Transform your business with the power of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®

I know what you’re thinking. “LEGO® in the office? How is that going to help us?!”

But as you’ll see – creating a fun, safe space for people to play with ideas and express their creativity can have a huge impact on everything from communication to the understanding of other teams’ needs. And It’s not just for the die-hard LEGO® fans, anyone, even if they’ve never used LEGO® before will benefit from some SERIOUS PLAY® in their office.

Let’s build a picture of ways it can help. But first off..

What is LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®?

In a nutshell, it’s a guided thinking, communication and problem-solving technique for organisations, teams, and individuals. It draws on years of extensive research in business development and learning.

The idea behind the sessions is that leaders don’t have all the answers. To be successful, you need to hear everyone in the room. 

People have an abundance of different experiences and knowledge to contribute and they want to be involved, giving their input on issues that affect them. LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® materials and methodologies help draw these ideas out in a collaborative and supportive environment, so everyone can feel heard.

LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® meetings differ significantly from the traditional 80:20 principle of ‘leaning-back’ style meetings where 20% of the group talks 80% of the time. Everyone is provided with the same tools and is on an equal playing field, where 100% of the team is engaged and leans in. 

What does LSP help with?

LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® makes your teams more effective by improving communication and creativity across your organisation.

A trained facilitator guides the group through a series of exercises that encourage creativity, unlocks ideas and solutions and releases potential. 

One example is that by using LEGO® elements to represent different aspects of the business, employees can build models and discuss potential solutions to problems. This helps make sure everyone is on the same page and has a clear understanding of what needs to be done.

It creates and unlocks new ideas, concepts and opens up communication in ways impossible over zoom, slack and their 4th PowerPoint presentation of the day.

How does LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® work? 

First, a question is posed to the group. The facilitator then gives each participant a set of LEGO® bricks to build a visual representation of their answer.

People then share their models with the group and explain what they represent. Even though people have the same bricks and the same question, every model is always different and reveals something about the builder.

Finally, the group reflects on the experience and what they’ve learned. This process is beneficial as it helps to solve problems, explore ideas and achieve objectives in a fun and engaging way that lets everyone speak.

An example of a real question is “Build a model showing how our teams talk to each other”. One person could build a megaphone, another a computer, but what if someone builds an island to show they feel communication is lacking? Often simple questions like this can result in unexpected answers across teams.

Or another example might be “Build a model of what made you happy at work this week?”. You’ll be amazed at the variety of what gets built.

The models act as a metaphor and help with storytelling. Ideas and emotions can be expressed in abstract or simple ways. 

Participants are taken on a journey through the skills, so more and more insights and concepts can be explored. So even if you’ve never used LEGO® you can still contribute as much as the people who have the LEGO® Millennium Falcon on a shelf in their office.

The sessions are designed for full engagement and contribution from everyone instead of having one person do most of the talking. With 100% participation from everyone, these meetings differ significantly from the traditional 80:20 principle of ‘leaning-back’ style meetings where 20% of the group talks 80% of the time. Everyone is provided with the same tools and is on an equal playing field, where 100% of the team is engaged and leans in. 

LSP helps keep engagement high as it employs all three learning styles – visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Which allows everyone to communicate more effectively and express deeper thoughts and feelings. It breaks the traditional and habitual way of thinking that you see in the workplace.

LSP uses the science of play and learning. 

Utilising the power of hand knowledge is one of the best ways to learn new information. Our brains have a limited capacity for storing knowledge, but when we use our hands to connect to our brains, we activate more brain cells. This means that we can learn more effectively by using our hands to play, explore, and tell stories. 

LSP uses the concepts of constructivism where you build knowledge based on your experiences of the world. It also uses the learning theory constructionism, that says if you build abstract ideas and relationships into something tangible it can be easier to share with others. 

Using our imagination in different ways helps us explore the world, to create things not out there yet, and to challenge what we see.

In your organisation LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® can be used to improve:

• Strategy Development  – This is when you can see the overall picture, play out various possibilities in real-time, and identify all of the interactions and consequences. 
• Team development – When a new team is formed, it’s important to identify roles, culture, and a vision. Working together and communicating aids in the formation of a higher-performing team.
• Innovation – It helps to provide a different way to look at new insights and approaches from everyone. Making it inclusive to those with no design skills. 
• Culture – it can help to explore poor work cultures and help to guide and build better behaviours at a team or company level. 
• Change management – it can help to understand what the current state is and what the future state might look like. Exploring topics that people are concerned with or what matters most. 
• Problem-solving – It can help teams understand the problem and the perspectives of everyone who is trying to solve it. You can work out the best solution to a shared problem.
• Design thinking – It can be used in different areas of the process, from building empathy, and understanding the situation to ideation work.
• Interviews – This could help people with certain types of neurodiversity who find it easier to express things in a more tangible way.
• Coaching – They make it possible for individuals to see the present problems, goals, and a way forward.
• Project kick-off meetings – These can help get off on a good footing getting alignment and understanding of the project. 
• Retrospectives – They can be used to reflect and share views at the end of sprints or after the end of projects.
• Customer experience – With new insights, you can better understand how to improve products and services. 

*The list above is adapted from Michael Fearne LSP book*

There are lots of other use cases that LSP is used for, as all workshops are created bespoke and tailored to answer the questions you need answering. 

The LSP materials and methodologies works well when the subject is complicated, and there isn’t a single right answer or there are several viewpoints to consider. If you’ve got people with different skill sets and you want everyone’s input and for everyone to contribute, LSP is ideal.

What do you need help with?

Take a few minutes and think about what could be improved within your organisation. A big thing we see that transforms software and service development is working on inter team communication. Getting people together to really understand each other, and how best to communicate can have a life changing impact for people.

How could it help you? Get in touch.

 

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