Liberating Structures Transforming Movements by Including and Unleashing

Liberating Structures Transforming Movements by Including and Unleashing Everyone Keith Mc. Candless Social Invention Group Henri Lipmanowicz

: : Transforming Movements : : : Strategy + Design : Everyday Solutions : : Big Projects

: : A G E N D A 1 2 3 Strings for Knotty Problems 4 5 6 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Shift and Share [30] Composing w/ Strings [35] Conversation Café [45] Wicked Questions [15] Integrated~Autonomy [30] Purpose 2 Practice [45] Min Specs 7. D&AD [45] 8. Open Space [70] Drawing Together Social Network Webbing 9. Closing Webs 7 8 9

Shift & Share OST Preparation • Invite individuals to share 7 minute presentations of prototypes or innovations • Divide the community into 7 learning groups. Count off: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 • Assign each presenter a letter (A, B, C, D as needed) for a station in the room • Each presenter repeats their presentation to each group Start Round I • Presenters have 7 minutes with each group. This includes any questions and comments… so “cut to the chase. ” • Ding. Time to shift. • Group 1, go to Station B. Group 2, go to Station C. . . Group 7, go to Station A. • And so on for 3 rounds.

Shift and Share w/ String Twist 1 Round with 9 Presenters (3 X) 1. Anna Jackson 2. Fisher Qua 3. Nancy White &Neil Mc. Carthy 4. Stefanie Fenton 5. Keith Mc. Candless 6. Kevin Buck 7. Lis Mc. Nicholl 8. Tim Jaasko-Fisher 9. Henri 1. Transforming mental health in Texas 2. Health solutions with P 2 P & Kan Ban 3. United Nations, work in progress 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Move to Agile and 25/10 Crowdsourcing Nat’l transformation effort w/ 12 LS string Leadership dream team integrating LS Lean + Strategy + LS Child welfare + Critical Uncertainties Workshop design

Insights: Transforming Movements • Attract rather than compel new behavior: self-discovery among local groups and partners fuels behavior change (telling people what to do does not work well) • Look for what is already working but unseen to close the gap • Recognize that BIG challenges have widely distributed solutions, the origins of which cannot be known in advance • Include more stakeholders and more diverse voices • Make it very easy to copy new behaviors and innovations • Fail forward: leaders should be transparent and explicit • Pose "wicked" questions which groups will explore, making discoveries together over time • Employ easy-to-use methods to include and unleash everyone from people in the field to leaders

1 -2 -4 -All What opportunities do you see for composing strings of LS to address a knotty challenge you have? What strings might spark transforming movement? 1 -2 -4 -All – Self-Reflection (no talking, jot down notes) – Pairs – Small groups of four – Whole group + posting your top strings

Everyday When your team meetings have become rote or uninspired, when imported best practices are not spreading, when top down initiatives are floundering, and when buy-in strategies fail. Scaling Up Find Patterns and Out When innovations do not spread, when specs for adopting an innovation do not fit operating realities, when solutions at a local level do scale up, and when l efforts to standardize innovative practice are “gamed” Five Triggers What strings of LS will generate positive movement for these challenges? When group members are cynical or no longer see opportunities for positive change, when a group feels stuck in a rut, when a surprising events disturb the market & expectations. Unleash Local Action Draw Out Prototypes When group members are not taking risks, when people are waiting for permission, layers of red tape stifle creativity, and when “analysis paralysis” has taken imagination prisoner. When current offerings are not performing well, when there is no clear path for new ideas to attract investment, when deeper client needs are ignored, and creative individuals are frustrated or isolated.

Discovering Everyday Solutions Useful for everyday conversations to build trust, coordinate action, and to discover local solutions. Taps tacit & latent know-how in the diverse wise crowd. These LS work in routine 1 -to-1, small group, and large group interactions. Triggers When your team meetings have become rote or uninspired, when imported best practices are not spreading, when top down initiatives are floundering, and when buy-in strategies are not working.

