Katrin Elster
April 9, 2024
5 Tips for Successful Task Clarification for LEGO ® Serious Play ® Facilitators
As a facilitator, the success of LEGO ® Serious Play ® workshops depends heavily on the quality of the prior clarification of the order with the customer. Diese Phase ist entscheidend, um sicherzustellen, dass die Ziele des Workshops erfüllt werden können und dass die Methode auf die spezifischen Bedürfnisse und Erwartungen des Kunden passt. Wir definieren einen Workshop als eine zeitlich begrenzte Veranstaltung, bei welcher sich eine Gruppe intensiv mit einem bestimmten Thema auseinandersetzt, um ein Ergebnis zu erzielen. Im Folgenden werden fünf Gründe erläutert, warum eine umfangreiche Auftragsklärung für den Erfolg von LEGO ® Serious Play ® workshops are essential.
1. Understanding the LEGO ® Serious Play ® method
LEGO ® Serious Play ® is an innovative and complex method for co-creative team and strategy development. However, many interested parties find it difficult to understand what LEGO ® Serious Play ® exactly and what added value it offers to their project. A thorough brief clarification helps to unravel this complexity and ensure that the customer has a clear idea of what to expect from the workshop and how LEGO ® Serious Play ® can contribute to the achievement of its goals. We therefore like to kill two birds with one stone: We hold a design workshop with LEGO® Serious Play® to clarify the task. This way, the interested party understands the method and we get the input we need to develop a suitable workshop.
2. Define customer expectations and attitudes
LEGO® Serious Play® is a co-creative process that is very democratic: All participants build and tell stories. Everyone is heard when the models are being told. It is not about the result being predetermined or the boss determining what comes out of the workshop. This means that the trainees are just as involved as the department heads. This equality creates a safe space in which everyone can express their ideas and thoughts. This unites the potential of everyone in the room so that they can think further together and work collaboratively on the project. to continue working. Disagreements are shown and resolved creatively using LEGO® Serious Play® models, not through hierarchy and pressure.
We have always found it very positive that our customers want this creative freedom for their teams. They are happy to offer a method for this and to step back a little to involve their colleagues in the joint project and give them responsibility. It fuels the team dynamic, creates a common understanding and motivates them to implement it with combined forces. The result that the group develops in the workshop is in their hands and should be valued.
3. More than fun
It often happens that interested parties approach us because they are looking for a fun event for their employees, without having a specific reason for the content. Although LEGO® Serious Play® includes playful elements, it aims at much more than just entertainment. The real value of the method lies in its ability to solve complex challenges in a creative way. Workshops that are purely fun often miss the potential of LEGO® Serious Play® to generate profound results and real “flow”. Appropriate clarification of the brief helps to prevent these misunderstandings.
4. Suitability of the method
LEGO® Serious Play® has been very popular and in demand for several years now. Of course, requests for LEGO® Serious Play® workshops are part of our daily work. However, LEGO® Serious Play® is not suitable for every occasion. My basic rule is that LEGO® Serious Play® is less suitable for getting from “A” to “B”; I use other methods for this, such as CoCreACT®. But it is uniquely suitable for designing what “B” could look like. LEGO® Serious Play® thrives on creative freedom. If this is not available, there is no need to use LEGO® Serious Play®.
That’s why, at the end of our certification training for LEGO® Serious Play®, I always give participants the good advice not to sell LEGO® Serious Play® as such, but rather the benefits that their customers can achieve with it. LEGO® Serious Play® is not an end in itself. The customer often cannot decide whether LEGO® Serious Play® brings the desired benefits. We rarely use only LEGO® Serious Play® in our workshops, but also other methods, e.g. to specify the result and define measures. The workshop facilitator must therefore know exactly what benefits LEGO® Serious Play® offers for which purpose and which other methods should be supplemented in order to achieve a complete co-creative process.
5. Framework conditions of the workshop
Once all of the previous points have been clarified and the customer decides on a LEGO® Serious Play® workshop, the ideal conditions must be created. A suitable room without spectators, sufficient time and the original LEGO® Serious Play® material are essential to ensure the success of the workshop. These aspects may be surprising, but they are crucial for a productive and creative working atmosphere.
Proper clarification of the brief with the client is a critical step in planning and delivering successful LEGO® Serious Play® workshops. It helps avoid misunderstandings, clarify expectations, and ensures that the workshop is tailored to the client’s specific needs. Effective clarification of the brief leads to greater satisfaction on the part of the client and increases the likelihood that the workshop will produce successful and sustainable results.
Learn this and much more in our LEGO® Serious Play® Certified Facilitator Training !
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