What is it?

Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD) is a structured conversation that helps a group uncover solutions to persistent problems that already exist within their own community. A small group sits together and works through seven progressive questions designed to surface what some people are doing differently to get better results, even though they face the same constraints as everyone else. The power of the method is that it puts the group in charge of finding and spreading their own solutions rather than waiting for answers to be handed down from above.

Also Known As

• DAD
• Positive Deviance Dialogue

When to Use It

• A team or community faces a chronic, recurring problem that standard approaches have failed to fix
• The people closest to the work are likely to have practical knowledge that leadership or outside experts don't
• You suspect solutions already exist within the group but haven't been shared or recognised
• You want frontline ownership of change rather than top-down mandates
• The problem is complex and doesn't have one clear right answer
• You need to build buy-in for new behaviours by letting people discover them for themselves
• Cross-functional groups need to collaborate on a shared challenge they each experience differently

When NOT to Use It

• The problem has a known technical fix that just needs implementing. DAD is for adaptive challenges, not mechanical ones.
• There is no genuine shared problem. If you have to convince people the problem exists, start with a different technique first.
• Leadership has already decided on a solution and isn't willing to let the group discover alternatives. Running a DAD in this context feels manipulative and damages trust.
• The group is fewer than five people. The method relies on diverse perspectives and the chance that someone in the room is doing something differently.
• Time pressure demands an immediate decision. DAD is about discovery and emergence, which takes patience.
• Participants don't have direct experience with the problem. DAD works because it draws on lived experience, not opinions.

Discovery & Action Dialogue was developed by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless as part of the Liberating Structures collection, together with a group of coaches working to eliminate MRSA transmissions in hospitals: Sharon Benjamin, Kevin Buck, Lisa Kimball, Curt Lindberg, Jon Lloyd, Mark Munger, Jerry Sternin, Monique Sternin, and Margaret Toth. The method was inspired by Jerry and Monique Sternin's pioneering work in Positive Deviance, which demonstrated that in any community facing a problem, certain individuals find better solutions using the same resources available to everyone else.

What You Need

Group size: 5-15 per dialogue group (can run multiple groups simultaneously with larger gatherings)

Time required:

• 25 minutes (minimum, tight)
• 45-60 minutes (typical)
• Up to 70 minutes (extended, deeper exploration)

Space:

• Chairs arranged in a small circle or around a table
• Ideally held where participants actually work, to reduce barriers to participation
• For multiple groups, enough room for each circle to converse without competing for airspace

Materials:

• Flip chart paper or large notepad for the recorder
• Markers
• The seven DAD questions written on a flip chart or printed as a handout
• Timer (optional, but helpful for pacing)

The Process

Setup

1. Identify a shared, chronic problem the group faces. Frame it clearly before the session, for example: "How do we reduce handover errors between shifts?" or "How do we keep new starters engaged in their first 90 days?"
2. Write the seven DAD questions on a flip chart and place it where all participants can see it.
3. Arrange seating in a circle or close cluster. Keep it informal. If you can hold the dialogue where participants do their actual work, do so.
4. Recruit a recorder (called the "Butterfly Catcher" in Liberating Structures terminology) who will capture insights and action ideas on the flip chart as they emerge.
5. As people arrive, make impromptu invitations for others nearby to join. DAD works best when it draws in people who weren't necessarily expecting to participate.

Step 1: Frame and Introduce

Time: 5 minutes

Purpose: Set the context and create an informal, safe atmosphere.

1. Welcome the group and briefly state the purpose: "We're here to explore [the problem] together and find out what's already working."
2. Do a quick round of introductions if people don't know each other. Keep it to names and roles only.
3. Share a brief anecdote or observation about the problem to ground the conversation. Something you've noticed firsthand works well.
4. Explain the format: "I'm going to ask seven questions, one at a time. There are no wrong answers. We want to hear from everyone. [Name] is going to capture the key ideas as we go."
5. Set the tone by saying something like: "This isn't about finding the perfect answer. It's about discovering what's already happening that we can learn from and build on."

