Where to start with playmobil.pro? #playmobilpro

So you’ve bought a Basic or Starter playmobil.pro Kit, or you’ve got a stack of Playmobil that your kids are no longer using or you’ve stolen from them for the day for a two hour team building session. But you’re feeling a bit uncertain or anxious because you’ve never run a playmobil.pro session before. 

Playmobil doesn’t provide a methodology for you. They leave it up to you to use whatever approach you want. I think this is a stroke of genius, but I also know that for some it’s a blessing, while for others the thought fills them with dread. So what approach can you use?

I was lucky. I had already learnt about #legoseriousplay so I could simply borrow or adapt that approach for playmobil.pro. If I hadn’t learnt about LEGO Serious Play (LSP) I would most likely be one of those who would stay away from it, and simply not give it a go. So hopefully this short post will help give you the courage to give it a go. I’m going to openly and brazenly share with you the four step approach LSP uses and encourage you to simply adapt it for playmobil.pro.

The four steps are: Challenge, Build, Share, Reflect.

Step 1: Challenge

What’s the problem, challenge or question you are trying to solve or explore? I think this is the most important step, so do spend some time thinking about how you want to ask the question or set the challenge. Is your question open or closed? Have you asked it in such a way that includes some kind of bias, so you’re already influencing how the build might go? I would encourage you to test the question or challenge statement with others as well.

Step 2: Build

This is the chance for everyone to create their response to the question, problem statement or challenge that you’ve set them. Give them enough time, and then give them a bit more time. Some people may take time to build, others may do it really quickly, so it’s important to manage that. Always good to play music, adds to the atmosphere, but do think carefully about the music you choose.

Step 3: Share

Time for each person to share the story of what they’ve created. Remember the focus is on what they’ve created, not on the person telling the story. This focus on what’s been built rather than on the person, also helps to create a safe space. Give everyone a fair chance to tell their story, don’t rush it, and don’t skip people out. Every person has invested time and emotion in creating their model and putting their story together. If people ask questions, remember once again, the questions are directed towards the model, not the person who built the model. Also allow people to change their model if they want. Hearing other people tell their story can act as a trigger for someone that sparks a new avenue of meaning for them, that they might want to build into their story.

Step 4: Reflect

This gives everyone the opportunity, once all the stories have been heard to take a moment to reflect and share any observations they might have: similarities, differences, the unexpected, surprises, things that have been missed etc. This is the time when you as the facilitator may try to prompt everyone to new and different levels of meaning.

Capture. I’m adding this one in, because I think it’s important to think carefully about how you want to capture what’s been produced in terms of the artefacts and the thinking that has taken place. It’s also about capturing next steps: what is each participant going to do, what commitment have they made moving forwards?

Warm-up. This is also borrowed from LSP, in which workshops begin with what is known as a ‘Skills Build’. This helps to level set all participants and starts to get them into the ‘flow’ of the workshop. This also helps the facilitator understand different levels of engagement (or cynicism) into this method of problem solving. Where LSP uses three different activities for the most part, from my experience you can get participants up to speed with playmobil.pro very quickly. I will typically pick up a skateboard and a crown for example and explain that the skateboard can be used in different ways:

• The skateboard is literally a skateboard, while a crown is literally a crown
• The skateboard, to borrow from LSP, metaphorically might represent – freedom, democracy, independence ; the idea of play, fun, leisure ; while the crown might represent – authority, king, dictator, leader

Some tips:

• You’re in charge, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore the people in the room. Remember it’s their workshop, not yours.
• Focus on what is being built or created, not on the person doing the building or telling the story of what they’ve created. The focus is always on what’s been built. 
• Remember there is no right or wrong. Whatever someone builds is whatever someone builds. Whatever meaning they give to it, is whatever meaning they give to it. That doesn’t stop you delving into that meaning and exploring or discovering new or different layers of meaning.
• Allow plenty of time to build, explore, experiment and play with what is created. Don’t allow yourself to become a slave to the agenda or time! You control the agenda and time, not the other way round.
• Remember the approach itself affirms the sense of collaboration, while the storytelling encourages communication, so don’t ignore these aspects of the workshop.

I've not tried it yet, but I'm hoping to do so soon, I'm sure this approach can be adapted for online sessions as well, particularly at this time.