, prepare the workshop (especially the “invitation”
part)
3. Be crystal-clear about stating your invitation (or write it down in a
PPT slide!)
4. Be ready to let it go if needed
5. Overcome your fear to appear unprepared, chaotic,
unknowledgeable
6. Spread the knowledge, empower the people, and, after a while,
disappear from the picture
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KEY ADVICE FOR A BEGINNER

http://www.liberatingstructures.com
and jump in at your next meeting!
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WHERE TO START?
1-stop

WS
21
Making the key principles to emerge

Let’s discover
the key principles of
(5 min)
● Individually, inspect the
Liberating Structures’ instructions
notes hanging on the walls
● Take notes of the shared
principles among several
Liberating Structures on sticky
notes:
○ 1 principle per sticky note
○ Write in CAPITAL letters
○ 3-7 words per card

Let’s discover
(15 min)
● Gather by groups of 3 or 4
people
● Share together and retain only
the 5 most important principles.
The principles need to be
specific enough to stay
valuable!

Let’s discover
(20 min)
● Gather in one audience
● One reporter per group comes
and displays the 5 principles
retained by his/her group.
● The audience can ask for
clarification as the reporter
reports.

Let’s discover
(5 min)
● In silence, the group clusters
similar cards together by
columns

Let’s discover
(10 min)
● Read through the titles and
check the agreement with the
assembly (‘decider’)

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.
15% Solutions
Discover and Focus on What Each Person Has the Freedom and Resources to
Do Now (20 min.)
1. Structuring Invitation
In connection with their personal challenge or their group’s challenge, ask,
“What is your 15 percent? Where do you have discretion and freedom to act?
What can you do without more resources or authority?”
2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed
Unlimited number of groups.
Chairs for people to sit in groups of 2-4; no tables required.
3. How Participation Is Distributed
Everyone is included
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute
4. How Groups Are Configured
First alone
Then in pairs or small groups
5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation
First alone, each person generates his or her own list of 15% Solutions. 5 min.
Individuals share their ideas with a small group (2 to 4 members). 3 min. per
person and one person at a time
Group members provide a consultation to one another (asking clarifying
questions and offering advice). 5 to 7 min. per person and one person at a time
Five Structural Elements – Min Specs
Description
● 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
WHY?
Liberating Structure developed by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless - http://www.liberatingstructures.com

What is made possible? You can clear space for
innovation by helping a group let go of what it knows
(but rarely admits) limits its success and by inviting
creative destruction. TRIZ makes it possible to challenge
sacred cows safely and encourages heretical thinking.
The question “What must we stop doing to make
progress on our deepest purpose?” induces seriously fun
yet very courageous conversations. Since laughter often
erupts, issues that are otherwise taboo get a chance to
be aired and confronted. With creative destruction
come opportunities for renewal as local action and
innovation rush in to fill the vacuum. Whoosh!
Making Space with TRIZ
Stop Counterproductive Activities and Behaviors to Make Space for Innovation
(35 min.)
1. “Make a list of all you can do to make sure that you achieve the worst result imaginable
with respect to your top strategy or objective.”
2. “Go down this list item by item and ask yourselves, ‘Is there anything that we are currently
doing that in any way, shape, or form resembles this item?’ Be brutally honest to make a
second list of all your counterproductive activities/programs/procedures.”
3. “Go through the items on your second list and decide what first steps will help you stop
what you know creates undesirable results?”
Unlimited number of small groups of 4 to 7 chairs, with or without small tables
Paper for participants to record
Everybody involved in the work is included
Groups with 4 to 7 participants
Established teams or mixed groups
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.
Description
● 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
WHY?