Noticing Patterns Together Useful for including many people in finding a new way to view and understand a complex challenge. This understanding often expands the boundaries for positive solutions. Noticing and diagnosing together reveals multiple actions that can contribute to solutions. Triggers When group members are cynical or no longer see opportunities for positive change, when a group feels stuck in a rut (and may want to disband), when a surprising events disturb the market or conventional expectations.

Drawing Out Prototypes Useful for revealing and making explicit what is already working while inviting something new to emerge. Successful “chunks” are drawn out and combined in unique ways. Unleashing everyone in building prototypes can accelerate coordination, progress and spread dramatically Triggers: When current offerings are not performing well, when there is no clear path for new ideas to attract investment, when deeper client needs are ignored, when patches to current offerings are expensive, and creative individuals are frustrated or isolated.

Unleashing Local Action Useful for quickly unleashing purposeful action in large groups without detailed plans or elaborate budgeting. Boosting freedom and responsibility with a minimal set of enabling constraints enhances coordination of diverse activities. Triggers: When group members are not taking risks, when people are waiting for permission, layers of red tape stifle creativity, and when “analysis paralysis” has taken imagination prisoner.

Spreading Innovation: Scaling Out & Up Useful for spreading ideas or innovations at multiple levels out and up. Scaling out means horizontal adoption across groups or units and scaling up means spread from local application to social, global or policy levels. These LS help fuel movements and transformations across boundaries. Triggers: When innovations do not spread to other groups, when specifications for adopting an innovation do not fit diverse operating realities, when solutions at a local level do scale up to more global level, and when formal efforts to standardize innovative practice are “gamed” or ignored by local units.

Conversation Café Dialogue Engages Everyone in Making Sense of Profound Challenges Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

Theme What would it take for you to live by these Principles? What seems possible? Who needs LS? What can you do about it? Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

Conversation Café • Lightly hosted conversations among small groups of people with diverse views and a shared interest • Open forum to shift from small talk to BIG talk • No committees or task forces will be formed! Adapted from www. conversationcafe. org

Café Schedule • • • Ask someone in your group to host and keep track of time (35 minutes total) 5 minutes each for the first and second rounds (each individual has 1 minute) 3 rd round is 20 minutes 4 th round to share “take-aways” among your group members is 5 minutes Back together as a whole group for 10 minutes Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

Café Agreements § § § Suspend judgment as best you can Respect one another Seek to understand rather than persuade Invite and honor diversity of opinion Speak what has personal heart and meaning Go for honesty and depth without going on and on Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

Conversation Café Schedule • Talking-object use in rounds 1, 2 & 4 • Two rounds of speaking without interruption. Option to pass. People without the talking object are invited to listen. • 3 rd round of lively conversation • 4 th round to share “take-aways” • A final round gather insights as the whole group re-assembles Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

Wicked Questions Framing a Paradoxical Challenge That Engages Everyone’s Imagination How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress. Niels Bohr Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

Paradoxical-Yet-Complementary Truths Truth Integrated Truth Autonomous Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless How is it that we can always be the same integrated organization AND be autonomous… uniquely adapted to each local market?

Wicked Questions Purposes Tips • Describe the messy reality of the situation • Engage and focus everyone’s imagination • Develop innovative strategies to move forward • Avoid wild swings in policy and action • Evaluate decisions: are we boosting or attending to both sides? • Work in quick cycles, failing forward as you make the questions perfectly wicked • Try to make both sides appreciative • Include others in making your questions more wicked • Remind yourself that BIG challenges draw out strength and adaptability • String idea: 15% Solutions/Troika Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

Integrated~Autonomy Move from either-or to robust both-and solutions We often think in “either/or” terms when we are better served by “yes/and” or “both/and” or “complementary pair” thinking. Will your purpose be best served by competition or increased autonomy among sites? Or, will your purpose be best served by collaboration or increased integration among the parts? Clearly, it is easy to see the value of both. So, let’s get specific about your system challenge. For the activities and integration partners you know best -- given your purpose as an organization -- prepare a flip chart with two overlapping circles like this…

