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The powerful way Ecocycle Planning connects leaders with their people for greater impact




As a leader, you’re probably juggling a lot. You're giving direction, making decisions, and trying to get everyone on the same page. But let’s be real for a minute... It’s tough to rally people behind a shared vision when they don’t feel connected to it.


Do you feel like you’re explaining over and over, but people still seem lost? Or that your team is stretched thin, working on too many things at once? 


Before frustration gets the better of you let me share an insight that might help you out.


People need freedom and responsiblility! People need the responsibility of knowing what’s at stake and the creative freedom to come up with ways of solving the problem. So, involving your people doesn't have to be hard, you just need to know ways of involving them. 


That's what I call facilitation 😉


I love making facilitation easy for everyone. Meaning; I want to freely share the DIY tools that I use in big and small organizations so you can use them for yourself! Ready?!


Introducing: Ecocycle Planning!


This is an powerful tool (Liberating Structure) that helps you collaborate with your people for maximal impact. I've used it in groups of all sizes and it has a wonderful way of activating all your people, involving them in the decision making and creating a shared understanding of what needs to happen. 


Here's a simple how-to for your DIY session: 


Step 1: List everything you’re working on (yes, everything!)

Before figuring what to do, you need to get it all out in the open. Or better said on sticky notes.


Invite your group to start with building a giant list of everything they are working on right now, everything that takes up their time and any ideas or new initiatives that are coming up.


  • First, in pairs: Each duo writes down individual projects, tasks, or initiatives on sticky notes. Challenge them to elaborate and write as much on sticky notes as they can (one item per note).

  • Then, groups of four: Pairs combine, adding even more ideas and helping each other make sure nothing gets missed.


Step 2: Introducing Ecocycle Planning ♾️

Now it’s time to make sense of the giant list and the mountain of sticky notes you have created with your group. 


But before you do... the facilitator (in the DIY version; that’s probably you!) explains

Ecocycle Planning and the stages. I like to use some story telling and the analogy of the life cycle of a tree to make it visual for people. 


The ecocycle stages explained:


🥜 Gestation

A seed falls into the ground, gets water and starts to grow roots. This can represent anything you just started or an idea just planted. All it needs is water, nutrition and sunlight. Translated that could read time, attention, focus, budget toward the new initiative.


🌱 Birth

The seed has grown into a sapling. It has taken firm root and has become a part of you. All it needs now is to grow stronger and sturdier to come to fruition. This can represent all things in a growth trajectory. It’s a rising line from birth to maturity. From sapling to full grown tree.


🌳 Maturity

The tree has fully grown and has begun to bare fruit. You are reaping the benefits and life is good. This represents things that are serving you or that have become a stable asset to you. It takes little effort to keep enjoying the benefits in this state.


🍎🪱 Creative Destruction 

The apple falls from the tree and hits the ground, busting the apple, releasing the seed into the earth. This represents something that once was good and fruitful that now has to undergo creative destruction to change it into something new that may serve you in the future. 


🏜️ Poverty trap

The seed in the ground needs, water, nutrition, sunlight to grow. In an impoverished environment it cannot grow into a sapling. Your great idea needs energy to grow. When not given time and attention it is caught in the poverty trap. 


🧟♂️ Rigidity Trap

The full grown tree’s fruit has grown stale. What served you doesn’t serve you anymore. You have to invest time and attention to change it into something fruitful again. The flexibility and effortless way of enjoying the benefits of it has gone rigid. When not given time and attention it is caught in the rigidity trap. 


Step 3: From chaos to structure

After your explanation; let the groups of 4 'walk' the Ecocycle, while discussing each sticky note, placing it where they think it belongs. 


The goal is just open, honest conversation about what belongs where in their opinion. Hopefully you'll hear lively discussions, laughter and real conversations. 

Automagically✨ there will appear a structure in the chaos of sticky notes and when that has happened you are ready for the next step. 


Step 4: Take a step back... 

Once all the sticky notes are placed give them some time to walk around and read all that has been written down. I like to tell them to enjoy the art work that they've created and have whispering discussions about what stands out to them. 


After having read what was written down, take a step back as a whole and ask:


  • What stands out to us as a group? 


Give people time and space to share with the group what stands out to them. Watch for responses that seem to resonate with the whole group. Listen for other perspectives or view points as they might show interesting takes on the Ecocycle and new insights that you or the group might need. 


Follow up questions might be...

  • What’s working? Where should we double down?

  • What’s stuck? Are we holding onto things we should let go of?

  • What’s missing? Do we need fresh ideas in certain areas?


Instead of guessing or assuming, you and your people can see everything laid out. Because it's visual it's making it way easier to have clarity and to decide what stays, what goes, and what needs more attention.


Step 5: Follow-up with decision making

Often times we've discussed so much that it's hard to say.... what's next. I usually make use of a follow up structure that helps you decide your next steps. Whatever you do, don't let your insights and energy go to waste and make sure you create a next step then and there. 💪


Examples of structures you can use for decision making: 


Tips & Traps


Tips:


  • In the beginning - give them a timebox with enough time but with just the right amount of time pressure to not over analyze every sticky note.

  • After explaining the Ecocycle - walk around to make sure everyone knows what to do. Sometimes it's a lot to take in for people and the need a reminder of what is what. 

  • Sometimes it's smart to mix the group up in new duo's, groups of 4 or let people do certain parts as an individual giving them time to think. 

  • Plans often change, reality shifts. If you now have the connection with your people, made decisions and you have a shared understanding it would be too bad to lose it. Find a way to revisit the Ecocycle to adjust and refocus. This gives you a way to not rehash the same conversation later on and to stay connected with your people and learn from their input.


Traps:


  • Don't go too big. If it's your first DIY - Ecocycle Planning start with what's oversee-able for you and your team. Mapping out the entire organization might be too big a step for now. Keep it simple enough. 

  • In the beginning - don't steer the group in what they need to write down. If it's to broad, no worries, later on in the process they'll figure it out. It's all about giving them the freedom and the responsibility to come up with something that makes sense. 

  • Don't force everyone to go stage by stage. Enjoy the chaotic moment where everyone goes every where. When the stickies are all on the Ecocycle that's the moment to step back, gain insight, discuss and understand, not before or during. 

  • Don't go from a well facilitated structure to an open group discussion without any structure. You'll notice; discussions getting longer, become more one sided and energy leaving the room. With all the work you've done make sure you bring it to a good ending that helps you make next steps (see follow-up decision making).


Try it out!

There are many more ways to involve your people in strategy and decision making. The liberating structure: Ecocycle Planning is one that works great because it's so visible and easy for people to join in. The amounts of time that people were amazed by their own work and what came out of their own heads are countless. 


For a DIY facilitator it might seem tricky before hand but in reality it's not that hard to use it.


If you are that DIY facilitator try it out for yourself in a 'solo version'.


Put all your personal growth or family time activities into it. See what insights it gives you in how you want to spend your time. It's a nice practice and might be eye opening to you as well 👀



Attributions:

Liberating Structures Ecocycle Planning adapted by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless Based on work from professor Brenda Zimmerman. Find the original explanation of LS Ecocycle Planning here: https://www.liberatingstructures.com/31-ecocycle-planning/

 
 
 

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