What is made possible? You can help a large crowd
generate and sort their bold ideas for action in 30
minutes or less! With 25/10 Crowd Sourcing, you can
spread innovations “out and up” as everyone notices
the patterns in what emerges. Though it is fun, fast,
and casual, it is a serious and valid way to generate
an uncensored set of bold ideas and then to tap the
wisdom of the whole group to identify the top ten.
Surprises are frequent!
25/10 Crowd Sourcing
Rapidly Generate and Sift a Group’s
Most Powerful Actionable Ideas (30
min.)
Invite participants to think big and bold and discover the most attractive of their ideas
together by asking, “If you were ten times bolder, what big idea would you
recommend? What first step would you take to get started?”
Open space without chairs or tables ; Participants will be standing and milling about ;
Index cards, one for each participant
Everyone is included and participates at the same time; Everyone has an equal
opportunity to contribute
People spreaded in the room.
1. Participants write on a card his or her bold idea and first step.
2. Then people mill around and cards are passed from person to person.
3. When the bell rings, people stop passing cards and pair up to exchange thoughts on
the cards in their hands.
4. 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.
5. “Mill & pass cards” & “Read and score” steps are done for a total of 5 scoring
rounds.
6. At the end of cycle five, participants add the five scores on the back of the last card
they are holding.
7. Finally, the ideas with the top ten scores are identified and shared with the whole
group.
Description
● Develop a group’s ability to quickly tap their own very diverse
sources of wisdom
● Obtain results that are more likely to endure because they
were generated transparently from within and without
imported advice
● Spark synergy among diverse views while building coherence
● Encourage novice innovators to think boldly and come up with
practical first steps and testable hypotheses
● Create an environment in which good ideas and focused
experiments can bubble up
WHY?

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!
Helping Heuristics
Practice Progressive Methods for
Helping Others, Receiving Help and
Asking for Help (15 min.)
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
Any number of participants, standing ; No tables in the way of people standing
face-to-face!
Everyone has an equal opportunity to learn and to contribute; Participants switch
into one of three possible roles as the activity progresses
Groups of 3: two participants interacting face-to-face in the roles of client and
coach plus one observer
Whole group for the debrief
- 4 rounds of 1–2-minute improvised interactions. Groups choose one member
to be a “client,” another a “coach,” with the third acting as “observer.” Roles
can stay the same or change from round to round. The fourth round will be
followed by 5 minutes of debrief. 2 min.
- During every round the person in the role of client shares a challenge he or
she is passionate about. While the observer pays close attention, the coach
responds in a sequence of patterns that is different for each round as follows :
“Quiet Presence” - “Guided Discovery” - “Loving Provocation” - “Process
Mindfulness”
- Based on the debrief, repeat all rounds or only some for all participants to
practice various response patterns.
Description
● 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
WHY?

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.
Drawing Together
Reveal Insights and Paths
Forward Through Nonverbal
Expression (40 min.)
Invite participants to tell a story about a challenge they face, or a common challenge, using
only five symbols and no words
An open wall with tapestry paper or easels with blank pages in flip charts; Water-based markers;
soft pastels if you are feeling colorful
Everyone is included since the five symbols are easy for everyone to draw ; All participants make
their individual drawings simultaneously
Individually to practice the drawing of the symbols ; Individually to make first and second drafts
of their drawings ; Small groups of 1–4 others to interpret the drawings; Whole group for debrief
(using 1-2-4-All for large groups)
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
1. Invite participants to
a. practice drawing the five symbols: circle, rectangle, triangle, spiral, star person. 5 min.
b. combine the symbols to create the first draft of a story, working individually and without
words, about “the journey” of working on a challenge or an innovation. 10 min.
c. create a second draft, in which they refine their story by dramatizing the size, placement,
and color of the symbols. 10 min.
2. 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.
3. Ask the whole group, “Together, what do the drawings reveal?” Use 1-2-4-All with larger
groups. 5 min.
Description
● 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
WHY?

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.
Conversation Café
Engage Everyone in Making
Sense of Profound Challenges
(35-60 min.)
Invite all the participants to gather in small groups to listen to one another's
thoughts and reflect together on a shared challenge
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
Everyone is included ; Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute
Mixed, diverse groups of 5–7 participants
State the theme of the conversation, usually in the form of a question
Explain there will be four rounds of conversation at every table
Distribute the talking objects
Read the Conversation Café agreements ( Code of Conduct)
Ask for someone at each table to volunteer as the host. The host is a full
participant whose role is to facilitate the conversation.
1st Round: each person shares what he or she is thinking, feeling, or doing about
the theme or topic
2nd Round: each person shares thoughts and feelings after having listened to
everybody at the table.
3rd Round: open conversation (option to use talking object). 20–40 min.
4th Round: each member shares “takeaways.” 5–10 min.
Description
● 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
WHY?