Integrated~Autonomy Worksheet More Autonomy 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. • • • More Integration Mixed 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In a small group, discuss and list up to 5 activities where you believe stakeholders and the partnering organizations may be best served by more competition/autonomy AND by more collaboration/integration. Identify areas or activities where a mixed approach is needed for success. These areas should spark conversation about strategies and actions.

one side~other side of your Wicked Question Worksheet More …. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. • • • More …. Mixed 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In a small group, discuss and list up to 5 activities where you believe stakeholders and the partnering organizations may be best served by more competition/autonomy AND by more collaboration/integration. Identify areas or activities where a mixed approach is needed for success. These areas should spark conversation about strategies and actions.

Purpose To Practice Worksheet Purpose: ____ exists to… 1. Purpose Practices: 1. … 2. … 3. … 5. Practices What are we going to do? What will we offer to our users/clients? How? Structure: 1. … 2. … 3. … Principles: Must dos & must not dos include: 1. … 2. … Why is the work important to you and the larger community? 4. Structure How will we organize to distribute control? 2. Principles What rules must we obey in pursuit of our purpose? 3. Participants Who must be included to achieve our purpose? Participants: 1. … 2. …

((( Purpose ))) W o r k s h e e t 1 Strong What It Means: Suggestions ü Speaks of an abiding and important activity within a healthy society ü Is a purpose for every individual and for the community as a whole ü Is never exhausted, even as participants’ understanding evolves ü Gives meaning to every step along the way A strong attractor: “If we could do that, my life would have meaning. ” ü Elicit deeply personal statements and stories of aspiration, concern and care ü Ask, “If you woke up & your dream miraculously came true overnight, what would be different? ” üAsk, “What is the underlying, deepest social need being addressed by our work together? Why is it needed? ” Why? For the community: Fundamental justification for the existence of the effort For the individual: Personal touchstone for meaning and connection Your Purpose here: Weak Remember ü A platitude, full of sentiment but without real power ü A conventional mission statement, marketing slogan or tag line ü Can be achieved or made irrelevant. Meaningful to only a subset of all relevant and affected parties ü Requires a lot of explanation ü Take your time: draft & redraft to craft a succinct & powerful statement ü Work with alternatives ü Probe meanings and assumptions ü Articulate what is essential ü Go deep, personally and collectively ü Comes alive through engagement

((( Principles ))) W o r k s h e e t 2 Strong What It Means: Suggestions ü Is unambiguous ü Embodies creative tension and balance ü Anticipates potential risks to integrity of system ü Includes only those principles necessary and sufficient for success ü Requires exercise of judgment, but has ring of being “principled” ü Really is believed by all participants, isn’t just wishful thinking The “organizational DNA” that supports continuous learning, innovation & emergence ü Explore “must-do & never do” organizational Min Specs ü Ask, “What are the essential ‘Ten Commandments’ we will live by? ” Brainstorm a list. ü Ask, “If this rule was broken, would we be able to achieve our Purpose? If Yes, drop it. üArticulate “principles of organization” & “principles of practice” For the community: Inviolable statements of common belief and value For the individual: Personal credo for relating to others in the community as the model develops Your Principles here: Weak Remember ü A statement of belief that doesn’t clearly differentiate one action from another ü Contradicts other principles, or is redundant ü Is too specific, either by being prescriptive or by having limited relevance ü Is really a statement of organizational goals ü Is not essential to success ü Be rigorous and precise ü Press to identify basic beliefs ü Think in “categories” of concern to test completeness ü Split a complex principle, or blend two simple principles ü Seek only minimum rules ü No principle stands alone – treat them as a set

Minimum Specs Unleashing Innovation & Action by Specifying Only “Must-do’s” & “Must-not-do’s” Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

