What is LEGO® Serious Play® methodology?
LEGO® Serious Play® (LSP) methodology is a 3D thinking and sense-making system that uses the LEGO® system to access a wider portion of our brain than reading, speaking, thinking, or writing do on their own (our hands are connected to about 70% of our brains). It is a form of physical thinking that uses the LEGO® brick system to create metaphors, and then uses storytelling to develop insights and understanding.
LSP is a facilitated process led by trained facilitators or educators. Developed as a strategic planning tool for the LEGO® Group in the 1990s, the method subsequently spread into large multinational companies and more recently into educational institutions. Companies using LSP include: Google, Facebook, Coca-Cola, IKEA, Ernst & Young, eBay, Shell and Prudential Assurance. Universities using LSP include Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, University of Nottingham, UBC, Royal Roads, Toronto Metropolitan, and the United States Air Force Academy. Private secondary schools are also finding it an impactful pedagogy, with schools in Singapore, Thailand, Germany, and the United Kingdom all adopting it.
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The LEGO bricks provide a system for participants to create representations of their inner world and ideas (as opposed to building representations of the physical world). This enables an externalisation of internal ideas through the building of metaphoric representations. The separation of ideas from identity increases the comfort level in articulation and expression. Through the process of building physical representations of abstract ideas, meaning and sense emerges, along with stories. There is a reflective aspect both in the building and in the sharing that follows. As everyone builds and shares, the method is very democratic, creating a level playing field for everyone to contribute.
Consider LEGO® Serious Play® method a form of thinking with your hands leading to new insights and ideas. Use LSP to give your brain a hand. In groups and teams, it leads to greater clarity in communication and understanding, higher engagement, and can provide a wider range of solutions in a shorter timeframe.
Benefits of the LEGO® Serious Play® method
The LEGO® Serious Play method enables us to tap into subconscious parts of our brain through a hand-mind connection. Our hands are the most connected part of our body to our brain (connected to approximately 70% of our brain surface). When we use this hand-mind connection, we are able to access a wider range of ideas. In the process of the building and storytelling, a wider range of insights and ideas will surface.
The process enables everyone to have a voice. Think about the meetings you have where 80% of the discussion comes from 20% of those present. The rest? Likely to be bored, disengaged, checking email or social media. With LEGO® Serious Play® methods, everyone builds, everyone shares, everyone listens. Everyone has a voice in the process, and as a result you access a wider range of viewpoints and ideas.
Greater Psychological Safety is possible. When you build a physical representation of an idea, an emotion, or a problem, you a separating the idea from identity. You are making it external (in psychology this is referred to as part of external cognition), and thus easier to talk about. If it is a difficult subject, it shifts the focus from the person to the LEGO model or build, and so less threatening, and you can get to the heart of the problem much faster.
Do you have neuro-diverse team members (approximately 15-20% of the population have some form of neuro-diverse abilities)? For many, using the LEGO® Serious Play® process enhances their ability and comfort-level in communicating, particularly in a team situation. They have alone time to focus on their thoughts and ideas, while using their fingers and hands to help formulate those thoughts or ideas. The focus is on what is built rather than on them as a person, with eye contact being less necessary. LSP provides a powerful tool to tap into the capabilities and knowledge of your neuro-diverse team members.
Where can I use the LEGO® Serious Play® method?
LEGO® Serious Play® methods can be used (and is used) in a wide variety of settings. Its origins were in strategic planning for the LEGO® Group, but now is used across a wide range of settings: from team development to education, from crisis management to marketing, from coaching to (still) strategic planning and even with inmates in maximum-security institutions. Do you have meetings or discussions where ideas, concepts, or emotions are explored? LEGO® Serious Play® can probably be used in that context. The limits are your imagination.
There are places were LEGO® Serious Play® methods is not appropriate. If there is one correct answer to a question or the outcome of a question is certain, you don’t need to be using LEGO® Serious Play® methods. If you have a strongly hierarchical organisation where the leadership make all of the decisions without wider consultation, then LSP is not an appropriate tool.
How about workshops for my team or organisation?
We are happy to discuss with you the particular needs and outcomes you are looking for in a discovery call or session. We offer a number of tools, with LEGO® Serious Play® methods being one of them. Let’s work through what makes most sense for the outcomes you are looking for first and we will give you our recommendations. Then, we will co-create with you the workshops or programme that best fits your requirements. Often, we will recommend that follow-up coaching be involved as part of the package to help embed the learning and action-steps decided.
We also conduct in-house LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator training either with or without the internationally recognised certification from LSP Method. We need a minimum of 4 participants for this training to be viable, and depending on the number of trainers available and whether certification is needed, handle upto 24 participants.
Can I be trained to use LEGO® Serious Play® methods in my organisation?
We offer training a few times a year in both western Canada and in different localities in Vietnam in partnership with Michael Fearne and the LSP Method headquartered in Australia. If you would like us to conduct training in your area, contact us for more details. Normally we will need a minimum of four people for the training to be viable. The certification training normally last 2 days in-person, with a 2-3 hour session on Zoom prior to this. This can be customised for in-house delivery if certification is not required.
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Length of training: approximately 15-16 training hours
Learning Outcomes of the Facilitator certification training
Other takeaways from the certification training
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Participants will gain internationally recognised certification as LEGO® Serious Play® Method Facilitators through the LSP Method (https://www.lspmethod.com) and receive both physical and digital certificates.
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LEGO® Serious Play® Methodology Facilitator Workbook & Manual
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Access to PDF version of Michael Fearne (2020), The LSP Method
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Free membership of the LSP Method Global Community with access to resources, videos, and (shortly) additional advanced online courses
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Free coaching session following the training from either trainer, along with ongoing access to both Dr. David Newman or Lan Anh as needed for further coaching
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Free access to retake the training as a refresher, when there is room
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A fun and highly engaging experience
At the conclusion of the training, you will be certified as a LEGO® Serious Play® Methods Facilitator through LSP Method (https://www.lspmethod.com/certification/ ) and equipped with the skills and knowledge you need to be able to design and run workshops, and integrate LSP into meetings, coaching, teaching, and other activities.
