How to Liberate Innovation across Your Organization

The power of liberating structures, explained

The power of liberating structures — explained

Change is exciting; lack of participation is not.

Yesterday, I had a sense of déjà vu. I was kicking off a cultural transformation project with a client. The CEO was overly optimistic sharing the most recent employee survey results — a vast majority of employees seemed happy about being part of the organization.

However, when I started reviewing the results, I observed that 48% of people expressed they weren’t included in the decision-making process — they saw a clear division between ‘deciders’ and ‘doers.’

As a change facilitator, that was a big red light. That people say they like their job, means nothing if they don’t feel included.

Lack of engagement, alignment, and participation are why most organizational transformations fail. People want to play a bigger role. Having a say is not enough — they want to help design and shape the future.

To create an enduring impact, leaders cannot impose change — they must liberate it.

People want more pow…