Must- Must Not-Do List For a successful _____ strategy • • … … Often this is a long list of Max Specs

Min Specs With Each Item on Your List, Ask This Question 1. To do item… 2. To do item… Can you violate this requirement and still achieve your purpose? If “yes, ” cross it off your list. It is NOT a Min Spec. 3. 4. 5. Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

Min Specs • Boundary – clarify which opportunities/situations fit the work focus or purpose • Connectivity – specify people and information must be connected (or excluded!) • Process – identify key features that must be part of the process • Prioritization – how to rank or sort opportunities • Timing – how to fit the pace of work to the context or external requirements for speed or turnaround time • Exit – when to drop, end or creatively destroy an activity

Min Specs Examples Nursing Initiative Business Transformation Transform Healthcare Through Nursing From a Product- to a Customer-Focus 1. Must move beyond NURSING. 2. Must deliver short term RESULTS in the next 18 months even as you develop long term plans. 3. Must have COURAGE to place the right LEADERS at the helm or remove weak, ineffective leaders. 4. Must have FUNDING to sustain this work. 5. Must not ignore DIVERSE stakeholders critical to our success. 1. Care for our customers 2. Stop obsessing about controlling our relationships with customers 3. Stop activities that prevent us from focusing on our purpose 4. Stop behaving as if we have all the answers 5. Involve our customers in what we do 6. Make relentless efforts to understand not just individuals but the community 7. Appreciate people who experiment and encourage more to try

Discovery and Action Dialogue & Positive Deviance (DAD / PD) This approach emphasizes hands-on learning and focuses on actionable behaviors. DADs make it easy to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting. For example, to prevent infection hospital staff know protocols but they don’t follow them consistently. DAD/PD approaches enable front line staff to identify practices that already work, discovering for themselves the best ways to spread them. Plus, as the dialogue unfolds, latent solutions emerge from the exchanges among staff on the unit.

Problems & Opportunities Awareness Iceberg 4% known to top 9% known to middle Action unleashed @ the front line Internationally acclaimed study conducted by Sidney Yoshida, initially presented at the International Quality Symposium 74% known to supervisors 100% known to the front line

Discovery & Action Dialogue 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. How do you know or recognize when _____ [the problem is present]? How do YOU contribute effectively _____ [addressing the challenge]? What prevents you from doing this or taking these actions all the time? Is there anyone or any unit you know who is able to frequently ______ [solve the problem]? How? Do you have any ideas? What needs to be done to make it happen? Any volunteers? Who else needs to be involved?

Challenge How to productively include and unleash more people?

Theme: Inclusive Leadership 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. How do you know or recognize when an opportunity to include and unleash people is missed? How do YOU take advantage of opportunities to include and unleash? How do you encourage others? What prevents you from doing this or taking these actions all the time? Is there anyone you know who is able to frequently overcome the barriers to achieve more inclusive leadership? How does he/she do it? Do you have any ideas? What needs to be done to make it happen? Any volunteers? Who else needs to be involved?

Tips for Discovery & Action Facilitators Warning: This can be much harder than it first appears! Do not: • • • Do: • • • Answer questions that have not been asked directly to you Miss opportunities to “catch butterflies” – record actions to be taken by participants (NOT YOU) as they pop up Come away with a to-do list for yourself Decide about me without me… invite “them” into the next dialogue Avoid responding positively or negatively to contributions, let the group sift through their own assessments (e. g. , ask, “How do others think or feel about this suggestion? ” Start with the purpose, We are here to stop (or start) _______! “Give” questions back to the group, wait at least 20 seconds for a response (looking at your shoes can help!) * Encourage quiet people to talk Flip cynical assertions by asking, “If I understand you correctly, no one has ever done this successfully or well!” or, “What would you do if there is an opportunity for change? ” Work through all the questions without worrying about the order (the dialogue WILL be non-linear) or neat conclusions for each topic Maintain humility, you “sit at the feet” of people with solutions

