The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures: Simple Rules to Unleash A Culture of Innovation (33 page)

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After a shared experience, ask, “WHAT? What happened? What did you notice, what facts or observations stood out?” Then, after all the salient observations have been collected, ask, “SO WHAT? Why is that important? What patterns or conclusions are emerging? What hypotheses can you make?” Then, after the sense making is over, ask, “NOW WHAT? What actions make sense?”

• Unlimited number of groups
  
• Chairs for people to sit in small groups of 5-7; small tables are optional
  
• Paper to make lists
  
• Flip chart may be needed with a large group to collect answers
  

• Everyone is included
  
• Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute at each table
  
• Small groups are more likely to give a voice to everyone if one person facilitates and keeps everybody working on one stage/question at a time.
  

• Individuals
  
• Groups of 5-7
  
• Whole group
  
• Groups can be established teams or mixed groups
  

• If needed, describe the sequence of steps and show the Ladder of Inference. If the group is 10–12 people or smaller, conduct the debrief with the whole group. Otherwise, break the group into small groups.
  
• First stage: WHAT? Individuals work 1 min. alone on “What happened? What did you notice, what facts or observations stood out?” then 2–7 min. in small group. 3–8 min. total.
  
• Salient facts from small groups are shared with the whole group and collected. 2–3 min.
  
• If needed, remind participants about what is included in the So What? question.
  
• Second stage: SO WHAT? People work 1 min alone on “Why is that important? What patterns or conclusions are emerging? What hypotheses can I/we make?” then 2–7 min. in small group. 3–8 min. total.
  
• Salient patterns, hypotheses, and conclusions from small groups are shared with the whole group and collected. 2–5 min.
  
• Third stage: NOW WHAT? Participants work 1 min. alone on “Now what? What actions make sense?” then 2–7 min. in small group. 3–8 min. total.
  
• Actions are shared with the whole group, discussed, and collected. Additional insights are invited. 2–10 min.
  

• Build shared understanding of how people develop different perspectives, ideas, and rationales for actions and decisions
  
• Make sure that learning is generated from shared experiences: no feedback = no learning
  
• Avoid repeating the same mistakes or dysfunctions over and over
  
• Avoid arguments about actions based on lack of clarity about facts or their interpretation
  
• Eliminate
  the tendency to jump prematurely to action, leaving people behind
  
• Get all the data and observations out on the table first thing for everyone to start on the same page
  
• Honor the history and the novelty of what is unfolding
  
• Build trust and reduce fear by learning together at each step of a shared experience
  
• Make sense of complex challenges in a way that unleashes action
  
• Experience how questions are more powerful than answers because they invite active exploration
  

• Practice, practice, practice … then
  What, So What, Now What?
  will feel like breathing
  
• Check with small groups to clarify appropriate answers to each question (some groups get confused about what fits in each category) and share examples of answers with the whole group if needed
  
• When sharing in the whole group, collect one important answer at a time from different small groups. Avoid long repetitive lists from a single group. Seek out unique answers that are full of meaning for the group’s participants.
  
• Intervene quickly and clearly when someone jumps up the Ladder of Inference
  
• Don’t jump over the So What? stage too quickly: it can be challenging for people to link observations directly to patterns, meanings, or conclusions. This is the most difficult of the three questions. Use the Ladder of Inference as a reminder of what steps are included in So What?
  
• Appreciate candid feedback and recognize it
  
• Build in time for the debrief—don’t trivialize it, don’t rush it
  
• Make it the norm to debrief with
  W
  ³
  , however quickly, at the end of everything
  

• Insert a “What If? question, “What can we/should we try, test, or explore?” between So What? and Now What? to develop ideas for research or experiments.
  
• For
  the What? question, spend time sifting items that arise into three categories: facts with evidence, shared observations, and opinions
  
• For the So What? Question, sift items into patterns, conclusions, hypotheses/educated guesses, beliefs
  
• Invite a small group of volunteers to debrief in front of the whole room. People with strong reactions and diverse roles should be invited to join in.
  

