LEGO Serious Play
Get serious about playing for change.
What is LEGO® Serious Play®?
LEGO® Serious Play® (LSP) is a collaboration method designed to increase performance and innovation in companies. By building models using LEGO® pieces, this method aims to facilitate decision-making and team cohesion.
The process of building with LEGOs takes advantage of the human capacity to imagine, describe, and understand a situation, as well as to initiate change and improvements or to create something radically new. When people use their hands, a complex process develops that generates a strong emotional charge. “Thinking with your hands” unleashes ideas, creativity, and imagination.
LSP workshops offer an opportunity to level-set everyone involved. LEGOs are universal; they don’t speak a specific language, carry a cultural significance, or have stereotypes (other than being considered only a toy).Â
A Quick History
Mid-1990's
LEGO® Serious Play® emerged as an idea to introduce the use of LEGO®s for business and education environments. Robert Rasmussen, then Director of Educational R&D at LEGO®, developed LEGO® Serious Play® as a methodology and created the facilitator training program.
2007
LSP was further developed, becoming the method it is today.
2010
To broaden the facilitator base, the distribution model was changed to make LSP open source. As a result, all materials are openly available.
Benefits: Promote Cultural Changes
Benefits: Promote Cultural Changes
LEGO®s are useful for turning abstract ideas that are difficult to understand or fully assimilate into something tangible and concrete.
For situations that require maximum participation and involvement, LEGO® enables everyone in the workshop to work collaboratively and participate actively.
LEGO® always evokes emotion. On one hand, it allows for emotional connections in a safe environment, and on the other hand, it facilitates participant involvement to enable empathy and collaboration.
LEGO® facilitates creativity. It is very useful for coming up with creative solutions to complex problems.
When to Use LEGO® Serious Play®
Within an organization, LEGO® Serious Play® is most useful when the goal is to actively involve various parties in decision-making. The process is especially beneficial in complex situations which require participant buy-in and adaptability. For example, the workshop can be utilized to develop a digital or agile transformation strategy, improve as a team, break down silos, define action plans, manage cultural changes, explore customer experience, etc.
We believe in the power of LSP at Netmind. We even held a full-day session during our annual #NetmindKickoff meeting to gather feedback, set objectives for the future, and lay the foundation for a strategy to reach our goals.
Our session, like all others, unfolded as a structured process which followed several reoccurring phases that built on each other to complete the journey:
The Challenge
A challenge, with no obvious or correct solution, is provided to the participants.
Build
Participants build a model with Lego pieces and develop a story that gives it meaning.
Share
Each participant shares their story and model.
Reflect
To internalize the story, all the participants reflect on what is shared.
