LEGO® Serious Play® – Facilitators ask us these questions
Facilitators who are considering undertaking the training ask us these questions:
- What is the LEGO® Serious Play® method?
- How can I use it in my particular context?
- How will it help my clients or my stakeholders?
- Should I be trained in using the LEGO® Serious Play® method?
Let’s answer these questions by giving you some examples of the use cases of our current facilitators who are learning how to apply the LEGO® Serious Play® method:
1. Use the LEGO® Serious® Play® method for College students
LEGO® Serious Play® is very different from traditional teaching methods. It’s based on students actively constructing something themselves to express their thoughts, points of view and ideas. Part of using the process encourages students to communicate effectively and feel as if they are an active part of their cohort. It’s a creative method that is also based on creative thinking.
Here are some examples of how the method is used for students:
- We invite students to imagine what they will feel like when they graduate. What is their vision for the success? They then construct their models out of the LEGO® bricks to build this vision for the future. We work through some of the obstacles that could stand in their way and what they will do to overcome them to ensure that they finish their course.
- We also invite students to plan their careers. The creation of models gives them a way of expressing their career ambitions by building out the different options. They can circle in on selecting and narrowing down the pathways that they would like to follow. What a powerful way to introduce gamification for student engagement.
- The method is also used in Business Schools to discuss aspects of leadership. Students build the type of leader that they would aspire to be and consider the steps that they would need to follow in order to realize this vision of leadership
2. Use the LEGO® Serious Play® method to build stronger teams
The LEGO® Serious Play® process is a powerful way of engaging teams that are going through change and who are lacking in energy and motivation.
This is where a skilled facilitator steps in to plan a session that makes an enormous difference to the team’s level of engagement:
- The facilitators use the time with the team to encourage them to get to know each other on a deeper level. The method creates a safe environment in which everyone in the team is able to collaborate and express themselves freely. This sets up a strong sense of trust which is at the foundation of teams who function at high levels.
- The method also allows team members to explore what they want their team to look like and behave like. This gives them a solid sense of how they can formulate guiding principles to move their team forward in a positive direction. The session in fact becomes serious at this stage as team members contribute their true thoughts.
- Once the team is able to explore what their future could hold and play out several scenarios, they begin to get their ‘mojo’ back. They ask more questions of each other and don’t base their opinions on assumptions. There is overall improved communication as team members listen to the stories of their colleagues and have the time to tell their own story.
3. Use the LEGO® Serious Play® method for a corporate event of a conference
Our facilitators are often called on to help organize a team event or even the opening or closing session of a conference. It’s a fun and engaging way of getting everyone involved!
- If there is limited time, the facilitators make use of the ‘what the duck’ method which is also included in the Play4Business training program. These are short, sharp activities that are used to bring people together so that they think differently as they move their hands when they create their physical models.
- Our facilitators adapt the activities to suit the theme of the conference and the mood in the room always transforms into something that is different from a standard presentation or lecture. Everyone builds, everyone tells the story of what they have built. That’s an immediate game-changer.
- Using the LEGO® Serious Play® method brings creativity and a sense of innovation into the room. Facilitators set the tone for a session that is fully inclusive of all diverse viewpoints. You are also tapping into participants’ memories of their positive childhood experience of play.
4. Should I be trained in using the LEGO® Serious Play® method?
In order to truly use the power of LEGO® Serious Play®, it’s important to be trained. You will then be able to follow the ‘golden rules’ of the process so that there is a positive outcome for all the participants.
Great facilitators are able to do the following because they have learnt the appropriate skills during their training:
- They structure the session well so that participants remain in flow and don’t tire or become frustrated.
- They follow the process to ensure that each person builds their own model and tells the story of what they have built.
- Top facilitators also help the group to debrief well so that they ‘join the dots’ in terms of what has been discussed.
You too can be part of this incredible movement by applying the LEGO® Serious Play® method with your own groups! I don’t know of many other methodologies that are able to encourage and prompt such deep dialogue and reflection.
It’s truly, even after all these years, one of the few methods that is based on solid research and flexible enough to adapt to such a wide range of different organisational contexts.
Here’s some further reading and viewing for you on the fundamental principles that underlie this innovative approach to communicating in teams:
