Liberating Structures
Empowering Group Dynamics through Inclusive Facilitation Techniques for Enhanced Collaboration and Decision-Making
Liberating Structures is a collection of simple, adaptable facilitation techniques designed to foster inclusive participation, distributed control, and creative collaboration in groups of any size. Developed by Keith McCandless and Henri Lipmanowicz, these structures challenge traditional, top-down formats like presentations or status meetings by offering alternative patterns that invite everyone to contribute. Rooted in complexity science and social technology, Liberating Structures enable teams to surface insights, make decisions, and co-create solutions more effectively. Widely used in Agile, Lean, and organisational change contexts, they support self-organisation, psychological safety, and emergent learning—making complex group work more dynamic, equitable, and productive.
