Abstract

LEGO® Serious Play® (LSP) is emerging as a transformative facilitation method for project managers seeking to navigate the challenges of today’s cross-functional, fast-paced, and distributed project environments. Leveraging the power of hands-on, minds-on learning, LSP invites project teams to build physical models that represent complex ideas, surface hidden risks, and foster creativity and collaboration. This article dives deep into how LEGO® Serious Play® can enhance project management practices—from project initiation and risk management to stakeholder engagement and retrospectives. Drawing on research, real-world case studies, and best practices, it reveals how LSP empowers project managers to build trust, align teams, and deliver exceptional results, one brick at a time.

Introduction

When most people think of LEGO®, they picture colourful bricks scattered across the living room floor or a determined child building towering castles. That’s certainly the case in my home—my two daughters are absolutely addicted to LEGO®, and I’ve witnessed firsthand how these simple plastic bricks spark endless creativity, storytelling, and learning. Watching them build and rebuild structures, narrating their own stories, I couldn’t help but wonder: Could this same playful energy help project managers tackle today’s complex challenges?

Yet beyond the playful charm lies a powerful methodology that is redefining how project managers build successful teams, navigate uncertainty, and drive innovation. LEGO® Serious Play® (LSP) is a structured, research-based approach that turns complex challenges into hands-on, minds-on solutions.

In a world where project managers often juggle multiple stakeholders, distributed teams, and shifting requirements, effective communication and collaboration have become mission-critical. Too often, teams default to status meetings and PowerPoint slides that fail to capture the nuances of complex problems. LEGO® Serious Play® bridges this gap by turning abstract ideas into tangible models that spark dialogue, reveal hidden assumptions, and create shared ownership.

This article explores how project managers can harness the power of LEGO® Serious Play® to transform their practices, foster team cohesion, and build projects that thrive in today’s dynamic environment.

The Power of Play: Why LEGO® Serious Play® Works

LEGO® Serious Play® is grounded in constructionism—a theory developed by Seymour Papert (1980s) that emphasizes learning through hands-on, active engagement. LSP sessions invite participants to build models that represent their thoughts, ideas, and perspectives, enabling them to express complex concepts visually and metaphorically.

Unlike traditional project meetings that often privilege louder voices or hierarchical positions, LSP levels the playing field, giving every participant an equal voice through their models. The result is a deeply inclusive, creative process that uncovers hidden insights and aligns diverse perspectives.

In project management, this is invaluable: aligning stakeholder expectations, uncovering risks, and fostering trust are essential for project success. By making thinking visible through LEGO® models, LSP helps project managers tap into collective intelligence and co-create solutions that stick.

Applications of LEGO® Serious Play® in Project Management

1. Kick-offs that Click: Building Shared Vision and Alignment

Kick-off meetings often set the tone for a project’s success or failure. Yet too often, they are dominated by presentations and status updates that fail to engage participants or uncover underlying concerns. LEGO® Serious Play® transforms kick-offs into collaborative, creative experiences by inviting teams to build models that represent their understanding of the project’s purpose, goals, success factors, and potential obstacles. Each participant shares their model’s story, facilitating rich dialogue that uncovers assumptions and clarifies expectations. For example, in a multinational software rollout, an LSP session revealed that while the project sponsor saw “success” as delivering on time, the engineering team defined success as “system stability and minimal bugs.” This misalignment, if left unaddressed, could have led to tension down the line. Through shared model-building, the team aligned their definitions and agreed on a success framework that balanced quality, timeline, and user experience.

2. De-Risking with Bricks: Surfacing the Unknown

Traditional risk workshops often produce lists of known risks, but they may miss unspoken or systemic risks that arise from team dynamics or organizational culture. LEGO® Serious Play® allows participants to build physical representations of potential threats, enabling a deeper exploration of root causes and interconnections. Participants build individual or shared models of risks, vulnerabilities, or roadblocks and then explain the risks embedded in their models, sharing perspectives that might otherwise go unspoken. Models can then be clustered, connected, or ranked to build a collective risk landscape. In a complex infrastructure project, for instance, an LSP session on risk revealed that the biggest threat wasn’t technical failure but the lack of trust between sub-teams. One model—a bridge with missing bricks—symbolized the communication gaps that could derail the project. This insight led the project manager to implement regular cross-team stand-ups and shared knowledge sessions, which reduced friction and improved collaboration.

