Fostering Cross-Cultural Collaboration with LEGO® Serious Play® Method

Fostering cross-cultural collaboration with LEGO® Serious Play® Method empowers diverse teams to work more effectively by encouraging creative thinking, inclusivity, and deeper understanding. As organizations grow globally, it’s crucial to build alignment among employees from varied backgrounds. This powerful tool offers a unique, hands-on approach to unite team members around common goals, improve communication, and enhance team dynamics through a structured co-creation experience.

What Makes LEGO® Serious Play® Method Ideal for Global Teams?

The LEGO® Serious Play® Method is a collaboration tool where participants build three-dimensional models to represent their perspectives and ideas. These tangible representations make abstract ideas more concrete and reduce dependence on verbal communication—ideal for culturally and linguistically diverse teams. The method fosters emotional intelligence, supports personal development, and strengthens strategic thinking through an experiential process.

Bridging Cultural Gaps Through Creative Expression

For teams spanning different geographies and backgrounds, communication barriers can hinder progress. The LEGO® Serious Play® Method bridges these gaps using metaphorical models, individual models, and physical models that capture each participant’s lived experience. These models allow for the exchange of ideas in a safe environment, nurturing empathy, critical thinking, and mutual understanding.

Encouraging a Culture of Inclusion and Innovation

The method supports a culture of innovation by inviting team members to explore alternative perspectives and contribute innovative ideas through creative building. It also aligns with inclusive organizational culture values by giving everyone a platform for their voice and promoting emotional connections during the building process. This iterative process reveals potential solutions and deepens engagement.

Collaborative Approaches for Stronger Team Building

Unlike traditional workshops, LEGO® Serious Play® promotes collaborative approaches and enhances collective intelligence. It encourages active participation during team-building activities, helping to develop a cohesive team that understands cultural nuances. This makes it a valuable tool for team leaders, project teams, and global units looking to strengthen their communication in meetings and unify through customization processes.

Improving Communication Across Borders

Through the act of building models, participants express complex ideas without relying solely on language. This removes communication barriers and enhances effective communication by incorporating conceptual models and visual thinking. Combined with active listening and guided dialogue, the process develops problem-solving skills and effective solutions that are both inclusive and actionable.

Tips for Leading Cross-Cultural LEGO® Serious Play® Sessions

To run impactful sessions across cultures:

• Incorporate Cultural Sensitivity: Design prompts that reflect global perspectives.
• Support Storytelling: Encourage sharing of personal experience and lived narratives.
• Visualize Outcomes: Use images or LEGO sets to document key application techniques.
• Reflect and Align: Promote alignment with strategic planning and organizational goals.
• Focus on Key Benefits: Highlight how team-building sessions can lead to improved team dynamics and long-term growth.

Final Thoughts

The LEGO® Serious Play® Method is not just an effective tool—it’s a complete framework for cross-cultural growth. It empowers teams to break out of box thinking, strengthen relationships, and collaboratively shape actionable goals. Whether in a one-off online workshop or part of a long-term strategy, this method fosters holistic understanding, strategy development, and taps into the untapped potential of every participant.

Want to build better global teams? Discover how LEGO® Serious Play® Method can support cross-cultural collaboration in your organization.

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