No More Stale Breadcrumbs

Liberating Structures

If more boards adopted Liberating Structures (LS), board meetings and organizations would evolve from a stale breadcrumb to a warm, flaky croissant! Developed by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless in 2002, LS are a collection of more than thirty facilitation techniques that involve and engage everyone in shaping decisions. The key idea behind LS is to disrupt conventional meeting structures that often result in disengagement, unequal participation, and limited creativity. Instead, these structures aim to liberate the collective intelligence of a group by enabling everyone to contribute, share ideas, and make decisions collaboratively. As described on the website, “LS distribute control so that participants can shape direction themselves as the action unfolds.”[1]

LS range from simple ways to conduct meetings to more complex structures for problem-solving and decision-making. Here are a few examples:

§? 1-2-4-All: A sequence that allows individuals to reflect, share their thoughts in pairs, discuss in groups of four, and finally share understandings with the entire group.

§? Open Space Technology: Participants create the agenda, self-organize into discussion groups, and engage in exchanges around topics of interest.

§? TRIZ: A problem-solving technique that helps identify creative solutions by exploring contradictions and finding ways to resolve them.

§? Wicked Questions: Catalytic questions that challenge assumptions and encourage deeper exploration of thorny issues.

The bolded principles that underpin LS strike me as worthy of adoption by boards seeking to create a space conducive to board members flourishing. I’ve put a finer point on each to emphasize the relevance to a board’s scope of work:

§? Include and unleash everyone: A board’s impact is fueled by the collective wisdom and contributions of each board member. For boards to flourish, everyone needs to be in the arena. Board meetings should have this type of energy from Aaron Burr in Hamilton: “I wanna be in the room where it happens. I've got to be in the room where it happens.” Create space for people in the room to make things happen!

§? Practice deep respect for people and local solutions: A board is one component of the organization and board members have limited visibility into the day-to-day issues. This level of awareness and humility that boards are not omniscient invites others to co-create and co-design solutions in partnership with the board.

§? Build trust as you go: Brené Brown says, “Trust is earned in the smallest of moments. It is earned not through heroic deeds, or even highly visible actions, but through paying attention, listening, and gestures of genuine care and connection.”[2] With every interaction between board colleagues, staff members, or community members, board members can build or erode trust.

§? Learn by failing forward: Caroline Wanga, the president and CEO of Essence Ventures LLC, gives herself five fails each day and cites this as her recipe for success. “To quiet what she calls her “inner saboteur,” Wanga created a high threshold for failure: She gives herself five fails a day. It’s only if she reaches a sixth fail that she considers it a bad day.”[3] Some boards paralyzed by fear are hesitant to take risks, but that mindset limits the possibilities for experimentation.

§? Practice self-discovery within a group: Earlier, I referenced Jeanne Bell’s piece, “The Leadership Ethos: How What We Believe Can Inform Our Leadership Practices,” where she distinguishes between leading the self and leading with others. Governance is a delicate (and sometimes delightful) dance that requires knowing the choreography. Self-discovery within a group context fosters teamwork skills and relationship building that enables members to reveal who they really are as they tango together.

§? Amplify freedom AND responsibility: Sticking with the dancing theme, boards have the freedom to determine the playlist (setting vision and strategy) and the responsibility (oversight and ensuring leadership and resources) to strike a balance between the two that allows for innovation and growth to advance the mission.

§? Emphasize possibilities: Believe before you see: In All About Love, bell hooks, American author, theorist, educator, and social critic, writes, “Definitions are vital starting points for the imagination. What we cannot imagine cannot come into being.” Dreaming and imagination in social impact organizations often relate to envisioning a just world, addressing social issues, and improving community well-being. An element of hope is the spark that ignites these possibilities. Believing that a more just world is possible is a prerequisite for making it so. As such, boards attempting to solve wicked problems need to structure their meetings and work in ways that emphasize possibilities.

§? Invite creative destruction to enable innovation: It’s okay to let go of the sacred cows and “the way we’ve always done things” to usher in a new world.

§? Engage in seriously playful curiosity: I’ve made the case for curiosity by amplifying Julia Wilson’s insights from BoardSource’s board and the concept of compassionate curiosity coined by Kwame Christian in his TED Talk referenced in the next section.

§? Never start without a clear purpose: Articulating meeting outcomes and objectives is a helpful practice to ensure that board members are clear on the assignment and focus of discussions. Having a clear purpose provides boundaries and encourages targeted focus to maximize energy and effort.

How might the atmosphere, climate, and culture of your board shift by trying on LS or even adopting one or more of these principles? I hope it’s evident how much I endorse LS as one pathway to better governance.

[1] Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless Henri. Liberating Structures - Introduction. www.liberatingstructures.com/home . Accessed 28 Dec. 2023.

[2] “The Anatomy of Trust - Brené Brown.” 1 Nov. 2015, https://brenebrown.com/videos/anatomy-trust-video/ Accessed 22 Jan. 2024.

[3] Smith, Morgan. “This CEO Allows Herself 5 Fails a Day: ’It Gives You a Competitive Advantage’—here’s Why.” CNBC, 11 May 2023, www.cnbc.com/2023/05/08/this-ceos-secret-to-success-is-allowing-herself-5-fails-a-day.html . Accessed 22 Jan. 2024.