Troika Consulting

Troika Consulting is a liberating peer support structure designed by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless. The game is played in groups of three, either in person or remotely, with one person acting as the client and two as consultants. It is designed to quickly unlock a real challenge by benefiting from an outside perspective. Its main mechanism is simple: the client listens without responding while the others freely reflect on their problem.

Walkthrough

1. 1

   Frame the intention and format

   2 min

   The facilitator announces: "You will work in groups of three. Each person will take turns being the client, presenting a real challenge, and then being a consultant for the other two." They specify the rhythm: about 10 minutes per person, for a total duration of 30 minutes. They emphasise the posture: to help without taking control of the other person's problem. Participants mentally choose a concrete, current challenge on which they would be willing to receive ideas.

   Tip — Ask for a challenge that is neither too personal nor too theoretical: something the person can summarise in two minutes and on which they have some scope for action.

2. 2

   Form the troikas and establish roles

   2 min

   The facilitator forms groups of three or asks participants to quickly group themselves. They give the instruction: "Decide who will be the client first, then who will go second and third." In person, the three people sit close together, with enough space for the client to turn around. Remotely, each trio joins a separate room and agrees on a clear order of speaking.

   Tip — Avoid groups of two or four if possible: the strength of the format comes from having only two consultants, which is enough to cross ideas but few enough to remain focused.

3. 3

   First client: presentation and clarification

   3 min

   The first client presents their challenge for 1 to 2 minutes. The facilitator may say: "Describe the situation, what is blocking you, and the type of help you would like to receive." The two consultants listen without giving advice at this stage. They then have 1 to 2 minutes to ask only clarifying questions to understand the context, the stakeholders, the constraints, or the intended goal.

   Tip — If the consultants start to propose solutions, gently redirect: "Save your ideas for the next step; for now, focus only on understanding better."

4. 4

   First client: consultation with back turned

   5 min

   The client physically turns around and faces away from the two consultants; remotely, they turn off their camera or look away from the screen, depending on what is possible. The consultants discuss among themselves for 4 to 5 minutes, as if the client were not there, sharing ideas, advice, hypotheses, and action paths. The client listens in silence, without intervening, justifying themselves, or correcting. The goal is to provide them with a rare listening space, without immediate debate.

   Tip — Encourage the consultants to speak to each other, not to the client: this reduces the urge to convince and often leads to more nuanced advice.

5. 5

   First client: useful feedback

   2 min

   The client turns back to the consultants. They have 1 to 2 minutes to say what was most useful to them, without commenting on each idea or opening a lengthy discussion. The facilitator may suggest the phrase: "What I mainly take away is..." The consultants simply listen to this feedback. This brief closure allows the client to anchor the relevant insights and enables the group to properly finish the round.

   Tip — Protect this moment from debates: if someone starts to explain again, remind them that the goal is to gather what is useful, not to finalise a complete plan.

6. 6

   Rotate roles for the other two clients

   18 min

   The facilitator announces: "The same sequence for the second person, then for the third." In each round, the client presents their challenge in 1 to 2 minutes, the consultants clarify in 1 to 2 minutes, the client turns around, and then the consultants discuss among themselves for 4 to 5 minutes. Finally, the client returns and shares what was most useful to them in 1 to 2 minutes. Participants keep track of time so that everyone benefits from a fair turn.

   Tip — Display or send the timed sequence before the rotations; the trios become autonomous, and you avoid having to re-explain at each client change.

7. 7

   Collective closure and learnings

   3 min

   The facilitator brings everyone back to the large group. They do not ask to recount the challenges, which can remain confidential, but invite sharing of learnings about the process. They may ask: "What surprised you about listening without responding?" and then gather a few brief reactions. The closure highlights the power of structured peer support and encourages everyone to take concrete action.

   Tip — End with a micro-action: ask everyone to note a decision or a next conversation to have within the next 24 to 48 hours.

Variants

• Remotely, use breakout rooms of three. The client can turn away from the screen, turn off their camera, or simply remain silent while the two consultants talk among themselves.
• For a large group, launch all the troikas in parallel and display the complete sequence with durations. The facilitator sends time reminders to synchronise the rotations.
• For sensitive challenges, ask clients to formulate their situation in a sufficiently anonymised way. The consultants then work on the dynamics and possible options without seeking to know all the details.