• For drawing out the history and meaning of the events prior to your gathering, start a meeting with
  W
  ³
  
• For debriefing any meeting topic that generates complex or controversial responses
  
• For groups with people who have strong opinions or individuals who dominate the conversation
  
• For groups with people who have difficulty listening to others with different backgrounds
  
• For use in place of a leader “telling” people what to think, what conclusions to draw, or what actions to take (often unintentionally)
  
• As a standard discipline at the end of all meetings
  
• Right after a shocking event
  

Below: Presentation materials for introducing
What, So What, Now What?

“Live the questions now and perhaps without knowing it you will live along someday into the answers.” Rainier Maria Rilke

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Invite people to uncover tacit or latent solutions to a shared challenge that are hidden among people in their working group, unit, or community. Ask anybody interested in solving the problem to join a small group and participate in a
DAD
. In the group, ask seven progressive questions:

1. How do you know when problem X is present?
   
2. How do you contribute effectively to solving problem X?
   
3. What prevents you from doing this or taking these actions all the time?
   
4. Do you know anybody who is able to frequently solve problem X and overcome barriers? What behaviors or practices made their success possible?
   
5. Do you have any ideas?
   
6. What needs to be done to make it happen? Any volunteers?
   
7. Who else needs to be involved?
   

• DADs
  take place in a local setting or unit
  
• Groups
  may be standing or sitting around a table
  
• Paper, flip chart, or software/projection equipment needed to record insights and actions
  

• Facilitator introduces the questions
  
• Everyone who is around is invited to join and be included
  
• Everyone in the group has an equal opportunity to contribute
  

• Facilitator works with a partner to serve as a recorder
  
• Group size can be 5–15 people
  
• Diversity in roles and experience is an important asset
  

• State the purpose of the initiative being discussed and the DAD and invite brief round-robin introductions. 5 min.
  
• Ask the 7 questions one by one in the order given in the Invitation. Address them to the whole group and give everyone the opportunity to speak to each question. Make sure your recorder captures insights and action ideas as they emerge—big ones may emerge when you least expect it. 15–60 min.
  
• Ask your recorder to recap insights, action ideas, and who else needs to be included. 5 min.
  

Above: button from a Canadian infection-control project that employed DADs extensively

• Engage frontline people in finding solutions to thorny challenges
  
• Discover tacit and latent behaviors and practices that are positively deviant from the norm
  
• Spark the emergence of new solutions
  
• Inspire rather than compel behaviors that solve complex problems
  
• Generate changes that are sustained because they are discovered and invented by the people doing the work, rather than imported and imposed
  
• Solve local problems locally and spread momentum across units
  
• Build relationships between people in diverse functions and levels that otherwise don’t work together to solve problems
  

• Question #2 often consists of two parts: how the problem affects the individual personally and how it affects others. For instance, “What do you do to protect yourself from infections and what do you do to prevent infection transmissions?” or “What do you do to keep your students engaged and what do you to keep yourself energized and enthusiastic?”
  
• Hold the
  DADs
  where the participants work to minimize obstacles for participation
  
• Make impromptu invitations for people to join in as you enter the area
  
• Create an informal “climate,” starting with introductions and an anecdote if appropriate
  
• Maintain eye contact and sit with the group (not higher or away from the group)
  
• Be sure you talk much less than participants, encouraging everyone to share stories and “sift” for action opportunities
  
• Draw out stories that help participants make a leap of understanding from a small example of behavior change to a broad change in values or a shift in resource allocation (or both!). Ask questions that invite participants to be as descriptive as possible. Read “
  Dramatizing Behavior Change to Stop Infections
  ” in
  Part Three: Stories from the Field
  
• Notice
  when you form judgments in your head about what is right or wrong, then count to ten and “let it go” before you say anything (you may need to ask for the help of your recorder or a facilitator colleague)
  
• Avoid statements like “that’s a good idea” and leave space for participants to make their own assessments
  
• Demonstrate genuine curiosity in everyone’s contributions without answering the questions yourself: study at the feet of the people who do the work
  
• Do not give or take assignments!
  
• Don’t judge yourself too harshly: it takes practice to develop a high level of skill with this approach to facilitation. Be sure to ask your recorder for direct feedback.