3. Reflect and Rebuild: Retrospectives and Continuous Improvement

Retrospectives are crucial for capturing lessons learned and driving continuous improvement, yet they often suffer from participant fatigue or surface-level insights. LEGO® Serious Play® reinvigorates retrospectives by transforming reflection into a tactile, engaging process. Team members build models that represent what went well, what could have been better, and what they’d change for next time. The act of building and sharing these models creates a safe space for honest feedback and deep learning. In a marketing campaign project, an LSP retrospective revealed that team members felt siloed, with little understanding of each other’s contributions. Models of disconnected islands highlighted the need for more integrated planning and communication. As a result, the team introduced cross-functional stand-ups, significantly improving collaboration in future campaigns.

4. Stakeholder Synergy: Bridging Perspectives and Priorities

Projects often involve a web of stakeholders with differing priorities and perspectives, and misalignment among them can lead to delays, scope creep, or outright project failure. LEGO® Serious Play® helps bring stakeholders together to build shared understanding and commitment by inviting them to build models representing their expectations, concerns, or desired outcomes. Facilitators then guide discussion around these models, enabling participants to negotiate priorities, address conflicts, and co-create solutions. In a healthcare technology implementation, for example, an LSP session with clinical staff, IT leaders, and project sponsors revealed conflicting assumptions about the project’s impact on patient care. A model showing a bottleneck in patient flow highlighted concerns about system usability. This insight led to a redesign of the implementation plan, including additional training and user testing, ultimately improving adoption rates.

5. Scenario Play: Future-Proofing Your Projects

Project managers often need to anticipate multiple futures and prepare for uncertainty. LEGO® Serious Play® can facilitate scenario planning sessions where teams build models of different project outcomes, potential disruptions, or strategic opportunities. Participants build models representing different “what-if” scenarios—such as budget cuts, supply chain disruptions, or regulatory changes—and then explore how these scenarios might impact the project. Teams identify mitigation strategies and build contingency plans. In a supply chain transformation project, an LSP session on scenarios revealed that a potential regulatory change could double customs processing times. The team co-created mitigation strategies, including alternate suppliers and parallel logistics chains, which proved invaluable when the regulatory change eventually occurred.

6. Brick by Brick Team Building: Strengthening Connections and Trust

Team cohesion is the bedrock of project success, and LEGO® Serious Play® sessions dedicated to team building can enhance trust, empathy, and a sense of shared purpose. Teams build models that represent their values, working styles, or roles within the project, and then share their stories and connect the models to illustrate interdependencies. This activity fosters deep empathy and appreciation for each other’s contributions. For example, in a product development team that had recently undergone restructuring, an LSP team-building session helped team members understand each other’s strengths and fears. A model depicting a tower built on shaky foundations sparked discussion about the need for clearer roles and support. This led to a team charter that clarified responsibilities and improved morale.

Integrating LEGO® Serious Play® into Project Management Practices

Integrating LEGO® Serious Play® (LSP) into project management practices requires more than just a box of bricks—it demands careful preparation, skilful facilitation, and strategic alignment with project goals. Skilled facilitation is the cornerstone of a successful LSP session. While project managers may have strong communication and leadership skills, LSP facilitation requires a unique blend of creativity, psychological safety, and process management. Investing in facilitator certification—offered by recognized organizations—ensures that project managers learn the methodology’s core principles, structured frameworks, and best practices. This certification empowers them to design sessions that align with project objectives, navigate group dynamics effectively, and maximize participant engagement. Alternatively, project managers can collaborate with external certified facilitators for larger or more complex sessions, ensuring quality delivery. For example, a consulting firm trained two project managers as LSP facilitators, who then became internal champions. They designed customised sessions that addressed the firm’s unique project challenges, from team alignment to stakeholder engagement, saving time and money on external facilitation while fostering a culture of creativity and continuous improvement.

To embed LEGO® Serious Play® into project management practices effectively, it’s essential to align sessions with key project milestones. At project initiation, LSP helps define shared goals and clarify expectations. During planning, LSP workshops can surface potential risks, align roles, and foster team commitment. During execution, mid-project sessions help the team adapt to changes and course-correct. At closure, LSP retrospectives capture lessons learned and celebrate achievements. In a global product launch project, the team used LSP at kickoff to build a shared vision, then held a mid-project LSP risk session to re-evaluate shifting market dynamics. The result was a highly adaptable team that navigated unforeseen challenges effectively, delivering the project on time and within budget.

