A Closer Look at LEGO Serious Play

From LEGO Serious Play

LEGO Serious Play is a division of LEGO devoted to helping businesses and organizations build teamwork. The program "taps into your team's creativity to boost strategic problem-solving and enhance how it handles change."

LEGO isn't the only big name in children's entertainment to offer corporate programs. Walt Disney has a separate division to teach customer service skills and support service teambuilding. It also offers unique team-building opportunities for groups that meet at its hotels and resorts.

LEGO's division is marketing teambuilding activities built around using LEGO blocks to create structures - and, in the process, inject more creativity into working together.

Quoting from the LEGO Serious Play site: The metaphors in the models serve as the basis for group discussion, knowledge sharing and problem solving and help foster creative thinking and finding unique solutions. The idea originated in 1996 and LEGO Serious Play has now certified facilitators all over the world.

There's a book about this teamwork/creativity approach, in case your management wants to try this at home. The Chicago Tribune wrote about LEGO Serious Play in 2015, interviewing one of the book's authors. Others are using LEGO toys to unlock creative potential, as shown on this page about LEGO and Art Lab. And some companies ask job candidates to build LEGO structures during the recruitment process--so be prepared. These ubiquitous plastic bricks have value to people of all ages and at all levels!