1-2-4-All

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Workshops that are rounds of 1-2-4-All are high energy and fun. As a generative activity, it’s a great way to be inclusive to all input and catch strong signals from a wide-ranging group.

In practice

In a consulting context though, I like to run it early in a day-long workshop to prime participants to work in a time-boxed manner where every single person contributes. It quickly levels the playing field for organizational cultures where a small number of personalities dominate, or there are existing sub-groups that don’t usually work together. It also doubles as training the room to follow the facilitator’s instructions - the activity is simple, non-threatening and puts content up front and center, all of which quickly builds confidence that it’s worth investing energy participating.

Facilitation notes

Because the convergence is based on a majority vote, weak signals from minority segments or the less articulate will get muted. Also, the quality what’s reported back to the room is dependent on the skill of one individual out of the four. If a certain level of quality is required of the activity output, a strong hand at harvesting is needed. If there’s no follow-up activity planned, I’ll typically incorporate harvesting as part of the All section by facilitating with a flip-chart marker in hand, which allows me to orchestrate the share-out and control what’s documented.

This entry is part of Liberating Structures Field Notes, my collection of stories and reflections from the field. It's written for people who already know LS and are deepening their practice. If you're just getting started and looking for activity instructions, you'll find them at liberatingstructures.com..