While LEGO® Serious Play® brings creativity and deep insights, it shouldn’t replace essential project management tools but rather enhance them. Project managers can blend LSP outcomes—such as risk models, stakeholder maps, or success definitions—into Gantt charts, risk registers, and stakeholder matrices. This integration ensures that the rich insights from LSP sessions are actionable and aligned with standard project workflows. For example, a technology implementation team used LSP to explore communication risks and identified key areas of misalignment. They then updated their risk register and communication plan, linking the LSP insights to formal mitigation actions. This approach combined creativity with rigor, ensuring accountability and follow-through.

LEGO® Serious Play® thrives in an environment of psychological safety, where every participant feels comfortable sharing ideas, even when they’re incomplete or controversial. Project managers must set the tone by fostering respect, openness, and inclusivity. Establish ground rules that value every voice, and emphasise that no idea is too small or too “out there” to explore. Incorporate warm-up exercises at the start of sessions to lower barriers and build confidence. In a high-stakes regulatory project, a project manager opened an LSP session with a lighthearted warm-up: “Build a model of your favourite hobby.” This exercise helped participants relax, connect on a human level, and feel more comfortable expressing creative ideas during the session.

Too often, workshop outcomes remain trapped in flipcharts or sticky notes, never translated into real action. With LEGO® Serious Play®, photographs of models, participant narratives, and key insights should be documented meticulously. These records can be integrated into project charters, risk plans, lessons learned logs, or even embedded in digital collaboration platforms. Additionally, define clear action steps from each session—who is responsible, what the timeline is, and how progress will be measured. A construction project team documented each LSP model with photos and accompanying narratives, then uploaded them to a shared project portal. These visuals became reference points during stakeholder meetings and informed subsequent project decisions, reinforcing the value of the sessions.

LEGO® Serious Play® fits naturally with Agile methodologies, where continuous feedback and iteration are key. Start with pilot sessions on lower-risk topics to build confidence and refine facilitation skills. As teams gain comfort, progressively integrate LSP into more complex challenges. Regularly seek feedback from participants to adapt the approach, ensuring it remains fresh, relevant, and impactful. In an agile software development team, LSP was first used for a retrospective. After positive feedback, the team expanded its use to risk management and sprint planning. The iterative approach built trust in the methodology and sparked a culture of experimentation and learning.

To sustain the benefits of LEGO® Serious Play®, organizations should aim to embed it as a cultural norm rather than an occasional activity. Train a cohort of internal facilitators, develop a playbook of recommended session types, and integrate LSP into onboarding and training. Encourage teams to share success stories and best practices to build momentum and institutionalize the approach. A large engineering firm created an internal LSP community of practice that shared session designs, documented case studies, and mentored new facilitators. Over time, LSP became a core element of the firm’s project management culture, fostering innovation and collaboration at all levels.

Research shows that hands-on, metaphorical modeling deepens understanding, enhances creativity, and builds trust. LSP’s tactile engagement leverages the brain’s embodied cognition, facilitating richer insights than purely verbal exchanges. Studies in management education demonstrate LSP’s ability to build psychological safety and collaboration—critical factors in successful project management. By integrating LEGO® Serious Play® into your project practices thoughtfully and creatively, you can unlock a new dimension of team engagement and build a culture that embraces both learning and innovation.

Conclusion

LEGO® Serious Play® isn’t just a toy on a child’s shelf—it’s a powerful tool in the project manager’s toolkit. In an era defined by complexity, distributed teams, and constant change, project managers need innovative approaches to build trust, align expectations, and drive collaboration. LSP meets these needs by transforming passive meetings into dynamic, hands-on experiences that foster creativity and shared understanding.

Imagine a project where every team member—regardless of role or rank—can express their ideas and concerns equally through building. Picture a risk session where hidden challenges emerge not from a spreadsheet but from a model that sparks rich discussion and collaborative solutions. Visualise retrospectives where lessons learned are not just recorded, but deeply understood and acted upon.

LEGO® Serious Play® reminds us that even in serious work, play has a place. Because sometimes, the simplest tools—like a handful of bricks—can unlock the most profound insights and bring people together like never before.

So, are you ready to move beyond sticky notes and status updates? Could LEGO® Serious Play® be the missing piece to ignite innovation in your projects? How might your team transform if they could build their ideas, risks, and solutions together, one brick at a time?

In the end, LEGO® Serious Play® invites project managers to see that the building blocks of success are already in our hands—waiting to be assembled, shared, and celebrated.

References

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Salomaa, R., et al. (2023). LEGO® Serious Play® in Management Education. ResearchGate. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374965599_LEGOR_Serious_PlayR_in_management_education

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