Collaborative approach to group engagement

Have you ever experienced a group discussion where 1 or 2 people are in control of steering the conversation to their own agenda or outcome?

Believe it or not, this form of group engagement is actually considered conventional and in modern terms counterproductive.

Think about it, the meeting goes on and on, because nobody can agree on an outcome and eventually time runs out and a new meeting has to be rescheduled just to resolve the initial meeting topic.

Enter the 1-2-4-All approach or what is known as the Liberating Structures. This is a fascinating approach to group engagement and it encourages participation from everyone and allows equal expression with a broader viewpoint.

So how does it work?

Well, according to the book: The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures (2013, H. Lipmanowicz and K. McCandless), it begins with a topic, to which participants are given beforehand.

First individuals explore the topic on their own ''1'', then in pairs ''2'', then in groups of ''4'', and finally, you guessed it with everyone, ''All''.

The idea is that by beginning individually and gradually expanding to the larger group, allows people the freedom to explore concepts without the pressure or influence of stronger more confident participants in a group setting and it gives everyone a safe platform to innovate.

In my view this approach is far more useful compared with conventional ''micro-structures'' such as presentations and open discussions that may be somewhat restrictive and time sensitive.