LEGO Serious Play Applications
What is Lego Serious Play?
Lego Serious Play (LSP) is a facilitation methodology that uses the iconic Lego building blocks as a tool to help people and organizations communicate, problem solve and innovate. Developed in collaboration with the Lego group, Johan Roos and Bart Victor created the “Serious Play” concept and process in the mid 1990s as a way for managers to describe, create and challenge their views of their business.
LEGO® Serious Play® is a powerful and effective way to unlock creativity and harness the collective intelligence of a team by utilizing the connection between the hands and the brain. At its core, LSP is based on the principle that everyone has a unique perspective and valuable information to share. By using Lego bricks as a visual and tactile language, participants can express their thoughts and exchange ideas in an engaging and memorable way. This allows for a deeper level of communication and understanding between team members, leading to collaboration and identifying problems and solving them in more effective ways.
Benefits of the LEGO® Serious Play® methodology
- Boosts Communication: One of the key benefits of LEGO Serious Play applications is that it fosters better communication among team members. By using Lego pieces as a tool to express themselves, people can communicate their ideas in a clear, concise and engaging way. This helps avoid misinterpretations or misunderstandings, leading to more effective and efficient communication.
- Increased creativity: Another benefit of LEGO Serious Play applications is that it encourages creativity and innovation. The tactile nature of the Lego bricks allows people to interact with their ideas in a more intuitive way, using their hands to create connections and seek solutions to the different challenges that the facilitator in the form of questions proposes in the session, leading to new ideas and perspectives. This often leads to breakthroughs in problem solving and innovation.
- Improves team dynamics: LSP also helps improve team dynamics by fostering a sense of collaboration and mutual respect. By using a common language of Lego bricks, people are able to understand each other’s perspectives using generous listening and therefore work together more effectively. This can lead to stronger relationships and a more positive work environment.
- Improved problem solving: LSP is an excellent problem-solving tool as it allows people to explore complex problems in a creative and engaging way. By using Lego bricks to represent different aspects of a problem, participants can visualize possible solutions and explore different scenarios. This often leads to being able to approach a problem and its solution more effectively and thereby achieving better results.
- Facilitates strategic planning: Lego Serious Play is an effective tool for strategic planning. It allows participants to visualize complex concepts and strategies in a simple and tangible way. This process helps teams identify potential opportunities and challenges, and develop a shared vision for the future. By involving all team members in the planning process, teams can ensure that everyone is aligned and committed to the same goals.
- Improves decision making: Lego Serious Play is an effective decision-making tool. By building models and exploring different scenarios, individuals can evaluate the potential outcomes of different decisions. This process allows teams to make informed decisions based on a shared understanding of the problem and possible solutions.
- Increased engagement: LSP is an engaging and fun way to collaborate and solve problems. By using Lego bricks as a tool, people can connect with their inner child and approach problems with a sense of joy and curiosity. This helps make work more enjoyable and lead to greater job satisfaction.
LEGO Serious Play applications examples
The most prominent example of the use of the LEGO Serious Play method is in the LEGO Group itself. The company has been using this methodology since the late 1990s, and it has become a central part of its innovation and team-building processes. Other companies, such as Google, Coca-Cola and IBM, have also adopted Lego Serious Play to help their teams collaborate more effectively and generate new ideas.
Companies
Success stories
There are many success stories of companies using Lego Serious Play to overcome difficult challenges. For example, in 2011, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation used the methodology to help its employees come up with new ideas for programs. The result was a series of innovative shows that were highly successful and won several awards.
Examples lego serious play applications as I did this March with the company Crisalix with an innovation session of only 3 hours to do ideation and mash-ups, according to the participants “we got more in 3 hours than a week of hackaton”. Another example of lego serious play would be with Telefónica and a session to put everyone together and level their understanding and use of agile methodologies and Design Thinking, Moodle would be another example of lego serious play so that during their MoodleMoot, trust would be the central axis of their relationships and culture.
Implementation in work teams
One of many examples is at global engineering firm Arup, where they have used the methodology to help their teams collaborate and solve complex problems. Using Lego® Serious Play®, Arup has been able to reduce the time it takes to arrive at solutions and increase the effectiveness of their team meetings.
Education
Use in classrooms and workshops
The Lego Serious Play methodology is also a great tool for education. It can be used in classrooms and workshops to help students learn in a more engaging and interactive way. For example, one school in Denmark used the methodology to help students develop their language and communication skills. Students were asked to build models of their thoughts and ideas, and then explain them to their classmates, which helped them develop their communication skills and help them adapt and empathize with their peers.
Educational games
Serious play® is a technique that has also been used in educational games to help children learn in a fun and engaging way. For example, the game “Build to Express” uses the methodology to help children with autism spectrum disorder communicate and express themselves.
Coaching and consulting
It can help coaches facilitate more effective conversations by helping their clients explore new ideas and solutions. For example, I myself have used the methodology to help one of my clients overcome a communication challenge with his clients. The result was a more effective communication strategy that helped him build stronger relationships with his customers. Also to establish mission, vision and values as in this case.
Creative process improvement
It can help individuals and teams think outside the box and come up with new and innovative ideas. For example, one marketing agency used the methodology to help its team create a new advertising campaign for a client. Using Lego tokens, and by building a model as a basis for discussion and brainstorming, they were able to drill down and generate a series of creative ideas that later became a successful campaign.
Communication and conflict resolution
Lego Serious Play has been used to improve communication and conflict resolution skills. Lego pieces can be used to create visual representations of complex ideas and emotions, making it easier for people to express themselves and understand others. The method has been used to resolve conflicts in the workplace as well as in personal relationships.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a different and fun workshop, Serious Play® is a versatile and powerful tool that can be used in a wide range of fields and contexts. From companies to classrooms, from coaching sessions to creative processes, the method has proven to be an effective way to explore complex ideas, solve problems and build solutions. Whether you are looking to improve communication skills, foster innovation and performance or resolve conflicts within a group, LEGO Serious Play can be the tool you need to achieve your goals. Check out my workshops
