Better Creative Meetings With Lego Serious Play

For a while, I wanted to check how it feels to participate in a facilitated meeting using Lego Serious Play technology. Last week I went for an evening peek preview session organised by Social Innovation and Service Design MeetUp group in Brussels, kindly hosted by Marlies and Elizabeth.

Warming Up

We were a team of nine; most of us did not know each other before the session. After the short intro by the hosts, Ralph took over as certified Lego Serious Play facilitator. A simple rule was to be respected - no mobile phones, no papers, pens and pencils. Just be present and attentive. As simple as that, it felt as a refreshing change towards typical corporate setting during which at any point in time half of participants are on another planet altogether, fidgeting on their phones, pads or papers, not present. It also put most of us out of our habitual comfort zone – for me a good start for a change.

Each one of us got the same small Lego kit and we did three warm-up exercises. The first was a technical one - we had to build a construction as high as possible (and stable, too) with the provided kit. The second, a metaphor, was to build something and then try to explain how it relates to a card with a hidden term. In other words, we had to be creative in linking two initially unrelated concepts. Inspiring and funny. The third, a story, was an attempt to express our "typical Monday morning experience" through a Lego construction. We learned something personal about each other, it helped us to connect as a team.

For each of the warm up exercises, there were short instructions before and individual expression and feedback after the exercise - each one of us had to explain what we did, while the others were listening.

The Challenge

After the skills building warm-up and continuing to use the knowledge within our hands and eyes for attentive observation, Ralph gave us the challenge of the event. We had to create a vision and a programme answering difficult issues of a large community. In answering that, we all built our Lego constructs representing responses and solutions to the challenge. Then each of us explained the meaning and particularities behind our constructions.

It Feels Different

A few notable things imminent to the process. By building a material representation of our ideas and by explaining the meaning behind, somehow we all detached from our ideas. We did not talk about "us" and "our views", but about material objects and their meaning. By using Lego bricks, it felt like our egos diminished. We were able to focus to conveying the meaning behind a material object, instead of trying to explain, defend and push our abstract views. During the building process, the group was quietly busy with the shared task. The process and the Lego kit created thinking and reflection time-space for each individual in the group in a very natural way. Imagine a classic meeting with nine people, how would you spare e.g. 5 minutes of "thinking time"? It would be an unnatural and quite unpleasant experience, most likely wasted to mobile phone and e-mail fidgeting.

So each one of us did a high-level construct of key elements for answering the set challenge. Then each of us had to explain it through our Lego creations, while the others would listen (and question for clarification). Then the real fun started. We had to put together our individual constructs and create a joint one. Some ideas were similar, some quite different. To my surprise, the integration process went in a great harmony. There was no aggression, forcing or imposing individual views. The merged construction was really integrating and bringing individual perspectives into something meaningful and more powerful. It all made sense and articulated very well.

My Harvesting of Lego Serious Play

I wondered how much of that magic was due to the Lego Serious Play itself, to our facilitator Ralph, who did an excellent job in a single, condensed evening session? How much of that was due to us (participants) attracted, curious and open about the subject, therefore supportive by default? What about the fact that we were active but at the same time detached from the subject? There was no pressure of aspirations, aims, ambitions, competition and potential rewards.

I suppose the answer is in blending all of the above factors. Still, I experienced Lego Serious Play as an excellent tool to explore difficult questions in a new, creative way and help towards a rich consensus while leveraging each individual's intelligence and contribution.

Currently too many meetings in all kinds of organisations are conducted in a way that leads to the lowest common denominator outcomes i.e. those supporting unhealthy compromises and blending poorly thought, contradictory and irreconcilable statements. There is not much energy and real commitment behind these constructions. That leads to (at best) mediocre outcomes. What a waste.

In my view, Lego Serious Play is a refreshing alternative towards better process as well as better individual experience (and motivation). To me, that equals better outcomes. The proof: four hours after our session started (n.b. at 18:30), we arrived to the closing without anyone of us noticing or getting nervous about the time. Would it feel the same during a late afternoon corporate meeting?