Building solutions together in Lego workshop
Target group | concerns | process | attitude | moderation | methods | benefits | collaboration | FAQs
A Lego workshop creates a clear framework in which teams can make complex issues tangible and develop viable solutions together. We put our systemic principles into practice: All perspectives count, every voice is heard – and the team discovers the solutions. Suitable solutions that stick because they were built together.
We work with LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®, a moderated, creative and at the same time scientifically based approach with which we make thoughts visible, promote communication and develop innovative solutions together. The method was developed as a strategic and organizational approach back in 1996 and has also been used worldwide in team development and leadership development since 2010 under the name LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® .
For whom a Lego workshop makes sense
Our LEGO workshop from Coachingwerk is aimed at:
- Newly formed teams or areas
- interdisciplinary project groups
- Existing teams in need of clarification, alignment or collaboration
- Management teams and interface teams
- Teams in transition or after a change of leadership
- Organizations that want to shape strategy, roles or collaboration together
We typically work with teams of 5 to 20 members in the Lego workshop. A larger group of up to 40 participants is possible with several coaches and several Lego sets.
Typical requests for a Lego workshop
These concerns often form the starting point for a joint reflection and development process:
- Strategy and vision development
- Clarification of roles and expectations of cooperation (also with external partners)
- Development of a joint management model
- Start of new projects or team setups
- Designing change processes
- Improving communication and a culture of trust
- Promotion of psychological safety
- Reflection on current challenges and areas of decision-making
- Dealing with conflicts in the team
Expert tip
by Lego & team coach Daniela Wirtz
In classic LEGO® building, we usually recreate the outer world – houses, vehicles or figures. With LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® we build our inner world: thoughts, ideas or emotions. The bricks become metaphors that make visible what is often difficult to say.
The key difference: everyone explains their models – and everyone listens. This creates real understanding.
How a Lego workshop is designed by Coachingwerk
In a Lego workshop, participants translate thoughts and experiences into models made from LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®. These represent topics such as goals, tensions, challenges or structures. The work follows a clear core process: impulse or question – build – explain – reflect together.
The important thing is:
- Every vote counts, every model is important. Participation at eye level – independent of hierarchies.
- The discussion is about models, not people. This enables a more open, solution-oriented and often less conflictual exchange.
- “Thinking with your hands”. Even quieter participants find it easier to access and contribute their perspectives.
Whether small team or large organization, private, public or non-profit – the method can be flexibly adapted. This creates experience-based insights that are effective because they were created by the participants themselves.
Our approach: making all perspectives visible
In the Lego workshop, we view the team as a system that can develop its own solutions if the framework and structure are right.
Our attitude is appreciative and impartial: different points of view are consciously included without being evaluated or prioritized.
This approach is particularly effective when working with LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®. Each person builds their own view of the topic and makes it visible to everyone. This creates a shared understanding and all perspectives become part of the common solution.
Our role in accompanying a Lego workshop
We provide process support in terms of structure, question logic, time management and format.
Our role includes:
- Clarifying the goal and focus
- Developing suitable key questions
- Ensuring participation and quality of dialog
- Translating models into shared insights
- Supporting the transfer into concrete steps
Responsibility for content and decisions remains with the team.
Our methods and working formats
In the LEGO workshop we combine the LSP core technique with suitable moderation formats:
- Short skill-building sequences(introduction to material and metaphor work)
- Individual construction, exchange in small groups, plenary work
- Common models (linking perspectives)
- Reflection on patterns, tensions and resources
- Transfer: prioritization, agreements, next steps
“Thinking with your hands ” – touching, moving and building activates our thinking in a different way: Connections become visible, solutions become more concrete.
Your benefit: What your team will take away from our Lego workshop
The workshop supports your team in this:
- Understanding complex topics together instead of just discussing them
- Integrate different perspectives and gain clarity
- derive common principles and sustainable agreements
- define concrete measures for everyday working life
- Sustainably improve collaboration and communication
Typical results are documented guiding principles, prioritized fields of action and a coordinated next step that is jointly supported.
Collaboration in the Lego workshop with Coachingwerk
Preparation
- Preliminary discussion to clarify concerns, objectives and framework
- Coordination of participants, time and setting
- Individual workshop design with suitable key questions
Implementation
- Entry and orientation, skill-building
- Construction and exchange sequences along a clear core process
- Consolidation: common models, patterns, priorities
- Securing results and transfer to concrete next steps
The duration of a team workshop is usually between 1/2 day and 2 days, depending on the issue, objective and team size. The workshop can be held in person, online or hybrid.
Follow-up
- Structured summary of the results
- Documentation as a photo protocol or presentation
- Joint evaluation meeting
Contact us
In a non-binding initial meeting, we will discuss together how your Lego workshop can be designed to meet your objectives – in terms of content, methodology and organization.
FAQ: Frequently asked questions about the Lego Workshop
What is LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®?
LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® is a moderated method in which participants build models, explain their meaning and derive insights and decisions together.
What is the difference to “normal” LEGO® building?
In the workshop, no real objects are recreated, but inner images: Ideas, perspectives, relationships, tensions. The stones serve as metaphors that facilitate understanding.
How does a Lego workshop work?
Typically via key questions, construction phases, explanations of the models and joint reflection. The core process is described in many descriptions as a four-step structure (impulse/question, building, sharing, reflecting).
What group size is a Lego workshop suitable for?
Ideal are 5 – 20 people. For larger groups of up to 40 participants, we run Lego workshops with several coaches and several Lego sets.
What is needed in terms of organization?
A quiet, bright environment, sufficient space for moderation and a few tables for building and reflecting. We coordinate the material and setup in the preliminary meeting.
Do concrete results emerge at the end of a Lego workshop?
Yes, the workshop is designed for transfer: Models are turned into shared insights, which become prioritized next steps and agreements for everyday life.