The way we work has shifted dramatically. Remote and hybrid teams are now the norm, and traditional in-person workshops are being replaced with virtual alternatives. Yet, the need for deep insights, inclusive leadership, and creative thinking remains critical. This is where adapting the LEGO® Serious Play® Method for online and hybrid teams becomes not only relevant but essential.
Whether you’re facilitating change management, strategy development, or leadership training, LEGO® Serious Play® Method offers a framework that fosters psychological safety, encourages authentic voices, and enables teams to explore abstract concepts through play. It creates a supportive environment for hands-on, experiential learning, building a deeper understanding among team members through meaningful relationships and a communal learning experience.
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Why Adapt LEGO® Serious Play® Method for Remote Work?
Today’s teams are geographically dispersed, making it harder to foster a shared understanding or meaningful engagement. Many organizations are seeking alternative methods to maintain team cohesion and productivity. The LEGO® Serious Play® Method is ideally suited for this challenge.
Key Benefits:
- Encourages equality of voice, particularly in hybrid environments
- Supports safe spaces and even brave spaces for team dialogue
- Allows for construction of knowledge using both physical and digital models
- Promotes critical thinking skills, creative skills, and decision-making skills across distances
As a powerful tool and collaboration tool, this method offers excellent team building exercises and an active learning method ideal for remote collaboration.
The method is aligned with concepts found in the Journal of Management, Management Learning, and the International Journal of Management, which highlight the importance of embodied learning and inclusive facilitation in modern work environments. It also provides a flexible, cost-effective, and engaging method to address the current challenge of maintaining team engagement remotely.
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Theoretical Foundations for Going Digital
The LEGO Serious Play Method is based on constructivist and constructionist learning theories. According to these frameworks, people learn best when they build models that represent their ideas. This tactile and visual approach taps into the chaotic playfulness of exploration and flow theory, where engagement and learning are optimized.
Research from institutions like Bournemouth University, and journals such as the Journal of Management Education27(6) and Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations5(2), support the shift toward creative methodologies and non-traditional facilitation training. These perspectives promote the value of alternative perspectives in workshop design and highlight the argument for playfulness in adult learning.
Adapting LEGO® Serious Play® Method for digital spaces doesn’t mean losing the magic; it means translating those deeper insights into a new format. Facilitators must rethink how to offer access to journal content, address the diversity of students, and include non-visible disabilities in a remote setting.
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Tools for Virtual LEGO® Serious Play® Method Workshops
Successfully delivering LEGO® Serious Play® Method online depends on a smart blend of physical kits, digital collaboration tools, and thoughtful facilitation.
1. Sending LEGO Bricks to Participants
Participants still need physical LEGO kits to build their models. Before the session:
- Ship personalized kits to each team member
- Include extra bricks to encourage creative thinking and the experience of building models
- Offer setup instructions or a short video tutorial to ensure a smooth online team event
This helps replicate the hands-on experience of traditional workshops while reducing accommodation costs.
2. Using Online Meeting Platforms
Platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet provide the video functionality needed for participants to share and reflect on their builds.
- Use breakout rooms for small group work
- Encourage audio recordings or screen captures for citation software and session reviews
These tools create a communal experience, bridging physical gaps for remote teams.
3. Collaborative Whiteboards
Digital whiteboards such as Miro, MURAL, or Jamboard help participants:
- Map shared models and themes
- Capture key themes and discussion points
- Track ideas linked to session plans, development sessions, or even dissertation ideas
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Techniques for Facilitating Remote Play Sessions
Warm-Up Activities
Begin with simple builds to help participants feel comfortable. These warm-ups:
- Break the ice during induction week or the first week of teaching
- Support wellbeing outcomes and mental engagement
- Connect to aspects of care, active learning, and even the concept within task engagement
Building Identity and Shared Models
Have participants build individual representations of their roles, then co-create a shared model using input from the group. This promotes:
- Inclusive leadership and democratic discussion environments
- Exploration of difficult concepts, complex concepts, or even intellectual concepts
- Respect for authentic voices and explicit aspects of team dynamics
Storytelling and Reflection
Guide participants in sharing the story behind their model. Focus on:
- Drawing out deeper insights and distinct ideas
- Highlighting common themes and fostering a basis for discussion
- Documenting takeaways with article citation tools for academic or institutional reporting
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Case Study: Hybrid Workshop Success
A global consulting firm used LEGO® Serious Play® Method in a hybrid setting to address gender balance and team cohesion across its North American and Nigerian offices. By mailing LEGO kits in advance and using Zoom for synchronous collaboration, the team:
- Uncovered hidden assumptions and hidden disabilities
- Applied qualitative research methods to analyze models
- Shared insights using a digital article sharingpage for future reference
The result? Increased empathy, stronger customer experience and employee experience, and enhanced development of teams.
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Final Thoughts
The LEGO® Serious Play® Method isn’t just adaptable to the online world—it thrives there. With the right tools and techniques, facilitators can deliver successful workshops that provide the same level of transformation knowledge, creative thinking, and holistic understanding that participants experience in person.
From academic departments to the communications department, and from coach teams to training programs in organizations, LEGO® Serious Play® Method provides an ideal hybrid methodology that suits everything from one-off workshops to comprehensive training programs. It promotes a team-building focus with traditional focus flexibility.
Whether you’re designing ideas for workshops for undergraduate students, aid for student engagement, or bringing creativity in library workshops, this facilitation methodology is your next step.
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