The simple and unconscious power of LEGO? SERIOUS PLAY?

I was struck last week once again by the simple and unconscious power of LEGO? SERIOUS PLAY?. I think all who do #legoseriousplay have been struck at some point by this power. Last week just reminded me about it. It was a really simple moment, an inconsequential moment, but a moment that re-inforced the power of #lsp. The power that these silly little bricks have.

The power that these bricks have on people to divulge who they are without realising it. Divulge their thoughts about how they feel about things, about themselves, about their life. Thoughts that if we met face to face for the first time, they are more than likely to keep to themselves.

And yet, #lsp has this effect on people. The models that people create, the stories that they tell. All shared, without almost realising what they are saying. What they are revealing. About themselves.

I'm running some virtual workshops at the moment using #lsp to help people explore their business identity. People often see their identity as their role ie. coder, developer, consultant, doctor, farmer, mechanic, surgeon etc. What I'm trying to get to using LEGO is what lies beneath their role. There are thousands of coders and developers in the world, but only one of you. So what makes you - you - in a business context. What makes you in your role of coder or developer unique, what value do you bring?

I've found people don't often know the answer to this. What value do you bring to this company, to your client, to you, in your role as [insert what you do here]?

I remember going through the pilot, which is when the decision was made to pivot the original intent of the course around storytelling, to one about exploring business identity - My Business Identity. This particular person had made an individual model about themselves, there were various other builds leading up to this one that explored how they saw things from different perspectives (client, colleague etc), but as they told the story of their model, they suddenly had an epiphany.

They realised they weren't a consultant, but actually a 'gamechanger'; their words not mine.

This changed everything for them. How they saw themselves, the value they brought, how their client might see them, what set them apart from other consultants. It was also only at this moment, when they had gone beneath their role, that they realised they could begin to truly create the story of who they were, from a business perspective.

As we went round the room, listening to each of the participant's stories, similar moments of self-revelation were revealed. What was interesting for me, is that even though this is what I wanted to happen, I had no idea whether it would or not. It was a leap of faith, that this could happen. And so I'm also prepared that there will be those for whom this approach is not enough. I've not quite figured out what happens with these people yet!

But let me come back to last week, and the incidental moment in a virtual kick-off session when someone talked about what life was like for them during Covid-19. They talked through different parts of their model, and then they came to a small 2x2 pink brick. Without pausing they mentioned that the pink brick represented their tummy, which during this period had become bigger, because they were eating more. They moved to the next brick to continue the story of their model...

At the end of the session, I mentioned to them the power of these LEGO bricks, and how if we were meeting face to face for the first time, they probably wouldn't have said many of the things they did say as they told the different stories of their models; and in particular, the meaning of the pink brick for them.

And that's part of the power of #lsp.

Now what I'm wondering is what might a pink brick mean for you?