D&AD Questions and Their Purpose How do you know when ____the problem is present? ~ Affirm the participant’s existing knowledge of the problem ~ Provide opportunities to get questions on the table How do YOU contribute effectively to _______ solving the problem? ~ Focus on personal practices, NOT on what other people don’t do ~ Amplify/confirm the participant’s knowledge of effective practices What prevents you from doing this or taking these actions all the time? ~ Identify real barriers and constraints to the effective behavior ~ What prevents you? identifies barriers rather than Why don’t you? which sounds judgmental Is there anyone you know who is able to frequently ______ solve the problem, overcoming barriers? Do you have any ideas? ~ Establish that getting around barriers is possible ~ Identify the existing-but-uncommon successful strategies ~ Identify the supports that make the desired behavior more likely ~ Provide an opportunity for participants to generate and share new ideas for enabling the desired behavior What needs to be done to make it happen? Any volunteers? ~ Identify action steps, target dates & feedback loops for metrics ~ Invite volunteers for each action step (capture ideas that don’t yet have an identified action plan or volunteer in a “parking lot”). Catch the butterflies! Who else needs to be involved? ~ Widen the circle of people involved in discovering solutions, drawing in unusual suspects

Open Space Technology Liberating Inherent Creativity & Leadership Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless In Large Groups with an Action-Orientation

Open Space Boosts Freedom AND Responsibility Freedom Responsibilit y Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

What can be done to develop capabilities and spread Liberating Structures widely? What can you do? T H E M E Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

Four Principles and One Law Be prepared to be surprised; and, let your passion guide you Two, 30 minute sessions Law of Two Feet • go to where you are learning or contributing Principles of Open Space • Whoever comes is the right people • Whatever happens is the only thing that could have • Whenever it starts is the right time • When it is over Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

Attributes of LS What else in the world is a Liberating Structure? 1 -2 -4 -All • Simple: requires only a few • Inclusive: together, everyone • Expert-less: beginners can • Multi-scale: works for minutes to introduce succeed after a first experience • Results-focused: likely to generate better-than-expected, innovative results • Rapid cycling: fast iterative rounds are very productive is invited to shape next steps everyday solutions, big projects, strategy, and transforming movements • Seriously fun: boosts freedom & responsibility • Self-spreading: easy to copy without formal training

Liberating Structures – LS website www. liberatingstructures. com – Book: Liberating Structures: Including and Unleashing Everyone (in progress, getting very close) – keith@liberatingstructures. com – henri@liberatingstructures. com

Drawing Together • [2] Practice drawing the five symbols • [10] Without words, combine the symbols to tell yourself a story about “the journey” of working on your challenge. Make a first draft. • [5] In a second draft, refine your story by dramatizing the size, placement of the symbols • [2] Gently invite someone near you to interpret your drawing: the person who has done the drawing does not speak • • • Circle = wholeness Rectangle = support Triangle = goal Spiral = change Star person = relationship

Smart Network Webbing Collaborate, Innovate, Network Tight Core ~ Loose Periphery Core – Dense internal connections where people have experience working with each other Periphery – Loosely connected exterior that reaches out to other groups, brings in new ideas, people and resources Multiple cores are connected by their peripheries Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

Informed by Three Questions Think about the activities you have been involved in recently that relate to your challenge or focus 1. Who are the primary individuals with whom you have collaborated in this work or project? 2. From whom did you get new ideas and inspiration as you designed and implemented these activities? 3. Who would you like to get more involved in the project or activity that you have not collaborated with already? Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless

Collaborate, Innovate, Network Ideal Smart Network Tight Core ~ Loose Periphery Adapted from June Holly, Smart Networks Core – Dense internal connections where people have experience working with each other Periphery – Loosely connected exterior that reaches out to other groups, brings in new ideas, people and resources Smart Network Defined: The environment in which innovation and collaboration are most likely to occur. Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith Mc. Candless