Liberating Structures

Network Patterning Cards

Identify and shape more productive work patterns by making the invisible visible. Network Patterning Cards helps groups visualize and understand the connections, relationships, and collaboration patterns within their network, enabling them to discover opportunities for strengthening connections and creating meaningful systemic change.

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In development

Network Patterning Cards

Identify and shape more productive work patterns by making the invisible visible.

Reveal

In person & Online

Group & Solo

25 min.

What is made possible - What it unlocks

Network Patterning Cards transform abstract organizational structures into tangible, discussable patterns. Participants gain a shared language to talk about how they actually work together—not how the org chart says they should work, but how information, ideas, and influence really flow. This creates clarity about where the network is thriving, where it’s stuck, and where small shifts could unlock significant potential. The visual metaphors make it safe to have honest conversations about power, inclusion, and collaboration patterns that usually remain unspoken.

When to use it

When you need to surface and discuss the actual (not official) collaboration patterns in your team or organization
To create a shared understanding of how work really gets done across formal boundaries
When planning organizational changes and you want to understand current network dynamics first
To identify key connectors, bridge-builders, gatekeepers, or isolated nodes in your system
When different team members have conflicting views about “how things work around here”
To discover opportunities for strengthening collaboration or breaking down silos
When you want to align your team’s formal structure with the informal networks that drive real work
To foster self-awareness and collective responsibility for shaping more productive patterns

🛠️ The five design elements of Network Patterning Cards

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.

“Look at these 10 network patterns. Which one best represents the official structure of how we work together? Which one represents how we actually collaborate in practice? Which pattern would be most helpful for achieving our purpose? What opportunities and risks do you see in each?”

2. Setup & Materials

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

Printed cards or digital images showing the 10 network patterns, one set per participant (download free worksheet below)
Markers or pens for marking selections
Space for pairs and small groups to compare their selections
Optional: Large poster-sized versions of the patterns for group discussion
Optional: Remove titles and descriptions from cards initially to avoid bias

3. Participation Flow

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

Everyone involved in the team or organization can participate
Everyone 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.

Works with any group size from solo reflection to large groups
Individual selection
Pair comparison
Groups of four discussion
Whole group harvest

5. Sequence & Timing

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

Introduce the patterns (2 min): Distribute the network pattern cards. Let participants familiarize themselves briefly with the 10 different patterns without diving deep into descriptions yet. (download free worksheet below)
Individual selection – Official structure (2 min): Each person marks the pattern (e.g., with an “O”) that best represents the official organizational structure of their collaboration.
Individual selection – Actual practice (2 min): Each person marks the pattern (e.g., with an “A”) that represents how collaboration actually happens in daily practice.
Individual selection – Helpful pattern (2 min): Each person marks the pattern (e.g., with an “H”) that would be most helpful for achieving the team’s purpose.
1-2-4-All:
- 1:“What do you notice? What ideas come to mind spontaneously? Where do you see opportunities and risks?” (1 min)
- 2: In pairs, share and compare your selections. Where are there similarities? Where differences? What surprises you? (3 min)
- 4: Share and compare insights from your pairs. Develop your ideas further. What patterns are emerging? (6 min)
- All: Harvest: “What important opportunities and risks did you discover? What key insights emerged from your discussions?” (5-15 min)
Optional next step: Identify concrete actions to strengthen productive patterns or shift unproductive ones.

Total time: approximately 25-35 minutes

Online version

Adapted for virtual use, with the same impact

All the steps are the same as described above.

Use the worksheet to show all 10 network patterns and
Use a digital collaboration tool to let participants work together on the network patterns
Prepare breakout rooms for 1-2-4-All

Total time: ~35 minutes

Solo version

Adapted for individual use and personal development

Step 1 – Familiarize with Patterns: Review the different network patterns available to you. Take time to understand what each pattern represents—how information flows, who connects to whom, where power sits, how decisions happen. Notice which patterns feel familiar and which feel foreign. (2 min)

Step 2 – Identify Official Pattern: Ask yourself: “Which of these patterns most closely corresponds to the official structure of my collaboration with others?” This is how collaboration is supposed to work according to org charts, formal roles, or stated processes. Mark this pattern with an “O” (for Official). (2 min)

Step 3 – Identify Actual Pattern: Ask yourself: “Which of these patterns most closely corresponds to the actually lived structure of our collaboration?” This is how things really work in practice—who actually talks to whom, how information really flows, where decisions actually get made. Mark this pattern with a “A” (for Actual). (2 min)

