Your chance to experience LEGO Serious Play for free!

What is LEGO Serious Play?

In addition to becoming the subject of several popular TV shows, LEGO has been quietly establishing itself in the boardroom of several large organisations, including Airbus, Coca-Cola, Unilever and Waitrose. While this might sound like another management fad, the LEGO Serious Play (LSP) methodology is underpinned by almost two decades of academic research and can be used for a variety of different purposes:

1. At the systems level ?- organisational design, scenario planning and strategy development
2. At the group level - creating a shared vision, product/service innovation and team building
3. At the individual level - coaching, exploring identity and shaping values*

No matter what the purpose of the session, a four-step process is typically followed. A challenge is identified; participants use LEGO to build a model that represents their response to the challenge; participants share the story of their model with others and; participants reflect on what they have learned (sometimes creating a shared model). A small group of experienced participants might complete all of the above in a couple of hours but more complex sessions have the potential to stretch over consecutive days.

What are the benefits?

The precise benefits of an individual session will reflect its context and objectives but frequently observed benefits include:

• Agreed solutions to shared challenges
• Effective and constructive discussions where everybody is heard
• Enhanced relationships amongst groups of people who work together (but who do not necessarily know each other very well)
• Increased creativity and improved problem-solving ability (especially when considering 'wicked problems')
• Raised levels of self-awareness and an enhanced ability to understand one another's perspectives

Do you have a challenge of your own?

Having immersed myself in the LSP literature in recent weeks I am convinced that this has the potential to be a useful tool in my consultancy work, as it complements Anima & Atman's approach to change, but I anticipate that the idea of playing with LEGO, no matter how serious, will be a step too far for some clients.

In order to help evaluate the methodology and make it easy for people to experience LSP for themselves, I am offering a limited number of free, half-day LSP workshops. To qualify for this opportunity you will need to have a real-world challenge that can act as the focus for a workshop and be able to commit the necessary time required to assist in the planning and delivery of the workshop.

I'm interested, what happens next?

To express your interest in hosting a workshop please email [email protected] with a brief overview of the challenge facing you or your organisation, your location and the number of people you would like to participate in the workshop. Please note it may not be logistically possible to offer workshops to all interested parties. Expressions of interest need to be received by 31 March 2018 but please get in touch ASAP to avoid disappointment.

*The cover image of this post features representations of Anima & Atman's company values using a small selection of the bricks from the LEGO Serious Play Starter Kit.