Watch for: If the group seems tense or formal, break the ice with something low-stakes. Sitting at the same level as participants (not standing over them) helps.

Step 2: Question 1 - Recognising the Problem

Time: 3-5 minutes

Purpose: Establish a shared understanding of what the problem looks like in practice.

1. Ask: "How do you know when [problem X] is present?"
2. Let the group describe the symptoms, signals, and indicators they notice in their daily work.
3. Encourage concrete, specific examples rather than abstract descriptions.

Watch for: This question should be straightforward. If the group struggles to describe the problem, it may not be a genuinely shared challenge for this particular group.

Step 3: Question 2 - Personal Contribution

Time: 5-10 minutes

Purpose: Shift from describing the problem to surfacing what people are already doing about it.

1. Ask: "How do you contribute to solving [problem X]?" or frame it in two parts: "What do you do to protect yourself from [problem X], and what do you do to prevent it affecting others?"
2. Give everyone space to answer. Go around the circle if needed, but don't force anyone to speak.
3. Listen for specific actions and behaviours, not just intentions or wishes.

Watch for: Some people will say "nothing" or deflect. That's fine. Others will describe small, practical things they do that may seem unremarkable to them but are genuine positive deviant behaviours. These are gold. The recorder should capture them.

Step 4: Question 3 - Barriers

Time: 5-10 minutes

Purpose: Understand what prevents people from taking positive action consistently.

1. Ask: "What prevents you from doing this or taking these actions all the time?"
2. Let the group surface systemic barriers, time pressures, resource gaps, and cultural obstacles.
3. Resist the urge to problem-solve or defend the organisation. Just listen and let the recorder note everything.

Watch for: This is where frustration can surface. That's healthy. Don't shut it down, but gently steer back to the questions if it becomes a venting session rather than an exploration.

Step 5: Question 4 - Positive Deviants

Time: 5-10 minutes

Purpose: Identify people who consistently achieve better results despite facing the same constraints.

1. Ask: "Do you know anybody who is able to frequently solve [problem X] and overcome these barriers? What behaviours or practices made their success possible?"
2. Encourage the group to name names if they're comfortable, or describe what they've observed without naming.
3. Dig into the specific behaviours: "What do they do differently? How do they get around the barriers you just described?"

Watch for: This is the heart of the DAD. The group is identifying positive deviants and their practices. Some of the most valuable insights will come from people describing what they've seen a colleague do, often framed as something small or obvious. The recorder must capture these behaviours in detail.

Step 6: Questions 5, 6, and 7 - Ideas, Action, and Inclusion

Time: 5-10 minutes

Purpose: Move from discovery to action by generating ideas, identifying volunteers, and expanding the network.

1. Ask: "Do you have any ideas?" Let the group build on what's emerged. New solutions often appear here, sparked by the stories and behaviours already shared.
2. Ask: "What needs to be done to make it happen? Any volunteers?" This is about concrete next steps and willing owners. Do not assign tasks. Wait for people to step forward.
3. Ask: "Who else needs to be involved?" Identify missing voices, other teams, or stakeholders who should be part of future dialogues.

Watch for: If nobody volunteers, that's information. The ideas may need more development, or the group may not feel safe enough to commit publicly. Don't force it. Sometimes action emerges after the session rather than during it.

Closing

Time: 5 minutes

1. Ask the recorder to read back the key insights, action ideas, and names of people to include next time.
2. Thank the group for their honesty and contributions.
3. If running multiple groups, bring the recorders together for a brief share-back (1-2 minutes per group) so themes can be identified across dialogues.
4. Be clear about what happens next: when the group will reconvene, how actions will be followed up, and how the insights will be shared.

Facilitator Guidance

What Makes This Work

DAD works because it trusts that the people closest to a problem already have insights into what helps, even if those insights haven't been named or shared. The seven questions create a natural arc from recognising a problem, to understanding what's already working, to building on those discoveries. The facilitator's role is to create space for stories and observations to surface, not to provide answers or evaluate ideas. When people discover solutions from within their own group rather than having solutions imposed on them, they're far more likely to adopt and sustain those changes. This is the core principle of Positive Deviance: the answers are already in the room.

