In this session we explored a very powerful tool called a ‘fishbowl’. It is a way to guide a conversation between a large group of people (20, 30, 40, sometimes even 100), so it doesn’t lose that depth and quality of a smaller conversation between just a handful of people.
Joriam Ramos, Q’s SIG support/catalyst, guided us not only through the rules of the fishbowl, but also provided some tips and tricks about how we can encourage other people to contribute with nuance and compassion both online and offline.
This session explored a variation of the official User Experience Fishbowl, and Joriam introduced a broader fishbowl format. Our guiding question was:
What are the best practices when introducing Liberating Structures in your organisation?
The use of Liberating Structures (LS) in improvement work has spread widely since the first trainings at Q annual events and the immersion workshops Q offered. Many people find them an inspiring way to enable more inclusive, innovative, productive (and fun) meetings and projects.
This Q Liberating Structures user group offers a ‘safe space’ to share our experiences and try out different Liberating Structures together – both new ones, and more familiar ones. It’s a peer-learning space – where people like you will lead (or co-lead) each LS, rather than veteran trainers.
As one participant in one of our meet-ups put it: “I didn’t realise how much fun I’d have – but I also learnt something“.
LS feels particularly timely at the moment, with so many meetings moved into Zoom, Teams etc due to COVID-19. Yet the opportunities that Liberating Structures give us for making these truly engaging, fun and creative meetings are all too often missed when people run their meetings. We can change this!
This group is organised by Matt Clack, MaryCate McLennan, Lyse Edwards, Jonathan O’Reilly and Matthew Mezey.
Find out more about all the Liberating Structures, including FAQs and how-to’s.
To hear about future meet-ups, join Q’s Liberating Structures in healthcare Special Interest Group – all welcome (includes a sign-up page if you’d like to try leading a particular Liberating Structure in this safe space).
There’s also an LS user group (started by two Q members) in Scotland. Contact Kirsty Ellis – and other groups in London, Cardiff, Leeds and the West Midlands. (Please note: the Leeds and West Midlands groups are still suspended due to the pandemic).