Why Liberating Structures? Because the old ways are failing us.We live in a high-stakes world where trust is eroding and complex problems feel impossible to solve. Yet, we cling to the same inherited meeting habits—presentations, managed discussions, and open brainstorming—and wonder why the needle doesn't move.
The Reality: Conventional structures are too slow for complexity, too exclusive for equity, and too rigid for innovation.
Liberating Structures
Flip the Script. By adjusting the "micro-rules" of interaction, you can move from deadlock to discovery. These minimalist tools allow you to:
- Include and Unleash Everyone: Every voice shapes the future, not just the "usual suspects."
- Tackle Higher-Order Goals: Move past short-term fixes to address your deepest needs.
- Scale Solutions: Small, elegant shifts in how we meet generate massive ripples in how we act.
Stop accepting a world of over-control and under-engagement. It’s time to start making progress on the things that actually matter.
Keith McCandless is the co-developer of Liberating Structures (LS) and a consultant dedicated to helping organizations shift from over-control and under-engagement toward inclusive, distributed leadership. Since co-authoring the foundational text, The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures (2014) with Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith has spent over a decade nurturing a global community of practice.With a background in the management of human services and complexity science, Keith's work spans every sector-from healthcare and education to global social movements and agile business strategy. He is a practitioner who believes the world changes through small, elegant shifts in the patterns of how we meet, plan, and act together. He lives in Seattle with his family and a devilishly alert whippet named Bootsy.
Nancy White is an author, practitioner, and pioneer in the fields of online interaction, community facilitation, and network strategy. She is a co-author of Digital Habitats: Stewarding Technology for Communities, with Etienne Wenger and John Smith (2009). As a co-author on the Liberating Structures Fieldbook, Nancy brings decades of international experience helping groups navigate high-stakes complexity and transition toward distributed, collective leadership.Her extensive global portfolio spans premier philanthropic organizations, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, alongside major international development agencies including FAO, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations. Known for her deep expertise in nurturing vibrant communities of practice and knowledge-sharing networks, Nancy works across diverse sectors-from agricultural research and public health to local non-profits and academic institutions. She is dedicated to making collaboration profoundly humane, inclusive, and actionable.
