Libertating Structures
LS - Triz
Brainstorm the worst possible practices to reveal counterproductive behaviors. Identifying which 'worst practices' you're *actually* doing creates safety through humor and surfaces unspoken issues. This exercise uses reverse thinking to identify problems that may be difficult to address directly.
Duration
35 mins
Group Size
5-20
Category
Libertating Structures
Difficulty
Easy
Participants will:
- Identify counterproductive behaviors safely.
- Create psychological safety for criticism.
- Generate improvement ideas from reverse thinking.
- Build commitment to change through ownership.
The team will:
- Apply TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) principles to identify problems.
- Eliminate counterproductive practices.
- Focus improvement efforts on high-impact areas.
Humor creates safety. 'Worst' generates more ideas than 'problems.' People are more committed to fixing issues they identify themselves. This exercise helps identify concrete actions to stop doing. Frame the worst practices brainstorm as fun. Encourage laughter. Shift the tone for the reality check; it should be serious. Stay non-judgmental and focus on systems, not people. Don't force anyone to confess. Look for partial truths. Expect the reality check to get quiet and uncomfortable. Relief comes from the commitment to stop. Use when a team is stuck, needs to stop something but can't say it directly, or wants to surface unspoken dysfunctions. Sometimes the reality check is uncomfortable, but stick with it; the insights are worth it. Success is when the team honestly identifies counterproductive patterns and commits to specific changes.
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