Here is another example of how I've used liberating structures. A team had a mix of long-time employees and many new employees. As a whole, the team had WAY too much work to do, and they needed to find ways to streamline or eliminate certain work activities. The two "generations" of workers had decidedly different ideas about how to do this.
I led the team through TRIZ -- a process for identifying what the team could do that would ensure a terrible result and, of those, what the team members were actually doing, even just a little bit. This led to a lot of laughter! In less than an hour, the team created a list of things to stop doing or to do differently. Voila! Collaboration! The exercise also enabled the team to tackle this sticky issue as equals, without blaming the older staff for any messes or shaming the new staff for their lack of experience. It helped build the trust and common purpose that the team needed to implement its plan of action. All in less than an hour.
Want these kinds of results for YOUR team?
Join the Liberating Structures Immersion workshop in St. Paul, MN, on February 24-25, 2020. OR
Learn meeting facilitation skills, including Liberating Structures, at the Journey to Group Power workshop in Madison, WI, on April 14-15, 2020.
More information and links to register for these events are available at Liberating Structures News and Events.
