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Discovery and action dialog

Discovery and action dialog

The purpose of Discovery and Action Dialogues (DADs) is to help groups uncover and adopt effective behaviors already present within their community - especially those used by individuals who succeed despite facing the same challenges and constraints as others. These are known as positive deviant (PD) practices. DADs:
  • Enable peer learning by surfacing successful behaviors from within the group.
  • Foster creativity and safety, allowing participants to invent and explore new practices.
  • Reduce resistance to change, since people choose which practices to try based on real, relatable examples.
  • Promote ownership and accountability, as solutions come from the frontline, not top-down directives.
In essence, DADs empower people to discover what already works and scale it through shared insight and voluntary action.

  • Time needed

    25-70 minutes

  • Preparation

    Offline Format Online Format
    Flip chart, paper or record the meeting to capture insights and actions Prepare virtual whiteboard template (e.g. Miro)
    Prepare split into groups (5-15 people) Prepare split into groups (5-15 people)

     

  • Set the stage

    1. Define the Focus Area: Clearly state the specific project, challenge, or area of experience the group will explore. This should be a topic where learning from past success is valuable. Examples:

      • "Our recent project completion,"
      • "How we collaborate as a team,"
      • "Our customer support interactions,"
      • "The past quarter's performance."
    2. Explain the Purpose: Briefly explain the DAD process. Emphasize that the goal is to learn from what went well, understand why, and then decide how to intentionally do more of it.

  • Step-by-step and timing

    1. State the purpose of the initiative being discussed and assign one person that will record ideas and actions in the group (5 min)
    2. In the group, ask seven progressive questions (in following order):
      1. How do you know when problem X is present?
      2. How do you contribute effectively to solving problem X?
      3. What prevents you from doing this or taking these actions all the time?
      4. Do you know anybody who is able to frequently solve problem X and overcome barriers? What behaviors or practices made their success possible?
      5. Do you have any ideas?
      6. What needs to be done to make it happen? Any volunteers?
      7. Who else needs to be involved?
      • Address them to the whole group and give everyone the opportunity to speak to each question. Make sure your recorder captures insights and action ideas as they emerge - big ones may emerge when you least expect it (15 - 60 min)
      • As a facilitator: Circulate and prompt groups to go beyond superficial answers (e.g., "We had good communication" to "What kind of communication?" or "What made it good?"). Keep time.
    3. Ask your recorder to recap insights, action ideas, and who else needs to be included
      • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​As a facilitator: Ensure actions are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (5 min)

  • Hints

    1. Be sure you talk much less than participants, encouraging everyone to share stories
    2. Avoid statements like “that’s a good idea” and leave space for participants to make their own assessments
    3. Demonstrate genuine curiosity in everyone’s contributions without answering the questions yourself: study at the feet of the people who do the work
    4. "Peak Experience" is key: Help participants identify genuine peak experiences, not just "things that went okay."
    5. Positive Framing: Maintain the appreciative tone throughout the process
    6. Do not give or take assignments!

  • Examples of use

    1. Project Retrospective / Post-Mortem (Technology/Any Project Team)
      • Focus Area: "Our recently completed software release [Project Name]."
      • Use of DAD: “When have we delivered efficiently and what helped?”
      • Outcome example: Identified peer pairing and clear sprint goals as success factors - became standard team habits.
    2. Enhancing student engagement in online classes
      • Focus area: Teachers noticed low participation in remote learning.
      • Use of DAD: Facilitators asked teachers “What do you do when students are most engaged?”
      • Outcome example: They found that using breakout groups and shorter sessions improved focus. The method spread across departments.
    3. Improving cross-team communication in a tech company
      • Focus area: Product and design teams complained about unclear requirements. 
      • Use of DAD: A mixed group discussed “When does communication between teams flow easily?” 
      • Outcome example: They realized that short, daily informal syncs helped more than long weekly meetings. Teams adopted a lightweight “open office hours” model

  • Link with other Liberating Structures

    1. Use TRIZ questions instead of first three:
      1. What can you do to make sure that problem X becomes much worse?
      2. Is there anything you are doing that in any way, shape, or form looks like any of the practices you just listed?
      3. What is preventing you from stopping these practices?
    2. Use results as input for: Improv prototyping

  • Link to Liberating Structures page

    Discovery and action dialog

  • Link to virtual whiteboard template (Miro)

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