Step 4 – Identify Helpful Pattern: Ask yourself: “Which of these patterns would be most helpful for achieving our purpose?” Don’t think about what’s realistic or easy—think about what structure would genuinely best serve your goals. Mark this pattern with an “H” (for Helpful). (2 min)

Step 5 – Compare and Reflect: Look at your three marked patterns (O, A, H). Write down your observations: What do you notice about the differences? What surprises you? Where is the biggest gap—between official and actual, or between actual and helpful? What insights come spontaneously? Where do you see opportunities? Where do you see risks? (5 min)

Step 6 – Generate Next Steps (15% Solutions): Based on what you discovered, identify actions you can take right now with your current authority and resources. What’s your 15%—the part you can act on without needing permission or major changes? List 3-5 concrete actions that would move the actual pattern closer to the helpful pattern. Choose 1-2 you’ll commit to this week. (5 min)

Total time: 15-20 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: The 10 network patterns referenced in this structure were developed by Eva Schiffer based on her research into information and power structures in water governance in Ghana. Keith McCandless integrated these patterns into this Liberating Structure.

Note: As a Liberating Structure in Development, Network Patterning Cards hasn’t been tested in all possible scenarios and doesn’t always deliver predictable results yet. This simply means it’s still being refined through practice and feedback from facilitators worldwide.

Visual Metaphors

The pattern cards provide concrete, non-threatening imagery that makes abstract organizational dynamics tangible and discussable.

Multiple Perspectives

Comparing official, actual, and ideal patterns reveals gaps between intent and reality, creating insight and motivation for change.

Shared Language

The patterns give groups a common vocabulary to discuss collaboration structures without getting defensive or abstract.

Distributed Sensemaking

The 1-2-4-All progression ensures everyone's perspective is heard and patterns emerge from collective intelligence rather than authority.

Riffs and Variations

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

Remove titles initially: Hand out cards without pattern names and descriptions to avoid bias based on loaded terminology. Add the descriptions later in the discussion.
Physical card game: Cut out individual cards and let people “play their hand” like in a card game when comparing selections in pairs.
Multiple contexts: Have people select patterns for different contexts (e.g., formal meetings vs. informal collaboration vs. crisis situations).
Time travel: Ask people to select patterns representing past, present, and desired future states.
Sub-team analysis: Have different teams or departments each do the exercise, then compare their perspectives on the larger organization.
Anonymous selection: Collect all selections anonymously first, then reveal the distribution to spark discussion about divergent perceptions.

Tips

Lessons learned from other facilitators.

Don’t rush the individual selection phase—give people time to really look at and consider each pattern. When handing out the Network Patterning Cards don’t answer questions about the patterns yet. Room for interpretation is good and will disappear as the structure progresses.
Emphasize that there’s no “right” or “wrong” pattern—each has advantages and disadvantages
Encourage curiosity about differences rather than trying to reach consensus. The value is in the conversation, not in agreeing on one pattern
Consider removing pattern names/descriptions initially to reduce bias toward “good-sounding” patterns
Focus on what the different perceptions reveal about the group’s reality
Pay attention to patterns that nobody selected—these gaps are also informative

Traps

Don't make the same mistakes.

Trying to force the group to agree on one “true” pattern—multiple truths coexist
Letting leaders’ selections dominate or silence others’ perspectives
Judging patterns as inherently “good” or “bad” rather than situationally appropriate
Skipping the individual reflection and jumping straight to group discussion
Getting stuck in abstract debate rather than connecting patterns to concrete experiences
Avoiding honest conversation because certain patterns feel uncomfortable to name
Stopping at pattern recognition without exploring what it means and what to do about it

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:

Use Nine Whys to clarify the purpose that should guide your collaboration patterns
Use Impromptu Networking to surface initial thoughts about collaboration challenges before using NPC
Use 15% Solutions to identify immediate actions individuals can take to shift toward more productive patterns
Use What, So What, Now What? (W3) to process what the pattern differences reveal and decide on next steps
Use Troika Consulting for specific help on shifting from current to desired patterns
Use Ecocycle Planning to assess which collaboration structures need nurturing or letting go
Combine with Social Network Webbing or actual network mapping to make patterns even more concrete and actionable

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

Practice deep respect for people and local solutions

Practice deep respect for people and local solutions with Liberating Structures – Appreciative Interviews. A Field Story about how a team coach used Appreciative Interviews to surface local knowledge and turn respect into action—discovering that solutions were already present, just waiting for the right structure.

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.