Organisational Workshop

In Short

Experience systemic power dynamics (tops, middles, bottoms) first-hand
Best for: Oshry's organisational dynamics exercise
Organisational Workshop is a structured tool for coaching and facilitation. Experience systemic power dynamics (tops, middles, bottoms) first-hand. It provides a repeatable framework that can be adapted to individual, team, and leadership development contexts.
Type of tool: Oshry's organisational dynamics exercise
Expected outcomes:
- Improved ability to experience systemic power dynamics (tops, middles, bottoms) first-hand
- Improved capacity to how did each group feel? What systemic conditions created those feelings? 4
- A concrete action or development plan to take forward from the Organisational Workshop process

In Detail

Organisational Workshop is an experiential exercise designed to help coaches, leaders, and facilitators experience systemic power dynamics (tops, middles, bottoms) first-hand. It sits within the category of Oshry's organisational dynamics exercise, making it particularly useful for practitioners working on capability development, team performance, and individual growth in organisational settings.

In practice, Organisational Workshop is delivered as a 5-step process. The process begins by introduce Oshry's framework: Tops (burdened by complexity), Middles (caught between tops and bottoms), Bottoms (exp. The session closes by build strategies for Middles to hold their own perspective. The structured approach ensures that participants move through a consistent experience while leaving room for the facilitator to adapt pacing and depth to the group's needs.

Organisational Workshop is most effective when used to break existing patterns of thinking or interaction. The experiential format creates a low-stakes environment where participants can experiment, make mistakes, and draw direct parallels to real workplace dynamics through the debrief process.

How to Use

From Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Barry Oshry). 1. Introduce Oshry's framework: Tops (burdened by complexity), Middles (caught between tops and bottoms), Bottoms (experiencing vulnerability). 2. Run the Organisational Workshop simulation: participants assigned to Top, Middle, or Bottom groups must lead/manage a real task. 3. Debrief: how did each group feel? What systemic conditions created those feelings? 4. Introduce the Middle Slide -- where Middles lose their perspective by serving both sides. 5. Build strategies for Middles to hold their own perspective.

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Creates immediate, memorable experiences that accelerate learning compared to instruction alone Low-stakes environment allows participants to experiment with new behaviours safely Generates rich debrief material directly relevant to real workplace dynamics	Effectiveness depends heavily on the quality of the debrief — poor facilitation wastes the investment Some participants resist "games" as lacking seriousness, requiring careful framing Time investment in setup and debrief limits how many tools can be used in a single session

Created by Barry Oshry

When to Use

This tool is suited to the following coaching and facilitation contexts:

Context	Relevant
Individual Coaching
Team Coaching	✓
Leadership Development
Facilitation / Workshop	✓
Online / Virtual

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