You walk out of the first meeting of the day and you’re basically done with it. You feel deflated at the thought of a day full of meetings, meetings that are all just as lousy as this first one. It started with the fact that once again it was not clear what the purpose of the meeting was. A number of people who clearly should not have been invited were present, which did not improve the atmosphere. Meanwhile, colleagues who could have contributed something substantial were not invited. Exactly after an hour, things finally got moving: the conclusion was that the meeting should be rescheduled, but with the right people and a clear agenda.

Does this sound familiar? Do you also feel that meetings often miss the mark? Fortunately, there are ways to avoid this kind of frustrating situation. Then read on to discover how Liberating Structures can help transform meetings into productive and engaging sessions where everyone can contribute effectively.

Conventional structures, well-known but limiting

There are some conventional structures we all know-structures that are so ingrained in our ways of working that we often automatically fall back on them. Think presentations, discussions, and brainstorming sessions. While each has its benefits, they also come with significant limitations, especially when it comes to controlling content and engaging all participants.

Take the presentation, for example. In this, the speaker is speaking almost 100% of the time, with perhaps a brief round of questions at the end. The speaker determines the topic and content, while the rest can only listen. This gives the speaker a lot of control, but it limits the input of the rest of the group.

On the other hand, you have open discussions, where participants can more easily share and discuss an opinion or idea. While this seems like a step in the right direction, it is often difficult to get everyone involved, which can lead to conversations dominated by just a few participants.

Liberating Structures

Liberating Structures are flexible microstructures that can be easily adapted to the needs of any group, regardless of size. They enable you to quickly and effectively achieve radical improvement in the way people interact and work together. By using these structures, groups can become much more engaged and productive, leading to better results and a more inclusive work environment.

Unlike conventional structures, Liberating Structures are designed to engage everyone. They ensure that everyone actively participates, can contribute their ideas and skills, allowing the full potential of the group to be utilized.

There are currently 33 official structures, and in addition there are structures in development. Each structure has specific purposes and can produce different outcomes. They can be combined with each other in so-called strings to create more depth. Some larger structures consist of a combination of different structures, put together into one integrated approach. Moreover, you can also be creative with the structures and adapt them to your specific needs. Basically, you are free to do what you think works best for your situation.

Liberating Structures, but really all other structures, consist of five elements:

  • The invitation: Provides direction through a question or request. It is important that the invitation invites thought and leads to a meaningful conversation.
  • The space: How the space is laid out and what materials are used. Do you use chairs and tables, or do you want people to be able to walk around freely? Are writing materials such as post-its or a flipchart needed?
  • Distribution of participation: how much time each participant gets to contribute to the conversation.
  • Group composition: how are groups formed and how do they change (e.g., from 1 to 2, to 4 people).
  • Steps and time: each microstructure contains one or more steps, each with a specific purpose and an assigned time duration.

Examples of Liberating Structures

Two of the possibly simplest but effective structures to address the aforementioned problems with meetings are 1-2-4-All and 15% Solutions. Despite their simplicity, however, these structures are extremely powerful in engaging everyone and turning ideas into concrete steps.

Figure 1: Kaarten uit het “Liberating Structures Card Deck”

1-2-4-All: involve everyone simultaneously in generating questions, ideas and suggestions

Do you have people on your team who, if you’re not paying attention, spend the whole meeting talking? Or just people who are not so quick to say anything in the group? Are you working with a large group and want to quickly find out what the overall consensus is, or what the group thinks? Then 1-2-4-All is a good structure to start with. This structure can also be used effectively during online meetings, for example using breakout rooms.

A plan for a session with 1-2-4-All might look like this:

Invitation: What is a creative solution to the problem we face today?

  1. Reflect only on the invitation and write down your ideas – 2 minutes
  2. Share, compare and improve your ideas with someone else – 2 minutes
  3. Share and compare with another group of two, and find the best idea – 5 minutes
  4. All: Share the best idea with the whole group – 5 minutes

The Name 1-2-4-All refers to the way participants are divided at the different steps. Although the last step can be a bit short for very large groups, it is possible to get a good overview of what a large group (think 50 or more) thinks about a particular topic within 20 minutes.

