How LEGO Serious Play is like Reese’s Pieces for Team Development

Bite Sized Rewarding Sessions

Bite Sized Team Building

Remember that Reese's Pieces scene from E.T.? 
 
I think of it often in relation to how we work and discuss things in groups.
 
Some of the major challenges in group dynamics are the speed, pace, and focus of the individuals and group.
 
This is why facilitated sessions are so valuable as they get people focused and paced similarly. 
 
For us at IN8 Create, we love using LEGO Serious Play as our primary method.
 
Like Reese's Pieces, It breaks down the session into bite sized rewarding segments. 
 
I purposely use the term rewarding because for each challenge question, participants get to create a LEGO model and a story that's tied to it. 
 
Think about this- Imagine asking your team the questions below? How do you think they'd answer? 
 
What is the next step in your career? (Job, project, responsibility, etc…)
How does a world class team communicate with each other?
What does success look like for you at the end of the year/this product/this project? 
 
Chances are the introvert needs information pulled out, the extravert gives a dissertation, and the ambivert is somewhere in between.
 
These are some of the questions we ask in our Beyond Team Building sessions. 
 
Now imagine they are building stories out of LEGO bricks instead. 
 
Each person gets a few minutes to craft their model/story
Each person shares…in less than 90 seconds (This is part of the magic of sharing in model format)
 
Also there are questions before and after that guide to an overall end objective (Like small piles of Reese's Pieces!)
 
I can tell you what will happen because I've seen it 100 times -
✔ People will build playfully and creatively
✔ Everyone shares their model in a succinct way
✔ Everyone magically listens to one another with curiosity vs persuading their POV
✔ The session stays on track and the objective is met in a short amount of time.
 
This sounds like magic because it is. 
 
What's really happening when you strip away the LEGOs:
🔎 Slowing down a little to build our answers before sharing
🔎 Listening to others
🔎 Staying on track
 
Does this sound like something you'd like more of in your organization? 
 
Let us be the Reese's Pieces to your team's success - Just don't eat the LEGOs! 
#teambuilding #teamdevelopment #leadership #donteatlegosplease