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!
Open Space
Technology
Liberate Inherent Action and
Leadership in Groups of Any Size
(90 min. and up to 3 days)
Description
● Generate action and build energy, commitment, and shared
leadership
● Address intractable problems or conflicts by unleashing
self-organization
● Make sure that ALL of the issues that are most important to the
participants are raised, included in the agenda, and
addressed
● Make it possible for participants to take responsibility for
tackling the issues that they care about and for what does or
doesn’t happen
●
WHY?
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
Chairs in concentric circles for 10–1,000 people in a large room or open space
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.)
Everyone who cares about the challenge at hand and accepts the organizers’
invitation is included; Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute
Start together in one large circle (or as many concentric circles as needed)
Continue with groups of various sizes self-organized around agenda topics
๏ Facilitator introduces the concept and mechanics of OS, including the
Law of Two Feet and its 4 principles (5 min)
๏ “Marketplace” opens: participants propose topics plus a time and
place for groups to meet (15 min)
๏ Conveners facilitate sessions, groups develops recommendations and
action plans. Notes are taken and published or posted.
๏ Debrief, proceeding distributes and closing (10 min)

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!
1-2-4-All
Engage Everyone
Simultaneously in Generating
Questions, Ideas, and
Suggestions (12 min.)
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?)
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
Everyone in the group is included (often not the facilitator) ; Everyone has an
equal opportunity to contribute
Start alone, then in pairs, then foursomes, and finally as a whole group
๏ Silent self-reflection by individuals on a shared challenge, framed as a
question (e.g., What opportunities do YOU see for making progress on
this challenge? How would you handle this situation? What ideas or
actions do you recommend?) 1 min.
๏ Generate ideas in pairs, building on ideas from self-reflection. 2 min.
๏ Share and develop ideas from your pair in foursomes (notice similarities
and differences). 4 min.
๏ Ask, “What is one idea that stood out in your conversation?” Each
group shares one important idea with all (repeat cycle as needed). 5
min.
Description
● Engage every individual in searching for answers
● Avoid overhelping and the overcontrol-dependency
vicious cycle
● Create safe spaces for expression, diminish power
differentials
● Express “silent” conversations and expand diversity of
inputs
● Enrich quality of observations and insights before
expression
● Build naturally toward consensus or shared
understanding
WHY?

What is made possible? You can help individuals or groups avoid the frequent mistake of
trying to solve a problem with methods that are not adapted to the nature of their
challenge. The combination of two questions makes it possible to easily sort challenges
into four categories: simple, complicated, complex, and chaotic. A problem is simple
when it can be solved reliably with practices that are easy to duplicate. It is complicated
when experts are required to devise a sophisticated solution that will yield the desired
results predictably. A problem is complex when there are several valid ways to proceed
but outcomes are not predictable in detail. Chaotic is when the context is too turbulent to
identify a path forward. A loose analogy may be used to describe these differences:
simple is like following a recipe, complicated like sending a rocket to the moon, complex
like raising a child, and chaotic is like the game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” The Liberating
Structures Matching Matrix in Chapter 5 can be used as the first step to clarify the nature of
a challenge and avoid the mismatches between problems and solutions that are
frequently at the root of chronic, recurring problems.
Agreement-&-
Certainty Matrix
Sort Challenges into Simple, Complicated,
Complex, and Chaotic Domains (45 min.)
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?”
Chairs for people to sit in groups of 4–6, with or without small round tables ; Long
open wall with a large tapestry paper illustration of the matrix taped to the wall;
One page with a blank matrix for every participant; Post-it notes and markers for
everybody
Everyone involved in the work team or unit under discussion (not only leaders)
Individually to make initial assessments; Small groups of 4 to 6; Whole group
Ask participants to individually generate the list of challenges that take up their
time and place them in their individual matrixes. 5 min.
Invite everyone to post their challenges on the large wall matrix. 5 min.
Ask participants to form small groups and step back to reflect on, “What pattern
do we see? Do any mismatches stand out that we should address?” 5 min.
Invite whole group to share reflections and decide next steps. 10 min.
Description
● 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
WHY?

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