Common Pitfalls

• Talking too much as the facilitator: Your job is to ask questions and listen. If you're speaking more than 10% of the time, you're taking up space the group needs. Practice genuine curiosity. Count to ten before jumping in.
• Evaluating ideas: Avoid saying "that's a good idea" or "I'm not sure about that." Leave space for participants to make their own assessments. The moment you start judging, the group starts performing for you instead of thinking for themselves.
• Assigning tasks: DAD relies on voluntary action. If you start giving assignments, you've broken the method. Wait for volunteers. If none come, the action wasn't ready yet.
• Rushing through the questions: The middle questions (2, 3, and 4) are where the real discoveries happen. Don't shortchange them to get to the action items. A DAD with great discovery but no action plan is more valuable than one with a tidy action list but shallow exploration.
• Skipping the recorder: Without someone capturing insights in real time, the best discoveries get lost. Brief the recorder beforehand: their job is to note specific behaviours, barriers, and action ideas, not to write down every word.
• Running DAD for a problem nobody owns: If the problem is theoretical or distant from participants' daily experience, the dialogue will feel flat and abstract. DAD needs people who live with the problem every day.

Adaptations

• Virtual/remote delivery: Use a shared document or virtual whiteboard where participants type answers to each question. The facilitator reads out powerful responses and invites people to expand on them verbally. Breakout rooms of 5-8 people work well for larger virtual groups.
• Larger groups (20+): Run multiple DAD groups simultaneously, each with their own facilitator and recorder. Bring the recorders together at the end for a cross-group share-back.
• Shorter timeframe (25 minutes): Tighten each question to 2-3 minutes. You'll sacrifice depth but can still surface useful insights. Good for a first pass that leads to a longer follow-up session.
• Series of DADs: Run multiple dialogues over weeks across different teams or shifts. Each session builds on the previous one, and positive deviant practices spread organically through the community.
• One-on-one version: Use the same seven questions to guide a coaching or mentoring conversation about a persistent challenge.
• Combined with TRIZ: Replace questions 1-3 with TRIZ-style questions: "What could you do to make this problem much worse?", "Is anything you're currently doing similar to those practices?", "What prevents you from stopping those practices?" This sharpens the problem definition before moving to discovery.

Real-World Applications

Hospital Infection Control: A group of nurses, doctors, and cleaning staff used DAD to tackle persistent MRSA transmission on their ward. Through the dialogue, they discovered that a handful of nurses had developed specific hand-hygiene habits that went beyond the standard protocol. These small, practical behaviours were shared and adopted across the team, contributing to a measurable drop in infection rates.

Onboarding New Employees: An HR team ran a series of DADs with managers across departments to address high turnover in the first six months. They found that three managers had retention rates well above average. The DADs revealed that these managers all did informal weekly check-ins and paired new starters with a peer buddy from day one. These practices were made available to all managers as options rather than mandates.

Classroom Behaviour Management: A school used DADs with teaching staff to address disruptive behaviour in year 9 classes. Teachers discovered that two colleagues had much calmer classrooms. The dialogues revealed specific practices: one teacher always greeted students at the door by name, and the other built five minutes of student-choice activity into every lesson. These were simple, adoptable changes.

Reducing Software Deployment Errors: An engineering team ran a DAD to address recurring deployment failures. Through the dialogue, they found that one team consistently had fewer incidents because they ran a short pre-deployment checklist as a pair. This practice was documented and offered to other teams, who adapted it to their own workflows.

Community Health Worker Retention: A public health organisation used DADs in rural communities to understand why some health workers stayed for years while others left within months. The dialogues revealed that long-serving workers had built small support networks with colleagues in neighbouring areas, meeting informally once a month. The organisation facilitated similar connections for new workers.