15% Solutions

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Direct individual effort toward immediate changes within direct personal control without waiting for approval.

Use it when: Use when a team feels stuck, focuses heavily on external constraints, or waits for top-down mandates.

Skip it when: Skip when the primary objective is negotiating contracts, approving enterprise governance policies, or allocating departmental budgets.

Group arrangement: Solo reflection, then small consultation groups of 3 (or 2 to 4 when numbers require)

Timing: 20 minutes, matching the Liberating Structures overview timing

Materials and tools

• One sheet of paper per person
• One pen per person
• One visible room countdown timer
• Audible chime or bell
• Whiteboard or flip chart
• For remote or hybrid delivery: video breakout rooms, a digital display of the question, and a timer visible within each group.
• For hybrid delivery: one individual device and headset per participant, with spacing to prevent audio feedback; turn off shared room microphones and speakers.

Before participants arrive

1. Arrange chairs in clusters of 3 without tables where possible.
2. Write the guiding question on the whiteboard: Where do you have the discretion and freedom to act right now without needing more resources or authority?
3. Before starting remote or hybrid delivery, assign the full roster to groups of 3 regardless of location, using one group of 4 when the remainder is 1 or one pair when the remainder is 2. Prepare rooms and test devices, headsets and the displayed question.

Say this to open

Look at our shared challenge. Put aside the 85 percent that depends on budget, leadership sign-off, or other teams. Focus strictly on your 15 percent: what actions can you take today purely within your own discretion? Write your ideas down in silence.

How to run it

1. Introduce and write 4 minutes

   Speak the opening script and start the timer. Participants write silently on paper. Each person notes actions within their direct authority. For example, write 'clarify handoff expectations in my daily wrap-up email' rather than 'procure an automated workflow system.' Give a 30-second warning before time expires.

2. Form consultation groups 1 minutes

   Use groups of 3. If the total leaves remainder 1, make one group of 4; if remainder 2, make one pair. Put everyone else in groups of 3. Thus 4 uses one group of 4 and 5 uses 3+2. Members number themselves from 1 through their actual group size and agree who keeps the timer. Use the same full-roster rule in every delivery setting.

3. Consult in small groups 12 minutes

   Each member presents their list, receives clarifying questions, and gets practical advice. In groups of 3, each person gets 4 minutes. In groups of 4, each person gets 3 minutes. In pairs, each gets 5 minutes with extra time for open reflection. Groups self-manage internal turns while the facilitator rings a chime every 3 minutes, announcing elapsed time so all formats stay aligned.

4. Debrief as a group 3 minutes

   Reconvene the full room. Ask two or three volunteers to share one concrete action they will take right away that requires zero outside permission. Confirm clarity and close the session.

Debrief questions

• What made an idea truly fit within your 15 percent rather than the 85 percent outside your control?
• What common themes emerged across the immediate actions shared in your group?

Finished output: A personal, self-authorized list of concrete actions each participant can execute immediately.

Remote

Run individual writing in the main video room. Create breakout rooms of 3 people (using pairs or groups of 4 if the count requires). Set the breakout timer for 12 minutes. Send broadcast text announcements at minutes 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 to guide turn rotations for groups of 4, 3, or 2. Reconvene in the main room for debrief.

Hybrid

Use the remote procedure with the full roster in groups of 2 to 4 regardless of location, including mixed groups when needed. Each attendee uses an individual device and headset in the assigned breakout room. Space in-room attendees apart and turn off shared room audio. Display the question to everyone and retain the same 12-minute consultation block and group-size-specific turns. Return all devices to the main room for the 3-minute debrief, taking spoken or typed contributions one at a time. If the equipment is unavailable, use one delivery setting instead.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may record ideas as written notes, typed text, or sketches.
• Anyone may focus strictly on personal workflow habits rather than team-wide processes.
• A participant may pass on receiving peer feedback and spend their consultation turn silently reviewing their notes.

If the session gets stuck

Participants list actions that require budget or leadership permission.

Remind them that anything needing outside sign-off belongs to the 85 percent. Ask them to shrink the action until it needs neither.

One member dominates the consultation time.

Rely on the scheduled chimes and remind groups that each person must receive an equal turn for consultation.

Terms used here

• 15% Solution: An action an individual has the autonomy and discretion to carry out without asking for permission or extra resources.