15% Solutions: discover and focus on what you have the freedom and resources to do now

A common mistake during meetings is that no concrete agreements are made, often giving the feeling that the consultation was pointless. The 15% Solutions structure is perfect for avoiding this and instead making concrete agreements. The structure focuses on what you can currently contribute with the available resources. Because the question “what is your 15% you will contribute?” can sometimes be too abstract, I often use the more concrete question, “if I call you next week, what will you have done?”.

A plan for a session with 15% Solutions might look like this:

Invitation: What is your 15%, what will you contribute?

  1. Make a list for yourself of what you will do – 5 minutes
  2. Discuss this list in a group of 2 to 4 people – 3 minutes per person
  3. Provide each other with advice and ask in-depth questions – 5 to 7 minutes per person

The power of combining

Liberating Structures can become even more powerful if you combine them into so-called strings. By combining different structures, you can create a deeper and more meaningful experience. For example, you can start with an Impromptu Networking to connect people with each other, followed by a 1-2-4-All to generate ideas, and end with a Conversation Cafe to further explore and deepen the ideas.

Figure 2: Gebruik kaarten om strings uit te werken

In a subsequent article, I will provide some examples of strings I have used in various workshops, explaining the different structures, the expected purpose of the string, and the outcome of the session. If you want to learn more about applying Liberating Structures right now, read the Field Stories on the Liberating Structures website.

Tip: Use the Liberating Structures Card Deck when creating strings. Not only does this make selecting and combining different structures easier, but you can also use the cards as a handy reference when facilitating sessions.

Getting started yourself

There is nothing more fun than getting started with Liberating Structures yourself. There is also, I think, no better way to learn it than by experimenting with it. But how do you do that, just get started? Here are some more tips:

  • Start small. Don’t get into tricky structures or complicated strings right away. Start with a 1-2-4-All session during a meeting.
  • Also, don’t initially tell people that you’re going with Liberating Structures, just use a structure. When people ask questions, explain what you are doing and why. In my experience, people often respond enthusiastically and like the idea of doing something different than normal for once.
  • Find someone to think with you It can be very good to discuss your idea beforehand, what you have in mind for the session, what you want to achieve, what is the invitation you want to use. Also try to organize a short retrospective afterwards, for yourself, but maybe with a coach or someone else.
  • Use the Liberating Structures cards. The Liberating Structures Card Deck makes thinking about structures visual and tangible, you can easily select structures and shuffle the cards to design a string that fits your purpose.
  • A bell is often used during facilitation, I myself also often use the Raising Hand method. In short: as soon as I raise my hand and you see this you raise your hand yourself, you finish your sentence and then you are silent. This method works well for getting a large group to be quiet within a reasonable amount of time.
  • Prepared again for resistance. Not everyone will be immediately enthusiastic about Liberating Structures. Some people will see it as a threat, others will see it as an opportunity. Try to figure out where the resistance is coming from and try to respond accordingly.

Conclusion: meetings that really work

Liberating Structures offer a powerful and flexible way to improve meetings and collaborations. By actively involving everyone and formulating concrete steps, you can turn meetings into productive sessions that lead to action and progress. This article has discussed just a few of the many structures available. There are structures that focus on idea generation, decision making, problem solving, and more. So you can use them to improve not only meetings, but also workshops, training sessions, and other forms of collaboration.

If you want to learn more about Liberating Structures, I recommend you read the book The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures – Simple Rules to Unleash A Culture of Innovation read. This book gives a comprehensive overview of the different structures and how you can apply them in your own work. In addition, you can also visit the Liberating Structures website for more information, examples, and tips. Will you actually get started with it? Let me know, I like to think along with you in advance, but I am especially curious about your experiences and the results you achieve.

key take-aways

In conversation with Jacob?