Liberating Structures

Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD)

Discover, invent and unleash local solutions to chronic problems. Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD) helps people see what’s working right now, what’s possible when they act together, and what they can do immediately — no permission needed. It turns frustration into momentum and bystanders into problem-solvers.

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Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD)

Discover, invent and unleash local solutions to chronic problems.

Reveal

In person & Online

Group & Solo

25-70 min.

What is made possible - What it unlocks

Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD) creates space for frontline voices to surface practical wisdom that’s often invisible to leadership. It shifts energy from complaining to creating, and from waiting for top-down fixes to taking ownership of what’s within reach. Participants discover they already have more agency and insight than they realized — and that small, local actions can ripple into system-wide change.

When to use it

When recurring problems feel stuck and top-down solutions haven’t worked
To tap into frontline knowledge and uncover what’s already working
When you want to shift from blame and frustration to ownership and action
To engage people who feel powerless or disconnected from decision-making
When launching improvement initiatives that need grassroots buy-in
To discover bright spots and scale positive deviance across a system
When you need rapid, practical ideas that people can act on immediately
To build bridges between different levels of an organization or community

🛠️ The five design elements of Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD)

Each Liberating Structure consists of five simple design elements to make participation possible for everyone. By shaping these elements with care, you move beyond rigid control or chaos and create space for people to contribute, listen, and co-create.

1. The Invitation
2. Setup & Materials
3. Participation Flow
4. Group Configuration
5. Sequence & Timing

1. The Invitation

How you frame the purpose or question that sets the focus and energy of the group.

Invite people to uncover hidden solutions to a shared challenge within their team, unit, or community. Gather anyone interested in addressing the problem into a small group and guide them through a DAD session using seven progressive questions:

Q1: How do you know when problem X is present?
Q2: How do you contribute effectively to solving problem X?
Q3: What prevents you from doing this or taking these actions all the time?
Q4: Do you know anybody who is able to frequently solve problem X and overcome barriers? What behaviors or practices made their success possible?
Q5: Do you have any ideas?
Q6: What needs to be done to make it happen? Any volunteers?
Q7: Who else needs to be involved?

2. Setup & Materials

The arrangement of space and which tools or resources are needed to support interaction.

DAD’s take place in a local setting or unit
Space for small groups to stand or sit together around a table
Flip charts or digital space to capture discoveries and commitments
Minimal setup — this works anywhere: offices, hallways, community centers, Zoom rooms

3. Participation Flow

Who gets a voice and how everyone is actively included in the process.

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

4. Group Configuration

How people are arranged (alone, small groups, or all together) and how this shifts during the activity.

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

5. Sequence & Timing

The step-by-step flow of the activity and the time given to each step to keep energy and focus.

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)

Total time: 25-60 minutes

Online version

Adapted for virtual use, with the same impact

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. Make sure to put the questions on a slide or as a background image. 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)

Total time: 25-60 minutes

Solo version

Adapted for individual use and personal development

You can also use this Liberating Structure on your own as follows.

Ask yourself the seven questions one after the other in the specified order. Write down insights and ideas for actions as soon as they arise – the really important ones will come to light when you least expect it (10–30 minutes).
Read through your insights and ideas for actions again and, if necessary, find other people to join you. (5 minutes)

Total time: 15-35 minutes

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All Liberating Structures in 1 e-book

All Liberating Structures (44!) including explanations, visual step-by-step guide, and worksheets in a handy workbook for € 11,-

Simple methods for big changes
Have interactions that truly matter
Build a culture of innovation step by step
Involve and activate everyone in the group

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Proven over decades

🧠 Why it works

Liberating Structures are not magic tricks—they work because they tap into how people naturally think, connect, and collaborate. Each structure is carefully designed to unlock participation, spark creativity, and build trust, using principles grounded in social science and human interaction.

Attribution: Liberating Structure developed by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless together with a group of coaches working to eliminate MRSA transmissions in hospitals: Sharon Benjamin, Kevin Buck, Lisa Kimball, Curt Lindberg, Jon Lloyd, Mark Munger, Jerry Sternin, Monique Sternin, and Margaret Toth. Inspired by Jerry and Monique Sternin’s work in Positive Deviance.

