Being a leader often starts with a simple question: how can I better understand my team while also gaining a deeper understanding of myself as a leader?
At work, leadership challenges are rarely as simple as they appear in books. A leader may understand the importance of collaboration, yet the team still works in silos. Another leader may want the team to speak up more, but meetings continue to be dominated by only a few voices.
In situations like these, what is sometimes needed is not another theory, but a different way of looking at the problem.
One approach that can be used is LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP), an experiential method that invites participants to think, build, share, and reflect through LEGO® models.
When Your Hands Join the Thinking
One interesting concept in LSP is “think with your hands”. Unlike a process where an idea is first formed and then put into words, LSP creates space to build first and explain the meaning behind the model afterwards.
Interestingly, this process can lead to insights that participants may not have considered before.
For example, a leader may build a model representing their “ideal team”. But while explaining the model, they may suddenly realize: Am I building a strong team or a team that is too dependent on me?
Making Difficult Perspectives Easier to Discuss
LSP also gives everyone an opportunity to share their perspective. Each participant builds a model and has the opportunity to explain their thinking, allowing perspectives that may not normally surface in a discussion to be heard.
For leaders, this can be an opportunity to explore how team members perceive leadership, collaboration, trust, or the challenges they are currently facing.
The conversation can start with simple questions:
- What do we see differently?
- What do we have in common?
- What do we need to build together?
Ultimately, leadership development is not only about gaining knowledge. Leaders also need opportunities to see, listen, reflect, and try new ways of interacting with their teams.
Build → Share → Reflect → Act
The real value of a workshop comes from what happens after the insights emerge.
What will we do differently? How can leaders bring those insights into their meetings, communication, or everyday ways of working with their teams?
Because leadership development is not simply about gaining an insight. It is about turning insight into behavior.
Just like building with LEGO®, leadership is an ongoing process of build, test, adjust, and rebuild. Sometimes, to discover a new way of leading, we first need to look at our challenges from a different perspective.
DNE Talent uses LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® as an experiential learning approach to help organizations develop leadership, collaboration, team dynamics, and shared understanding.
Supported by DNE Trainers certified in the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® method and materials, DNE helps organizations design learning experiences that are relevant to their leadership challenges and team needs.
