Inspiring References

The foundation for this book comes from The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures (2013) by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless. Henri and Keith introduced a new way to organize group interactions, moving beyond conventional methods like presentations and open discussions. They argued that traditional approaches, often characterized by too much control or too little structure, lead to disengagement and stifle innovation.

In Chapter 5, we give attribution and credit to authors and developers who have inspired specific structures. With a deep bow to these pioneers, thank you. Earlier influences are hard to trace but no less important. Let us know whom we missed.

In addition, to build an understanding of the theories behind Liberating Structures, we recommend the following inspiring books and articles.

Alexander, Christopher, Sara Ishikawa, and Murray Silverstein. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977.

Anderson, Ruth A., and Reuben R. McDaniel Jr. “Taking Complexity Science Seriously: New Research, New Methods.” In On the Edge: Nursing in the Age of Complexity, edited by Clair Lindberg, Sue Nash, and Curt Lindberg, 73–95. Bordertown, N.J.: Plexus Press, 2008.

Arena, Michael, and Uhl-Bien, Mary. Complexity Leadership Theory: Shifting from Human Capital to Social Capital, People + Strategy, 2016.

Arrien, Angeles. Signs of Life: The Five Universal Shapes and How to Use Them. New York: Tarcher/Penguin, 1998.

Axelrod, Richard H. Terms of Engagement: Changing the Way We Change Organizations. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2000.

Block, Peter. Community: The Structure of Belonging. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2008.

Boal, Augusto. Theatre of the Oppressed. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 1985.

Caballero, María Cristina. “Academic Turns City into a Social Experiment: Mayor Mockus of Bogotá and His Spectacularly Applied Theory.” Harvard Gazette, March 11, 2004.

Carse, J. P. Finite and Infinite Games. Free Press. (1986)

Cooperrider, David L. “Positive Image, Positive Action: The Affirmative Basis of Organizing.” In Appreciative Management and Leadership: The Power of Positive Thought and Action in Organizations, edited by Suresh Srivasta and David L. Cooperrider, 91–125. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990.

 Ebers, Anja and Nieschalk, Birgit.  Liberating Structures: Stories from the Field, Collaboration Unleashed. Montagshappen (2026)

Gunderson, Lance, and C. S. Holling, eds. Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2002.

Hock, Dee, and VISA International. Birth of the Chaordic Age. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2000.

Holman, Peggy, Tom Devane, and Steven Cady. The Change Handbook: The Definitive Resource on Today’s Best Methods for Engaging Whole Systems. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2007.

Kaufmann, Stuart. At Home in the Universe: The Search for Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity. Oxford University Press, 1995.

Kelso, J. A. Scott, and David A. Engstrom. The Complementary Nature. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2010.

Kimball, Lisa. “Liberating Structures: A New Pattern Language for Engagement.” OD Practitioner 43, no. 3 (2011): 8–11.

Krebs, Valdis, and Holley, June. “Building Sustainable Communities Through Social Network Development.” The Nonprofit Quarterly 11: 46–53, 2004.

Lewin, Roger. Making Waves: Irv Dardic and His Superwave Principle. Rodale Books, 2005.

Lipmanowicz, Henri, and McCandless, Keith. “Liberating Structures: Innovating by Including and Unleashing Everyone.” Performance 2, no. 4: 6–19, 2009.

Lipmanowicz, H., Singhal, A., McCandless, K., and Wang, H. “Liberating Structures: Engaging Everyone to Build a Good Life Together.” In Communication and “The Good Life” International Communication Association Theme Book Series, Vol. 2, pp. 233–246. New York: Peter Lang, 2015.

Macy, Joanna, and Molly Young Brown. Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society, 1998.

McGoff, Chris. The Primes: How Any Group Can Solve Any Problem. Wiley, 2012.

McKnight, John. The Careless Society: Community and Its Counterfeits. New York: Basic Books, 1996.

Morgan, Gareth. Images of Organization. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1997.

Owen, Harrison. Open Space Technology: A User’s Guide, 3rd ed. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2008.

Palmer, Parker J. The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998.

Pascale, Richard, and Jerry Sternin. “Your Company’s Secret Change Agents.” Harvard Business Review, May 2005. http://hbr.org/2005/05, your-companys-secret-change-agents.

Patton, Michael Quinn. Developmental Evaluation: Applying Complexity Concepts to Enhance Innovation and Use. New York: Guilford Press, 2010.

Schein, Edgar H. Helping: How to Offer, Give, and Receive Help. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2009.

Sibbet, David. Principles of Facilitation. San Francisco: The Grove Consultants International, 2002.

Singhal, Arvind, Prucia Buscell, and Keith McCandless. Saving Lives by Changing Relationships: Positive Deviance for MRSA Control and Prevention in a U.S. Hospital. Positive Deviance Wisdom Series, no. 3. Boston: Tufts University, Positive Deviance Initiative, 2009.

Sousanis, Nick, Unflattening. Harvard University Press, 2015.

Stacey, Ralph D. Complex Responsive Processes in Organizations: Learning and Knowledge Creation. London: Routledge, 2001.

Surowiecki, James. The Wisdom of Crowds. New York: Anchor, 2005.

Torbert, William R. The Power of Balance: Transforming Self, Society, and Scientific Inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1991. The term Liberating Structures was first introduced by William Torbert, a professor at Boston College. He explored the notion of forms of organization structure that gave guidance to people in a way that they developed skills to guide themselves.

Weick, Karl E., and Kathleen M. Sutcliffe. Managing the Unexpected: Resilient Performance in an Age of Uncertainty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007.

Weick, Karl E., Kathleen M. Sutcliffe, and David Obstfeld. “Organizing for High Reliability: Processes of Collective Mindfulness.” Research in Organizational Behavior 21, no. 81 (1999): 81–123.

Wenger, Etienne. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Wenger, Etienne, Nancy White, and John Smith. Digital Habitats: Stewarding Technology for Communities. CPsquare Publications, 2009.

Wenger-Trayner, Etienne, and Beverly Wenger-Trayner, Learning to Make a Difference: Value Creation in Social Learning Spaces. Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Westley, Frances, Brenda Zimmerman, and Michael Q. Patton. Getting to Maybe: How the World Is Changed. Toronto: Random House of Canada, 2006.

Wheatley, Margaret J., and Myron Kellner-Rogers. A Simpler Way. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1996.

Zimmerman, Brenda. “HIV/AIDS in the Developing World: The Brazil Story.” In “Complicated and Complex Systems: What Would Successful Reform of Medicare Look Like?,” by Shalom Glouberman and Brenda Zimmerman, discussion paper no. 8, York University, Toronto, July 2002, 16–20.

Zimmerman, Brenda, Curt Lindberg, and Paul Plsek. Edgeware: Insights from Complexity Science for Health Care Leaders. VHA Inc., 1998.