Asset-based Inquiry

By asking what's working, DAD shifts focus from deficits to strengths and builds on existing success.

Progressive Disclosure

The seven questions guide people from safe observation to personal accountability without triggering defensiveness.

Positive Deviance

Discovering bright spots (Q4) reveals solutions that already exist in the system and can be amplified.

Local Ownership

When people identify their own next steps (Q6), commitment and follow-through skyrocket compared to top-down mandates.

Riffs and Variations

Start with creative constraints to learn this structure and then... go liberate yourself and try some variations.

TRIZ-Inspired DAD: Replace the first three questions with TRIZ-like questions: (1) What can you do to make sure that problem X becomes much worse? (2) Is there anything you are doing that in any way, shape, or form looks like any of the practices you just listed? (3) What is preventing you from stopping these practices?
DAD to Improv: Use insights and barriers that surface during DAD to develop scripts for Improv Prototyping scenes and organize Improv sessions to rehearse new behaviors
One-on-One DAD: Use the same sequence and type of questions to guide individual coaching conversations or peer dialogues
Community DAD: Adapt for neighborhood or civic challenges with diverse stakeholders
Virtual Chat DAD: In virtual settings, have participants use the chat function to share answers to each question, then select the most powerful stories, behaviors, and actions to be vocalized and explored with the whole group

Tips

Lessons learned from other facilitators.

Start with a real, felt problem — not an abstract or theoretical one
Emphasize Q4 (bright spots) — this is where energy and inspiration ignite
Hold DAD sessions where participants actually work to minimize barriers to participation
Maintain eye contact and sit with the group (not higher or away from them)
Talk much less than participants — encourage everyone to share stories and “sift” for action opportunities
Demonstrate genuine curiosity in everyone’s contributions without answering the questions yourself: study at the feet of the people who do the work

Traps

Don't make the same mistakes.

Rushing past Q1 and Q2 — people need time to ground in concrete reality
Skipping Q7 — without involving others, great ideas die in isolation
Failing to follow up — DAD creates momentum that evaporates without support
Having leaders dominate or shut down ideas — protect equal voice
Making statements like “that’s a good idea” — this closes down space for participants to make their own assessments
Giving or taking assignments — this undermines local ownership and agency

Try it with…

The real power of Liberating Structures emerges when you combine them into "strings." Link different structures together to build on insights and create more powerful results. Here are some nice combinations:

15% Solutions to immediately turn discoveries into concrete first steps after DAD
1-2-4-All to deepen exploration of any single DAD question
What, So What, Now What? (W3) to reflect on patterns and insights after DAD
Troika Consulting to troubleshoot barriers identified in Q3
25/10 Crowd Sourcing to prioritize which actions from Q6 to pursue first
User Experience Fishbowl to have leaders listen to frontline DAD conversations

Field stories

To get to know Liberating Structures without having used them yourself, it helps to see familiar situations from real-life practice. Chances are that you or your team have faced one of these challenges before. Discover how to approach these kinds of situations in a fresh and engaging way.

Emphasize Possibilities: Believe Before You See

Emphasize Possibilities: Believe Before You See with Liberating Structures – Troika Consulting. A Field Story about how Troika Consulting as a peer-coaching structure increased confidence in the collective wisdom of a team and made possibilities visible.

Include and Engage Everyone

Include and Engage Everyone with Liberating Structures – 1-2-4-All. A field story about influence without power — and how one experiment became a new habit

Amplify Freedom and Responsibility

Amplify Freedom and Responsibility with Liberating Structures – 15% Solutions. A Field Story about how a leader used 15% Solutions to let go of control, increase ownership, and restore responsibility in the team.

Invite Creative Destruction to Make Space for Innovation

Invite Creative Destruction to Make Space for Innovation with Liberating Structures – TRIZ. A Field Story about how a team used TRIZ to dismantle ingrained patterns and learned to critically examine their own actions.