More than just bricks
When you hear the word ‘LEGO®’, you might think of childhood play, colourful bricks, and creativity. But did you know that those same bricks are now used in boardrooms, classrooms, and coaching sessions around the world?
LEGO® Serious Play® (often shortened to LSP) is a powerful facilitation method that uses LEGO® bricks as a tool for thinking, communication, and problem-solving. Whether you’re a leader, facilitator, coach, or simply curious about new ways to unlock creativity, this beginner’s guide will explain everything you need to know about LEGO® Serious Play® – what it is, how it works, and why it matters.
What is LEGO® Serious Play®
LEGO® Serious Play® is a facilitation methodology first developed by the LEGO® Group in the late 1990s. At its heart, LSP uses LEGO® bricks as a language for expressing ideas and building understanding. Instead of talking abstractly, participants build models that represent their thoughts, challenges, or solutions. These models act as metaphors, making it easier for everyone to contribute, understand, and align.
It is grounded in well-established theories of learning and engagement, including constructivism (Jean Piaget’s idea that people build knowledge through experiences), constructionism (Seymour Papert’s extension that learning is strengthened when we create tangible artefacts), and flow theory (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s work on optimal states of focus and engagement). In 2010, the LEGO® Group released the method through an open source guide, making it available for facilitators worldwide to apply in a wide variety of contexts.
How does LEGO® Serious Play® work?
Sessions typically move through different types of building activities. The building process taps into what researchers call ‘hands-on thinking’, where using our hands stimulates creativity and unlocks new ways of seeing.
They often begin with a skills build, a short exercise that introduce participants to working with bricks as metaphors. These warm-ups help people become comfortable with building and sharing their ideas.
Once the group is ready, the facilitator moves into individual builds. Each person creates a model that represents their perspective on a carefully designed question. This might be about a team’s vision, a leadership challenge, or a complex business problem.
From there, participants may combine their models into shared models, which capture collective understanding and alignment. In more advanced sessions, groups can even create landscape models. These are larger, interconnected systems that represent the wider environment or organisation they are working within.
Once the models have been built, each participant shares the story behind their creation. These stories provide a rich layer of meaning, surfacing assumptions, insights, and perspectives that might otherwise remain hidden. The progression allowing participants to move from individual reflection to shared meaning and, ultimately, to system-level insight. The session closes with group reflection, using the models as anchors for discussion and alignment.
The benefits of LEGO® Serious Play®
One of the most powerful aspects of LEGO® Serious Play® is its ability to level the playing field. Everyone, regardless of job title or personality, has the same opportunity to contribute. By focusing on models rather than words alone, the process encourages deeper listening and understanding.
The method is highly engaging, and because participants are building, sharing, and reflecting, energy levels remain high even in long workshops. The use of metaphor often leads to surprising insights. A model might capture a barrier to teamwork, a hidden strength, or an opportunity for innovation that would never have been expressed in a standard meeting.
This makes LEGO® Serious Play® an effective way to solve complex problems, align teams, and create strategies that people truly believe in.
When can LEGO® Serious Play® be used?
LEGO® Serious Play® is remarkably versatile. Many organisations use it in strategy sessions, where leaders and teams need to explore the future direction of their business. Others find it invaluable for team development, as it helps strengthen trust and build stronger connections. Coaches use it with individuals to explore values, challenges, or career goals, while educators bring it into classrooms to encourage creative thinking and collaboration.
It is particularly effective for complex problems where there is no single right answer. When teams face uncertainty, conflicting perspectives, or challenges that are difficult to articulate in words alone, LSP provides a structured way to explore these issues visually and collaboratively.
By building models that represent different viewpoints, participants can surface hidden assumptions, identify connections, and co-create solutions that might otherwise remain invisible. This makes it ideal for strategic planning, organisational change, innovation workshops, or any situation where the goal is to navigate complexity and build shared understanding.
Who Facilitates LEGO Serious Play?
Although the method is open source and available for anyone to explore, it is most effective when guided by a trained facilitator. In fact, using a trained facilitator is recommended by the LEGO® Group.
A certified LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator does more than simply hand out bricks. They know how to frame powerful questions, manage group dynamics, and design sessions that lead to meaningful outcomes. Their role is to create an environment where every voice is heard and where conversations stay focused on the real objectives of the workshop.
LEGO® Serious Play® in action
Imagine a leadership team struggling with low morale and poor communication. Instead of another round of PowerPoint slides, they sit down with LEGO® bricks.
Each leader builds a model of what ‘a successful team culture’ looks like. As they share their models, different perspectives emerge. One focuses on trust, another on innovation, another on clear decision-making.
By combining their ideas into a shared model, the team creates a concrete vision they can all commit to. What started as a collection of bricks becomes a roadmap for change.
The power of play
LEGO® Serious Play® transforms the way we talk about ideas. By moving from words to hands-on creation, it sparks creativity, promotes equality, and helps teams and individuals see challenges in a new light.
If you are curious about how LEGO® Serious Play® could help your organisation, I facilitate workshops and training across Leeds, Manchester, and the wider UK. Together, we can unlock the potential of your team, one brick at a time.