How is LEGO® Serious Play® different from getting people around the table and having a conversation, maybe using some post its and a white board? I’d say the key differences are that this method is:
- Genuinely inclusive
- Hands-on creative
- Visual and tangible
Inclusive
LEGO® Serious Play® creates an inclusive team environment. It breaks down formal, but also informal hierarchies very effectively. The fact that in a LEGO® Serious Play® session everybody builds and everybody shares, means that the method gives equal voice to the quieter and the more outspoken people in the room. It does this in a very gentle way that doesn’t feel forced. It’s a fantastic method to ensure that every person in the workshop can share their ideas.
This is not ‘tick box’ inclusivity, this is the kind of inclusivity that lifts your work to the next level.
Hands-on Creative Thinking
With LEGO® Serious Play® you let your hands do the talking. There is a wealth of academic research on why the use of your hands lets you tap into a whole new level of creativity.
I will always have people tell me after a session that they had no idea that they could come up with something like this, or that they have finally been able to put words to something that they have been thinking about for ages. It’s amazing to see how people surprise themselves.
Visual and Tangible
LEGO® Serious Play® makes even the vaguest ideas visual, tangible even. An idea that has been built is much easier to explain and then discuss, and it is much easier to start seeing the connections between people’s ideas when they are right there on the table.
Dr Carly O'Neill-Barrett 